Pope Francis receives participants in Plenary of the Apostolic Signatura

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis received the participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura on Friday in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. The Apostolic Signatura is the highest court in the Catholic Church. It deals with procedural challenges arising in the Church’s other courts, as well as with disputes arising under the Church's administrative law. The Signatura is also responsible for overseeing the general administration of Justice in the Church.

In remarks to the participants, Pope Francis focused on the role of the Defender of the Bond: the lawyer who argues in favor of the validity of a marriage in annulment cases. “In his delicate task,” said Pope Francis, “[the Defender of the Bond] is called to harmonise the prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law with the concrete situations of the Church and of society.”

Speaking broadly of the work of the Signatura, Pope Francis said, “Service to justice is a commitment of apostolic life: it requires to be exercised with one’s gaze fixed upon the icon of the Good Shepherd, who bends himself toward the lost and wounded sheep.” Pope Francis concluded his remarks by commending the participants to the protection and intercession of Our Lady, “Mirror of Justice”.