October 5, 2015 - Cardinal Erdo’s Synod Introductory Report:
...Regarding the divorced-and-civilly-remarried, a merciful, pastoral accompaniment is only right – an accompaniment, however, which leaves no doubt about the truth of the indissolubility of marriage taught by Jesus Christ himself. The mercy of God offers to sinners pardon, but demands conversion. The sin in this case does not lie first and foremost in whatever comportment which may have led to the breakup of the first marriage. With regard to that failure it is possible that both parties were equally culpable, although very often both are to some extent responsible. It is therefore not the failure of the first marriage, but cohabiting in the second relationship that impedes access to the Eucharist. “Many parties request that the attention to and the accompaniment of persons who are divorced and civilly remarried take into account the diversity of situations and be geared towards a greater integration of them into the life of the Christian community” (Instrumentum laboris 121). What impedes some aspects of full integration does not consist in an arbitrary prohibition; it is rather an intrinsic demand of varied situations and relationships, in the context of ecclesial witness. All this requires, however, a profound reflection.
With respect to a way of penance, this expression is used in diverse ways (cf Instrumentum laboris 122-123). These ways need to be deepened and specified. It can be understood in the sense of St. John Paul II's Familiaris Consortio (cf n. 84) and referred to those who are divorced-and-remarried, who because of the needs of their children cannot interrupt their common life, but who can practice continence by the strength of grace, living their relationship of mutual help and friendship. These faithful will also have access to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, avoiding the provocation of scandal (cf Instrumentum laboris 119). This possibility is far from being physicalist and does not reduce marriage to the exercise of sexuality, but recognizing its nature and purpose, is applied coherently in the life of the human person.
“In order to deepen in the objective situation of sin and moral culpability, the Letter to Bishops of the Catholic Church on the reception of Eucharistic Communion on the part of divorced and remarried faithful by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Sept. 14, 1994) (should) be taken into consideration as well as the Declaration on the admissibility to Holy Communion of the divorced and remarried by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (June 24, 2000),” (IL 123), as also said in the Post-synodal Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis by Benedict XVI.
The integration of the divorced and remarried in the ecclesial community can be realized in various ways, apart from admission to the Eucharist, as already suggested in Familiaris consortio 84.
In the traditional practice of the Latin Church the penitential path could have signified for those who were not ready to change their living conditions, but who tried to communicate the desire for conversion, that confessors could hear their confession, giving them good advice and proposing penitential exercises, in order to direct them to conversion, but without giving them the absolution which was possible only for those who actually intended to change their lives (cf RI 5 in VI; F. A. Febeus, S. I., De regulisiuris canonici Liber unicus, Venetiis 1735, pp. 91-92).
True marriages among Christians of different confessions and those celebrated with the dispensation of the impediment from the disparity of worship, between a Catholic and a non-baptized individual, they are valid marriages, but present some pastoral challenges. “Consequently, dealing constructively with differences regarding the faith would necessitate paying particular attention to people who are actually living in these marriages and not simply to couples during the period of preparation before the wedding” (Instrumentum Laboris 127).
For what regards the reference to the pastoral practices of the Orthodox Churches, this cannot be properly evaluated using only the conceptual apparatus developed in the West in the second Millennium. It should be kept in mind (that there are) great institutional differences regarding the tribunals of the Church, as well as the special respect for the legislation of the States, which at times can become critical, if the laws of the State are detached from the truth of marriage according to the design of the Creator.
On the search for pastoral solutions for the difficulty of certain divorced and civilly remarried, it must be kept in mind that fidelity to the indissolubility of marriage cannot be linked to the practical recognition of the goodness of concrete situations that are opposite and therefore irreconcilable. Between true and false, between good and evil, in fact, there is no graduality, even if some forms of cohabitation bring in themselves certain positive aspects, this does not imply that they can be presented as good. However, that the objective truth of the moral good and the subjective responsibility of single persons stand out. There may be a difference between the disorder, ie. the objective sin, and the concrete sin realized in particular conduct that also implies, but not only, the subjective element. “The imputability and responsibility of an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, duress, violence, fear, habits, inordinate attachments and by other psychological or even social factors” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1735). This means that in objective truth good and evil are not given gradually (gradualness of the law), while at the subjective level the law of graduality can take place, and therefore the education of conscience and in the same sense of responsibility. The human act, in fact, is good when it is in every aspect (ex integra causa).
With respect to a way of penance, this expression is used in diverse ways (cf Instrumentum laboris 122-123). These ways need to be deepened and specified. It can be understood in the sense of St. John Paul II's Familiaris Consortio (cf n. 84) and referred to those who are divorced-and-remarried, who because of the needs of their children cannot interrupt their common life, but who can practice continence by the strength of grace, living their relationship of mutual help and friendship. These faithful will also have access to the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, avoiding the provocation of scandal (cf Instrumentum laboris 119). This possibility is far from being physicalist and does not reduce marriage to the exercise of sexuality, but recognizing its nature and purpose, is applied coherently in the life of the human person.
