By Father Peter A. Dora

Among Archbishop Thomas Donnellan's many ministerial involvements was his devotion to husbands and wives striving to live the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Immediately after his ordination to the priesthood the archbishop entered on the serious study of church law. He received a doctorate in canon law from the Catholic University of America in 1942 at which time he was assigned to serve in the chancery of the archdiocese of New York. In conjunction with this assignment, he also worked with the tribunal on ecclesiastical marriage cases for the purpose of helping people return to the sacraments.

Throughout his years as bishop of Ogdensburg and later as archbishop of Atlanta he lent his constant support to the tribunal and to the people served by that ministry. During his years in office the Church was pursuing a deeper understanding of the marital relationship as actually lived in the pressured twentieth century life. Beginning with the second Vatican Council and extending through the revised Code of Canon Law in 1983, the Church incorporated into her understanding of Matrimony the many insights offered by the social sciences, especially psychology. Central to this understanding was the realization that there is far more to a true marriage than just the external form of vows and witnesses. While the Church has remained ever faithful to the biblical injunction against remarriage after divorce, at the same time she recognizes that some failed marriages never were binding in the Biblical sense from the start.

It was in this theological and pastoral arena that the young Father Donnellan learned through personal experience both the anguish of divorce and the healing effects of a tribunal action intended to resolve a marital situation through objective investigation.

The archbishop lent his full support to the Atlanta tribunal under the direction of Father Eusebius J. Beltran, now bishop of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Around that same time Father Edward J. Dillon was sent to the Catholic University of America to earn a doctorate in canon law to assist the tribunal in serving an ever-growing number of petitioners.

In 1969, the Holy See granted special permission to American tribunals to employ some experimental procedures designed to simplify the investigation of marriage cases while at the same time protecting the indissolubility of marriage. In other words, while the Church is unable to dissolve a sacramental marriage, those who honestly believe their marriage was null must be provided with an opportunity to prove the contention.

The combination of these experimental procedures and Father Dillon's legal preparation enabled the Atlanta tribunal to begin addressing the large numbers of broken marriages in the north Georgia area. Throughout this time the archbishop provided the fullest support both personally and professionally to the expanding responsibility of his tribunal.

Since that time Archbishop Donnellan sent first Father Stephen T. Churchwell and then Father Louis Naughton to study canon law in order to further this ministry. In late 1983, the revised Code of Canon Law went into effect bringing with it a renewed commitment to the quest for justice along with an effective standardization of tribunal practice throughout the world.

In early 1983 the archbishop and other bishops of the Atlanta province petitioned the Apostolic Signatura in Rome to establish a court of appeals in Atlanta to serve the tribunals in the province: Atlanta, Savannah, Raleigh, Charlotte and Charleston. The court, one of the first of its kind in the country, is designed to meet the particular judicial and pastoral needs of this region.

Shortly before his stroke in May of this year, the archbishop approved a pilot project of the Atlanta tribunal for training lay case-sponsors to assist petitioners in their own parishes. At the time, he reiterated the primary responsibilities of pastors to assist those parishioners who have suffered the pain of broken marriages, but he also recognized that the numbers are so great as to require help beyond what can be provided by priests, deacons and other pastoral ministers. Preparatory work has been completed and the project will be implemented in several parishes this winter.

During the 19 years that Archbishop Donnellan served the Church in Atlanta many thousands of individuals were able to avail themselves of the services of the tribunal and thus lead lives in full communion with the Catholic Church.

(Father Dora has served as officialis for the archdiocese of Atlanta since 1983 and is charged with overseeing the work of the metropolitan tribunal.)