Carmen Peña García

Carmen Peña García is a Full Professor at the Faculty of Canon Law at Comillas Pontifical University, specializing in marriage law, canonical processes, and ecclesiastical law. She holds advanced degrees in Law, Canon Law, Dogmatic Theology, and Ecclesiastical Studies from prestigious institutions like Complutense University of Madrid and Comillas. Since 1996, she has served as Defender of the Bond and Promoter of Justice at the Metropolitan Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Madrid. Her academic roles include Director of the Master's Program in Canonical Matrimonial Causes and former head of the Department of Canon Law and State Ecclesiastical Law (2003–2012).

Her research focuses on canonical regulations of marriage, synodality, and lay participation in the Church. She leads the research group 'Canonical Legal System and New Pastoral Challenges' and has authored over 130 articles and books, including seminal works like Mariage et causes de nullité dans le droit de l'Eglise (2021) and Pontifical dissolution of unconsummated marriage (2017). She actively contributes to international scholarly journals and serves on advisory boards for institutions like the Vatican’s Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life (since 2018) and the Canon Law Centre at the Australian Catholic University.

Her professional milestones include participation as an expert in the 2014 Vatican Synod on the Family and her 2021 election as President of the Spanish Association of Canon Lawyers. She balances academic leadership with significant contributions to ecclesiastical governance, legal reform, and pastoral challenges in contemporary Church contexts.