“In order to deepen in the objective situation of sin and moral culpability, the Letter to Bishops of the Catholic Church on the reception of Eucharistic Communion on the part of divorced and remarried faithful by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Sept. 14, 1994) (should) be taken into consideration as well as the Declaration on the admissibility to Holy Communion of the divorced and remarried by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts (June 24, 2000),” (IL 123), as also said in the Post-synodal Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis by Benedict XVI.
The integration of the divorced and remarried in the ecclesial community can be realized in various ways, apart from admission to the Eucharist, as already suggested in Familiaris consortio 84.
In the traditional practice of the Latin Church the penitential path could have signified for those who were not ready to change their living conditions, but who tried to communicate the desire for conversion, that confessors could hear their confession, giving them good advice and proposing penitential exercises, in order to direct them to conversion, but without giving them the absolution which was possible only for those who actually intended to change their lives (cf RI 5 in VI; F. A. Febeus, S. I., De regulisiuris canonici Liber unicus, Venetiis 1735, pp. 91-92).
True marriages among Christians of different confessions and those celebrated with the dispensation of the impediment from the disparity of worship, between a Catholic and a non-baptized individual, they are valid marriages, but present some pastoral challenges. “Consequently, dealing constructively with differences regarding the faith would necessitate paying particular attention to people who are actually living in these marriages and not simply to couples during the period of preparation before the wedding” (Instrumentum Laboris 127).
For what regards the reference to the pastoral practices of the Orthodox Churches, this cannot be properly evaluated using only the conceptual apparatus developed in the West in the second Millennium. It should be kept in mind (that there are) great institutional differences regarding the tribunals of the Church, as well as the special respect for the legislation of the States, which at times can become critical, if the laws of the State are detached from the truth of marriage according to the design of the Creator.
On the search for pastoral solutions for the difficulty of certain divorced and civilly remarried, it must be kept in mind that fidelity to the indissolubility of marriage cannot be linked to the practical recognition of the goodness of concrete situations that are opposite and therefore irreconcilable. Between true and false, between good and evil, in fact, there is no graduality, even if some forms of cohabitation bring in themselves certain positive aspects, this does not imply that they can be presented as good. However, that the objective truth of the moral good and the subjective responsibility of single persons stand out. There may be a difference between the disorder, ie. the objective sin, and the concrete sin realized in particular conduct that also implies, but not only, the subjective element. “The imputability and responsibility of an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, duress, violence, fear, habits, inordinate attachments and by other psychological or even social factors” (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1735). This means that in objective truth good and evil are not given gradually (gradualness of the law), while at the subjective level the law of graduality can take place, and therefore the education of conscience and in the same sense of responsibility. The human act, in fact, is good when it is in every aspect (ex integra causa).
Both in the last synodal assembly and during the preparation of the present general assembly the question of pastoral attention to persons with homosexual tendencies was treated. Even if the problem doesn’t directly affect the reality of the family, situations arise when such behavior influences the life of the family. In every case the Church teaches that “’There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God's plan for marriage and family.’...
October 5, 2015 Thirteen Cardinals Write to Pope Francis about Synod Dangers:
...Finally and perhaps most urgently, various fathers have expressed concern that a synod designed to address a vital pastoral matter – reinforcing the dignity of marriage and family – may become dominated by the theological/doctrinal issue of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried. If so, this will inevitably raise even more fundamental issues about how the Church, going forward, should interpret and apply the Word of God, her doctrines and her disciplines to changes in culture. The collapse of liberal Protestant churches in the modern era, accelerated by their abandonment of key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation, warrants great caution in our own synodal discussions.
October 6, 2015 – Pope Francis' Homily at Casa Santa Marta:
...Nineveh converts and, facing this conversion Jonah, this man who is not docile to the Spirit of God, becomes angry… it really was a miracle, because in this case he [Jonah] abandons his stubbornness, his rigidity, to obey the will of God, and he did what the Lord commanded him… It is a heart with that hardness that does not allow the mercy of God to enter. My preaching is more important, my thoughts are more important, that whole list of commandments that I must observe are more important…
Jesus as well lived this drama with the Doctors of the Law, who did not understand why He did not let them stone the adulterous woman, why He went to dine with publicans and sinners: they did not understand. They did not understand mercy… Where his ministers are there is rigidity. The rigidity that defies mission, which challenges mercy...
