It is here, he said, that "causes for declaring the nullity of marriage fall. Indeed, marriage in its dual dimension - natural and sacramental - is not something of which the spouses can dispose at will nor, given its social and public character, is it possible to imagine some form of self-declaration."
The Pope emphasized that "no court hearing is per se 'against' the other party, as if the aim were to inflict some form of unjust punishment."
Rather, "The aim of the hearing”, he said, “is…to declare the truth concerning the validity or invalidity of a specific marriage; in other words to pronounce on the reality that lies at the very foundation of the institution of the family, and that is of maximum concern to the Church and to civil society."
The Pope said that "the criterion of the search for truth" leads us to consider another aspect of the legal question: "its pastoral value, which cannot be separated from the love for truth.”
“Indeed,” he affirmed, “it can happen that pastoral charity sometimes becomes contaminated by complacent attitudes towards others. Such attitudes may seem pastoral, but in reality they do not respond to the good of individuals, or to that of the ecclesial community."
He stressed that "The truth sought in causes of the nullity of marriage is not ... an abstract truth, one completely removed from the good of individuals.”
“It is a truth”, he said, “that is an integral part of the human and Christian journey of each faithful. Thus, it is extremely important that the declaration [of that truth] should come about in a reasonable span of time."
Pope Benedict also stressed to the officials their grave obligation to "bring the institutional activity of the Church in her tribunals ever closer to the faithful,” as well as to "seek to prevent nullity of marriage," and “to help spouses resolve their difficulties and find a way of reconciliation."
The Holy Father concluded his address to the Tribunal saying that he hoped his words "serve to help you better understand how the love for truth links the institution of canonical causes of the nullity of marriage with the authentic pastoral sensibility that must animate such causes.”
“Seen in this light, the Instruction 'Dignitas connubii' and the concerns that emerged from the recent Synod, are in complete harmony," he said.