Two priests of the Archdiocese of Louisville, Father Dustin Hungerford and newly-ordained Father Kenneth Nauert, aren’t expected to be around frequently over the next two years.
The two are studying canon law at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., through a six-semester program.
After graduation, they will work with the Archdiocese of Louisville Metropolitan Tribunal, the court of the Catholic Church. They’ll be joining three other priest-canonists, Fathers Paul Beach, Philip Erikson and Fred Klotter, who assist the archbishop in his judicial role as shepherd of the archdiocese.
Father Nauert, who was ordained to the priesthood in June, said in a recent interview that canon law is another way to bring people to Christ through his ministry.
“The law of the church is meant to guide the proper structuring of the Christian life,” he noted.
As his studies have progressed, so has his understanding: The law works in accord and tandem with God’s justice and mercy, he said. As a result, upholding the law leads to the salvation of souls, he said.
“The law guides us closer to Christ,” he added.
The tribunal’s work is essential to the archdiocese, said Father Beach, judicial vicar and director of the tribunal.
“To have a healthy, functioning tribunal is essential to having a healthy, functioning archdiocese,” he said.
Father Beach expressed his excitement for the young priests’ studies, and the necessity of canonists in the functioning of the tribunal, in a recent interview.
While canonists are not required to be clergy, certain roles, such as the role of judicial vicar, can only be filled by clergy and require a canon law degree, Father Beach said.
The tribunal manages grievances, penal cases, the restructuring of parishes — including opening, merging, and closing parishes — and, most commonly, annulments.
From July 2023 to July 2024, the tribunal received 111 annulment petitions.
Father Beach sees the work as a form of pastoral ministry, he said, noting, “We are helping people to reconcile themselves to the church.”
After their studies, Fathers Nauert and Hungerford “will be as ready as you can be to assist in this process,” he said.
Father Beach noted the annulment process is often misunderstood.
The process, he said, must begin with the understanding that the sacrament of marriage is based on the consent of the couple.
While many Catholics associate sacraments with an action on behalf of a priest, he explained, marriage is different. It is a sacrament that priests witness, not confer.
It would be incorrect, then, to say a priest “married” a couple, he noted. A bride and groom marry one another, and the priest receives their marriage on behalf of the church, he explained.
Thus, the annulment process “is an investigative process at its heart” as it seeks to understand if a valid marriage ever existed between the couple, said Father Beach.
Those investigating the marriage must ask: What was the couple’s understanding of marriage at the time they married? Were they free to give consent? Did they have the capacity to live the sacrament?
A valid marriage can offer the heart what it is looking for, he said, including the understanding that “There is no finish line; it has permanence, and is a conveyance of God’s grace to the world.”
“To have a healthy, functioning tribunal is essential to having a healthy, functioning archdiocese”
— Father Beach, judicial vicar and director of the tribunal
When a couple, or one of its members, was not free to give consent or did not intend for the relationship to be permanent, faithful and open to children, the human heart feels the difference, he said.
“The church has an understanding of the human heart that is informed by centuries,” Father Beach said.
The annulment process provides resolution and begins a healing process, he said.
Each individual has obligations and rights protected by canon law, Father Beach explained. It helps assure Christians of their obligations and creates an environment in which they can live out their vocation.
“Laws are to protect the vulnerable — and we are all vulnerable,” he said. “We are human beings and we need law.”
Father Nauert, who began his studies during his final year of seminary, expects to conclude his studies in May of 2026. Father Hungerford is expected to follow in July of that year.