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/06/pope_francis_god_wants_his_ministers_to_be_merciful/1177174 https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2015/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20151006_mercy-first-and-foremost.html
http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/06/pope_francis_god_wants_his_ministers_to_be_merciful/1177174 https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/cotidie/2015/documents/papa-francesco-cotidie_20151006_mercy-first-and-foremost.html
October 6, 2015 – Pope Francis’ Unscheduled Intervention on Synod Floor:
Fr. Spadarro, editor of La Civilta Cattolica, reported that Pope Francis told the synod fathers “not to succumb to ‘a hermeneutic of conspiracy’ that is sociologically weak and spiritually unhelpful.” The pope asked them instead to engage in “a profound discernment to seek to understand how the Lord wants his Church [to be].” He asked the synod fathers to use instead the lens of discernment, “which helps us avoid seeing the devil in what are merely our own fears and obsessions.” The hermeneutic of spiritual discernment, he added, was “the only one capable of truly grasping the dynamics of the synod.” Pope Francis warned against those who use the “defense of the faith” as an excuse to defend what are merely their own ideas.
Fr. Lombardi, the official papal spokesman, reported that Pope Francis said during his intervention: “Catholic doctrine on marriage has not been touched or put into question… We should not let ourselves be conditioned by or to reduce the horizons of our work as if the only problem were that of Communion for the divorced and remarried or not… one has to experience the Synod in continuity with last year’s extraordinary synod, and that the documents to be considered official are the two speeches by the pope, the one at the beginning and the one at the end, as well as the Relatio Synodi, studied by the Council of the Synod, to which the contributions sent between the two assemblies were added. This constitutes the Instrumentum laboris, approved as a document of the Synod which we are conducting at present…[from this] we can continue with the contribution of the Working Groups, which help the work towards the Final Report".
October 9, 2015 - Pope Francis' Homily at Casa Santa Marta:
...There was another group that did not appreciate him and sought to interpret Jesus’ words and actions in a different way, against Jesus. Some, for envy, others for doctrinal rigidity, others because they were afraid that the Romans would come and massacre them; for many reasons they sought to distance Jesus’ authority from the people, even with slander as in this case….The Evil One is hidden, he comes with his very educated friends, knocks at the door, asks for permission, comes in, and lives with that person. Drop by drop, he gives him instructions [on how to] do things with relativism...
October 17, 2015 - Pope Francis’ Address at Commemorative Ceremony for the 50th Anniversary of the Synod of Bishops:
...The sensus fidei prevents a rigid separation between an Ecclesia docens and an Ecclesia discens, since the flock likewise has an instinctive ability to discern the new ways that the Lord is revealing to the Church…. In a synodal Church, as I have said, “it is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound ‘decentralization’”
October 21, 2015 - Synod Circuli Minori (Small Circles) Reports:
French Circle A:
We are referring to a general debate that is re-emerging on a regular basis. As pastors we very often encounter situations of life of couples and families which do not correspond to the rule proposed and defended by the Church as the most appropriate way to follow the path of the sanctity of marriage and the family. These so-called irregular situations have, in a certain number of regions of the world, developed to such an extent that they also affect Christian families, and they are engaged in the Church. All of us see this, and even where it does not yet exist in a significant way from the point of view of sociology, we can see that this is starting to develop, because of the global normalization of behavior.
If we refer to these situations in our remarks, in our pastoral writings, in the synodal text, some of us fear that this opens the door to normalization, and implicitly authorizes acceptance of it. Others think that to ignore these situations is to give a sign to the people who live in this way that they will not be welcomed, and then it will be very difficult for us to offer them a path of conversion...
...On the other hand, we know that there are so many other families who often feel themselves distanced from this ideal, and others who do not even think that it is more or less made for them! Divided families, stepfamilies, single-parent families, families without even civil marriage: we can not keep them apart, we do not want to think that their path does not bring them closer to the God who loves and attracts all men to Him. We believe in them the Spirit of the Lord who inspires many of the behaviors of their lives; And this does not deprive the Christian families that we support of our encouragement!
Concerning No. 122 to 125, we consider it useful to make no change: the positions are well explained. But in the first place we want to reiterate the attachment of all to the doctrine of the indissolubility of marriage. We also welcome the mercy of God as the gospel revealed in Jesus Christ and the importance given to the formation of the personal conscience. We add that in situations considered irregular, we want to set out the paths by which those who live them are certain that a path, welcome, and accompaniment are open to them. Finally, [we consider] that the bishops, each in his own diocese and in the communion of the whole Church, are called to responsible discernment….
Another question concerning the language has emerged at a moment: it concerns the use of the term Semina Verbi [Seeds of the Word]. Some of us are afraid that this practice may not be very compatible with its theological origin, unless we accept that this is a fact connected with the development of the doctrine: they would prefer to be satisfied with the expression of "Gifts of God present" in the lives of people who do not yet know Christ; Others find, on the contrary, that in this properly theological expression, one can find the sign that a dialogue is really possible and anticipated, with our contemporaries who are in search of the truth but do not have adequate concepts to account for their Spiritual experience. We do not draw conclusions on this subject, we leave the question open.
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2015/10/21/0803/01782.html#GALLA
https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2015/10/21/0803/01782.html#GALLA
French Circle B:
Pastoral care of those who have contracted a civil marriage or are cohabitating - the terms for these situations are diverse and vary according to regions of the world - has sparked debate among members of the circle: some stressed the importance of discerning and highlighting the positive elements of situations which are not libertinism and which are the basis of a pastoral care that accompanies them toward sacramental union; the others, without denying the pastoral concern of advancing the persons concerned towards the moment of commitment in sacramental marriage, insisted that such situations are not in conformity with what the Church asks.
The situation of remarried divorcees led us to emphasize the possibilities of participation in the life of the Christian community as Familiaris Consortio mentions (84). Several also wished to be better known and to deepen these forms of participation in the life of the Christian community and questioned the need to maintain certain current limits (to be a lector, to participate in the pastoral council ...). In relation to their access to the sacraments, the Circulus has decided to maintain the current discipline.
French Circle C:
Yes, we are marked by great diversity of experiences and approaches, even by certain polarities that have occasionally surfaced, for example on the question of access to the sacraments of the divorced and remarried, or on the question of role of women in certain ministries of the Church.
English Circle A:
In all cases of pastoral accompaniment of families by the Church, it is essential that our efforts to walk with people witness with clarity to the teaching of the Church. Most important is a clarity and attractiveness of language, making the Church’s teaching more comprehensible and accessible.
We reflected on the way in which the Church walks with those who struggle. In all cases, pastoral care must be marked by charity and patience, especially with those who do not live or are not yet prepared to live in full accord with the Church’s teachings. They are to be welcomed with love and respect by the pastors of the Church, who should be generous in accompanying them and in fostering their desire to participate more fully into the life of the Church.
We also took up certain proposals for accompanying those who are divorced and civilly remarried.We supported the recent efforts to streamline the process of nullity to make it more accessible without changing the Church’s teaching. The majority without full consensus affirmed the current teaching and practice of the Church regarding the participation in the Eucharist of those who are divorced and civilly remarried. We acknowledged that this pathway may be difficult, and pastors should accompany them with understanding, always ready to extend God’s mercy to them anew when they stand in need of it.
A majority without full consensus also affirmed that pastoral practice concerning reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist by those divorced and civilly remarried ought not to be left to individual episcopal conferences. To do so would risk harm to the unity of the Catholic Church, the understanding of her sacramental order, and the visible witness of the life of the faithful.
We reflected on the way in which the Church walks with those who struggle. In all cases, pastoral care must be marked by charity and patience, especially with those who do not live or are not yet prepared to live in full accord with the Church’s teachings. They are to be welcomed with love and respect by the pastors of the Church, who should be generous in accompanying them and in fostering their desire to participate more fully into the life of the Church.
We also took up certain proposals for accompanying those who are divorced and civilly remarried.We supported the recent efforts to streamline the process of nullity to make it more accessible without changing the Church’s teaching. The majority without full consensus affirmed the current teaching and practice of the Church regarding the participation in the Eucharist of those who are divorced and civilly remarried. We acknowledged that this pathway may be difficult, and pastors should accompany them with understanding, always ready to extend God’s mercy to them anew when they stand in need of it.
A majority without full consensus also affirmed that pastoral practice concerning reception of the Sacrament of the Eucharist by those divorced and civilly remarried ought not to be left to individual episcopal conferences. To do so would risk harm to the unity of the Catholic Church, the understanding of her sacramental order, and the visible witness of the life of the faithful.
...We spoke of the importance of pastoral attention to persons with homosexual tendencies, with special attention to families in which a person with same sex attraction is a member….We call on the synod to affirm and propose anew the entirety of Church teaching on love and chastity. We encourage parents and family members to have confidence in it as they love and accompany one another in responding to the Gospel’s call to chaste living.
...Finally, we addressed the procreation and upbringing of children, affirming the rich teaching of Humanae Vitae, especially its affirmation that the unitive and procreative dimensions of the marital act are inseparable. Authentic pastoral accompaniment of couples proclaims this truth and also helps couples see that a well-formed conscience embraces the moral law not as an external restraint but, in grace, as a way of freedom. A pastoral approach is required that seeks to help spouses accept the full truth about marital love in ways that are comprehensible and inviting.
English Circle B:
On the pastoral care of the divorced and remarried, the group looked at what an appropriate pastoral accompaniment of such couples should be. Such accompaniment must examine the situation of their marital condition, and also explore what it means to say that they are not excluded from the life of the Church.
The group proposed a pathway of discernment or ‘reverential listening’, attentive to the story of those who seek understanding and support. The first purpose of this attentive accompaniment would be to foster deeper discipleship with Christ based on the enduring bond of baptism, rather than addressing the question of admission to the sacraments of penance and Holy Communion...
