Pope orders review of annulment process to simplify procedure

Pope Francis leaves at the end of a special audience with participants of a meeting for the New Evangelization in Paul VI hall at the Vatican September 19, 2014. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis has ordered a review aimed at simplifying the Church's procedures for annulments, the Vatican said on Saturday, a move that could make it easier for Catholics to end marriages.

A statement said Francis had appointed an 11-member commission of canon lawyers and theologians to propose reform of the process, "seeking to simplify and streamline it while safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage".