In light of findings in a Vatican questionnaire,
most Catholics seem to be “out of sync” with Church teaching on marriage. If participants in the Synod follow Pope Francis’
advice to speak up clearly and honestly, the debate will .be lively.
Already some
participants have weighed in on opposite sides about questions on whether
divorced and remarried Catholics should be allowed to take Communion and whether
annulments should be easier to obtain.
One Cardinal stated
publicly he’s in favor of revisiting the rules of Communion for divorced and
remarried Catholics. In Cardinal Kasper’s
book, “Mercy: The Essence of the Gospel and the Key to Christian Life” he makes his case: in short, the
Church cannot simply condemn but must understand first and then accompany and
help people.
Another Cardinal is arguing publicly that the Church
must continue traditional Church teaching.
How these tensions will be resolved remains to be
seen. An overriding question is whether ordinary Catholics think the bishops
are a credible moral guide with regard to the topic.
Whatever the synod participants recommend, someone will be disappointed, whether it’s
Catholics hoping for a more forgiving Church or Catholics who like the Church
just the way it is.
The good news is that this is phase one of the
process. The synod is scheduled to end October 19 with the beatification of
Pope Paul VI, the Pope who oversaw the completion of the Second Vatican Council
and also promulgated “Humanae Vitae” which
enshrined the Church’s opposition to artificial contraception.
The synod will reconvene in October 2015 to finalize
formal family proposals for Pope Francis to consider.
My question to you is: if you had a chance to speak at the Synod,
what would you advise? Let me know what
you’re thinking.