The group proposed a pathway of discernment or ‘reverential listening’, attentive to the story of those who seek understanding and support. The first purpose of this attentive accompaniment would be to foster deeper discipleship with Christ based on the enduring bond of baptism, rather than addressing the question of admission to the sacraments of penance and Holy Communion...
On the theme of spiritual communion, the group noted it is possible that persons, whose objective state of life – an irregular union – puts them in contradiction with the full meaning of the Eucharist, may not be subjectively culpable of any continuing state of sin. They may thereby rightly have a loving desire for Eucharistic union with Christ. While their objective state may prevent them from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ, they may properly develop the practice of Spiritual Communion, and thereby become more open to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and union in the Church.
On the subject of the admission of divorced and remarried to the sacraments, the group would request that the Holy Father, taking into account the rich material which has emerged during this synodal process, consider establishing during the Jubilee Year of Mercy a Special Commission to study in depth the ways in which the disciplines of the Church which flow from the indissolubility of marriage apply to the situation of people in irregular unions, including situations arising from the practice of polygamy.
On the subject of the admission of divorced and remarried to the sacraments, the group would request that the Holy Father, taking into account the rich material which has emerged during this synodal process, consider establishing during the Jubilee Year of Mercy a Special Commission to study in depth the ways in which the disciplines of the Church which flow from the indissolubility of marriage apply to the situation of people in irregular unions, including situations arising from the practice of polygamy.
English Circle C:
On the question of responsible parenthood, the discussion focused on the need for a pastoral approach which both promotes the teaching of Humanae Vitae and deals with the reality of people’s lives, providing ongoing formation of conscience which looks to a harmony between Church doctrine and personal decision...
We considered the special needs of families in irregular or difficult situations. We agreed that those cohabiting are in a quite different situation from those who are divorced and civilly remarried. We also agreed that cohabitation, though very widespread in many cultures now, could not be considered a good in itself. We were prepared to recognise that there may be good in the relationship of those cohabiting rather than in cohabitation in some quasi-institutional sense.
With regard to those divorced and civilly remarried, we agreed that relationships of many kinds come under this heading. There was general agreement that we needed to provide more effective pastoral accompaniment for these couples, and especially perhaps for their children who also have rights. There was, however, little enthusiasm for what the Instrumentum Laboris calls "a penitential path". On the question of whether there should be further study of the question to see if the Church could move in this direction, the vote was evenly divided. In the end we voted to replace paragraphs 122-125 with an affirmation of the Church’s current discipline and recommended the forms of participation mentioned in Familiaris Consortio, 84.
The group was also divided on the question of support for families with homosexual members and for homosexual people themselves. Some wanted to delete any reference to homosexuality, but this won little support in the group. We opted for a briefer treatment, but also asked that the final document include at an appropriate point a clear statement of Church teaching that same-sex unions are in no way equivalent to marriage. We were clear, however, that in this Synod we were not addressing homosexuality in general but within the context of the family. We were equally insistent that we address this issue as pastors, seeking to understand the reality of people's lives rather than issues in some more abstract sense.
English Circle D:
The group had a long exchange on pastoral approaches to divorced people who had not remarried, and also divorced people who have married again without an annulment. Members voiced significant concern that whatever is done should not lead to greater confusion among our people. One bishop said that the issue of admitting divorced and remarried persons without an annulment to Communion was such a vital matter of doctrinal substance that it could only be handled at an ecumenical council and not at a synod.
One of the synod fathers stressed the importance of using appropriate language. Instead of referring to people in difficult situations as being “excluded” from the Eucharist, we should say that they “abstain” from the Eucharist. That word is more accurate and not as negative. One father mentioned that bishops cannot be more merciful than Jesus’s words. The Lord is not bound by Church rules, but the Church is very much bound by the words of Jesus.
Some thought that the current text lacks an understanding of the Eucharistic foundation of Christian marriage, which says we cannot reduce marriage to a sexual relationship. Likewise, we can’t reduce life in the Church to receiving Communion. In the history of the Church huge segments of the faithful did not receive Holy Communion and yet were clearly considered members of the Church, beginning with the Catechumens. For those who are on a penitential path, they are not excluded from the Church even though they abstain from Communion. Other fathers thought that the number of people who are divorced or remarried without an annulment has grown in such a big way that we need to deal with this question in a new and different manner.
Members spent quite a bit of time talking about the beauty and comprehensiveness of No. 84 of Familiaris Consortio. Some suggested that FC 84 ought to be put directly into the text. One father spoke about the power of the keys and the Holy Father’s ability to change things. He said that the Pope can, in effect, twist the hands of God. Others responded that the power of the keys does not give the Church the ability to change Revelation and the faith of the Church.
One member of the group felt that the Church has forgotten Jesus in all this discussion and that the bishops and many laypeople may be perceived as Pharisees. There was a call for a commission to study the issue of Communion for the divorced and remarried over a longer period of time with greater theological precision.
