World | Pope Benedict XVI Pope: Marriage Is Not a Right Benedict wants better pre-marital counseling to reduce annulments By Mark Russell Posted Jan 23, 2011 8:07 AM CST Copied Pope Benedict XVI, center, meeting yesterday with members the Roman Rota, the Vatican tribunal that decides marriage annulments. (AP Photo/Osservatore Romano, HO) Marriage isn't a God-given right and it's not just for any schmuck, Pope Benedict said yesterday in an annual speech to the Vatican's tribunal that rules on annulments. "No one can make a claim to the right to a nuptial ceremony," he said. The pontiff also urged priests to provide better pre-marital counseling for couples to cut down on annulments—a comment largely directed at the United States, which the AP reports had more annulments last year than the rest of the world combined. "The church and society at large place too much importance on the good of marriage and the family founded on it to not make a profound commitment to it pastorally," Benedict said. Read These Next Kristi Noem won't like this Wall Street Journal exposé. Trump grants wave of pardons to ex-NFL players. Au pair struck a deal to walk free in murder case. She got 10 years. Jeanine Pirro is suing her own hometown after she fell in the street. Report an error