There was a suggestion that the Church ought to study the notion of spiritual communion more thoroughly. Just as Protestant communities participate in the reality of the Church, those who don’t receive Holy Communion can take part in the reality of the Eucharist.
Members spent some time talking about mixed marriages and marriages of disparate cult. The practice of the Orthodox Church also featured in the discussion. Some saw this as a good pastoral path for the Roman Church. Others felt there was little clarity in the Orthodox approach because several different practices among the Orthodox actually exist.
The section on the pastoral care of persons with homosexual tendencies sparked much discussion. Some members thought that this issue should be removed from discussion in the Synod on the Family. They felt that it’s important enough to have a specific synodal meeting on the topic itself.Some suggested that the wording of the Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2357-2359 should be used. Others saw that option as possibly damaging the credibility of the Church in Western Europe and North America.
One of the synod fathers stressed the importance of using appropriate language. Instead of referring to people in difficult situations as being “excluded” from the Eucharist, we should say that they “abstain” from the Eucharist. That word is more accurate and not as negative. One father mentioned that bishops cannot be more merciful than Jesus’s words. The Lord is not bound by Church rules, but the Church is very much bound by the words of Jesus.
Some thought that the current text lacks an understanding of the Eucharistic foundation of Christian marriage, which says we cannot reduce marriage to a sexual relationship. Likewise, we can’t reduce life in the Church to receiving Communion. In the history of the Church huge segments of the faithful did not receive Holy Communion and yet were clearly considered members of the Church, beginning with the Catechumens. For those who are on a penitential path, they are not excluded from the Church even though they abstain from Communion. Other fathers thought that the number of people who are divorced or remarried without an annulment has grown in such a big way that we need to deal with this question in a new and different manner.
Members spent quite a bit of time talking about the beauty and comprehensiveness of No. 84 of Familiaris Consortio. Some suggested that FC 84 ought to be put directly into the text. One father spoke about the power of the keys and the Holy Father’s ability to change things. He said that the Pope can, in effect, twist the hands of God. Others responded that the power of the keys does not give the Church the ability to change Revelation and the faith of the Church.
One member of the group felt that the Church has forgotten Jesus in all this discussion and that the bishops and many laypeople may be perceived as Pharisees. There was a call for a commission to study the issue of Communion for the divorced and remarried over a longer period of time with greater theological precision.
There was a suggestion that the Church ought to study the notion of spiritual communion more thoroughly. Just as Protestant communities participate in the reality of the Church, those who don’t receive Holy Communion can take part in the reality of the Eucharist.
Members spent some time talking about mixed marriages and marriages of disparate cult. The practice of the Orthodox Church also featured in the discussion. Some saw this as a good pastoral path for the Roman Church. Others felt there was little clarity in the Orthodox approach because several different practices among the Orthodox actually exist.
The section on the pastoral care of persons with homosexual tendencies sparked much discussion. Some members thought that this issue should be removed from discussion in the Synod on the Family. They felt that it’s important enough to have a specific synodal meeting on the topic itself.Some suggested that the wording of the Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 2357-2359 should be used. Others saw that option as possibly damaging the credibility of the Church in Western Europe and North America.
Italian Circle A:
…The need was stressed to avoid setting conscience against the moral law. From a lively confrontation in which several stresses emerged, a formulation was sought at the same time that would help to understand how a correctly formed conscience is able to recognize the good that the moral norm indicates and make responsible choices...
In regard to the situation of those who have experienced the failure of marriage, the members of the Circle were in agreement on the need to address them having particular care in distinguishing the variety of situations, promoting in any case itineraries of faith, of reconciliation and of integration in the Ecclesial Community. The importance was affirmed that these itineraries include a careful and prudent pastoral discernment under the final authority of the Bishop. The Episcopal Conferences are called to mature common criteria appropriate to the situation of the respective particular Churches.
Italian Circle B:
Among the many cases that reveal the necessity of a reflection, which points out the situation of cohabitation carried out also following a civil marriage, is that of a male catechumen and a female catechumen with a baptized and married person, then divorced civilly. At the canonical level, such a situation would be incurable, if at least the marriage of the baptized party cannot be recognized as being annulled...One can intuit the bitterness of persons that take up the invitation to enter the Church, but see themselves in fact precluded from access in the sacramental form.
The concern of the Pastor is to identify and find every valid doctrinal means to help those that have experienced [marital] failure to find the way again to the full embrace of the Church.
In regard to the discipline concerning remarried divorced persons, up to today, it is not possible to establish general criteria inclusive of all cases, sometimes very different among themselves. There are remarried divorced persons that apply themselves to walk according to the Gospel, offering significant testimonies of charity. At the same time, it cannot be denied that, in some circumstances, factors appear that limit the possibility to act differently. Consequently, the judgment on an objective situation cannot be assumed in the judgment on subjective “imputation.” The limits and the conditionings then become an appeal to discernment, primarily of the Bishop, diligent and respectful of the complexity of such situations.
In that case, to plan itineraries of faith, of pastoral integration and of reconciliation of those that find themselves in situations of stable cohabitation outside of marriage calls for additional reflection. For this reason, the Holy Farther is asked to evaluate the suitability of harmonizing and deepening the complex matter (Doctrine, discipline and law) regarding the Sacrament of Marriage, which also considers pastoral action in dealing with divorced remarried persons.
In regard to the discipline concerning remarried divorced persons, up to today, it is not possible to establish general criteria inclusive of all cases, sometimes very different among themselves. There are remarried divorced persons that apply themselves to walk according to the Gospel, offering significant testimonies of charity. At the same time, it cannot be denied that, in some circumstances, factors appear that limit the possibility to act differently. Consequently, the judgment on an objective situation cannot be assumed in the judgment on subjective “imputation.” The limits and the conditionings then become an appeal to discernment, primarily of the Bishop, diligent and respectful of the complexity of such situations.
In that case, to plan itineraries of faith, of pastoral integration and of reconciliation of those that find themselves in situations of stable cohabitation outside of marriage calls for additional reflection. For this reason, the Holy Farther is asked to evaluate the suitability of harmonizing and deepening the complex matter (Doctrine, discipline and law) regarding the Sacrament of Marriage, which also considers pastoral action in dealing with divorced remarried persons.
Italian Circle C:
2) 2. Remarried divorced persons. The Fathers agreed on four points: to remove some forms of liturgical, educational and pastoral exclusion still existing; to promote ways of human, family and spiritual integration on the part of priests, expert couples and Consultors, geared to participation in Communion, the present Doctrine remaining firm; to discern in internal forum under the guidance of the Bishops and of designated priests the individual situations with common criteria in keeping with the virtue of prudence, educating the Christian communities to hospitality; to entrust to the Holy Father further reflection on the relation between the communion and medicinal aspect of Eucharistic Communion, in reference to Christ and to the Church.
4. Families with homosexual persons . The Fathers recommend to direct pastoral attention to families with persons with homosexual tendencies, and to the preparation of competent workers. They invite to deeper anthropological reflection on the subject. They also point out the undue economic-legislative pressure to introduce laws that equate civil unions to matrimony.
https://zenit.org/articles/synod15-report-from-small-circle-italian-c-2/
Spanish Circle A
- God’s mercy cannot be conditioned, it always goes ahead of us. In this regard, Saint Thomas says that, in God, mercy is the highest virtue and forgiveness is the highest manifestation of the divine power. The forgiveness that Jesus won for us on the cross had no condition.
- Accent must be put on the gradualness and procedure to understand how God communicates the grace of the Covenant, which educates — taking each person into account progressively, in community –, corrects, supports and forgives. As it is God’s pedagogy, the process is also found in the Tradition (Saint Augustine De cathequizandis rudibus) and Aparecida (280, 281) also indicates it.
-There are expressions in which it seems that marriage and the family are absolutized, while Jesus relativizes them in the Kingdom of God….
- ...In the meeting with the “adulteress” he reminds us clearly: let whoever is without sin cast the first stone.” Jesus always opens doors.
-...God’s fidelity is showed in the Sacrament of Marriage, but in the human way: quidquid recipitur, ad modum recipientis recipitur.” [whatever is received, is received in the manner of the receiver] The fidelity, indissolubility is a mystery that includes fragility.
- Redemption takes place in man’s poverty, taking grace into account given that the Sacraments are not realized in the strength of men. However, the Sacrament of Marriage is the only one that exacts the actualization of the eschatological.
- Redemption takes place in man’s poverty, taking grace into account given that the Sacraments are not realized in the strength of men. However, the Sacrament of Marriage is the only one that exacts the actualization of the eschatological.
- We do not have a theology of the family but of Marriage and more linked to the moral. The Magisterium should present the Gospel of the Family in an organic and integrated way.
- The most important characteristic of the family is “totality,” while in the rest of life it is only about functional relations.
- Following the thesis of the “semina Verbi,” one cannot ignore that there are many positive values in other types of families.
- The most important characteristic of the family is “totality,” while in the rest of life it is only about functional relations.
- Following the thesis of the “semina Verbi,” one cannot ignore that there are many positive values in other types of families.
- When there is talk of young people and Marriage, it is done from the perspective of fear, which is not sufficient; it is an anthropological question: they live from hand to mouth, the “forever” does not fit with their way of thinking, they do not think about it, it is another way of seeing life. Perhaps we could speak of informality: a paper does not make a marriage and perhaps we have surrounded it with so many formalities that they do not fit in young people’s mind, who very often identify formality with hypocrisy.
Spanish Circle B
10. There is awareness of the complex and diverse reality existing in our countries, so that the illumination of this part must be ample to be able to have answers adjusted to the different scenarios.
German Circle
We also pondered what consequences this interconnection [between God’s mercy and justice] has in our accompaniment of marriage and family. It rules out a one-sided deductive hermeneutic, which would subsume concrete situations until a common principle. In the thinking of Thomas Aquinas and also of the Council of Trent the use of first principles have to be applied gradually, with prudence and wisdom, to particular, often complex situations. For this reason it is not a matter of
exceptions in which God’s word would not be valid, but a question of a just and proper application of the word of Jesus – about his word on the indissolubility of marriage – in prudence and wisdom. Thomas Aquinas has clearly stated the necessity of the concrete nature of such an application, when he observed: “not only does the reflection of reason belong to prudence, but also the application to the act, which is the aim of practical reason.” (Sth II-II-47,3)
exceptions in which God’s word would not be valid, but a question of a just and proper application of the word of Jesus – about his word on the indissolubility of marriage – in prudence and wisdom. Thomas Aquinas has clearly stated the necessity of the concrete nature of such an application, when he observed: “not only does the reflection of reason belong to prudence, but also the application to the act, which is the aim of practical reason.” (Sth II-II-47,3)
… Just as the historical development of Church teaching required time, so also must a Church pastoral approach allow people on their way to a sacramental marriage time to mature and not operate according to an “all or nothing” principle. In this regard, the “idea of a step by step process” (FC 9) is to be developed at the present time, which John Paul II had already established in Familiaris Consortio: “The pastoral endeavour of the Church does not limit itself to Christian families who are near to us, but strives ever more intensely in so far as it widens the horizon according to the standard of the heart of Jesus to all families in their totality, and above all those who find themselves in difficult or irregular situations.” (FC 65) The Church stands unavoidably in the area of tension between a necessary clarity in her teaching on marriage and family on the one hand, and on pastoral tasks on the other, to accompany and convince such people who in their way of life only partially agree with the basic tenets of the Church...
...As well as this, personally directed pastoral [care] is also necessary, which combines in equal
measure the normative nature of the teaching and the human personality, keeps in view
what his conscience is capable of accepting, and strengthens his responsibility….
measure the normative nature of the teaching and the human personality, keeps in view
what his conscience is capable of accepting, and strengthens his responsibility….
Any impression is to be avoided which only uses Sacred Scripture as a quotation source for
dogmatic, juridical or ethical persuasions. The law of the New Covenant is the work of the
Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers (CCC n. 1965-1966). The written word must be
integrated into the living word, which in the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of the faithful.
This confers of Holy Scripture a wide-ranging spiritual power.
dogmatic, juridical or ethical persuasions. The law of the New Covenant is the work of the
Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers (CCC n. 1965-1966). The written word must be
integrated into the living word, which in the Holy Spirit dwells in the hearts of the faithful.
This confers of Holy Scripture a wide-ranging spiritual power.
Lastly, we have had trouble with the concept of a natural marriage. In human history
natural marriage is always culturally conditioned. A natural marriage concept can give the
impression that there is a purely natural way of human life with cultural conditioning. We
therefore propose the formulation: “Marriage rooted in creation”.
October 24, 2015 - Ordinary Synod on the Family Final Report:
84. The baptized who are divorced and civilly remarried need to be more integrated into Christian communities in a variety of possible ways, while avoiding any chance of scandal. The logic of integration is the key to their pastoral care, a care which might allow them not only to realize that they belong to the Church as the Body of Christ, but also to know that they can have a joyful and fruitful experience in it. They are baptized; they are brothers and sisters; the Holy Spirit pours into their hearts gifts and talents for the good of all. Their participation can be expressed in different ecclesial services which necessarily requires discerning which of the various forms of exclusion, currently practiced in the liturgical, pastoral, educational and institutional framework, can be surpassed. Such persons need to feel not as excommunicated members of the Church, but instead as living members, able to live and grow in the Church and experience her as a mother, who welcomes them always, who takes care of them with affection and encourages them along the path of life and the Gospel. This integration is also needed in the care and Christian upbringing of their children, who ought to be considered most important. That the Christian community cares for these people is not a weakening of her faith and witness in the indissolubility of marriage: to the contrary, in this very way, the Church expresses her charity. [This paragraph reached the required ⅔ of the Fathers (177 votes) by 10 votes, 187-72]
85. Pope Saint John Paul II offered a comprehensive policy, which remains the basis for the evaluation of these situations: “Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to exercise careful discernment of situations. There is in fact a difference between those who have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage” (FC, 84). It is therefore the duty of priests to accompany such people in helping them understand their situation according to the teaching of the Church and the guidelines of the Bishop. Useful in the process is an examination of conscience through moments of reflection and penance. The divorced and remarried should ask themselves: how they have acted towards their children, when the conjugal union entered into crisis; if they made attempts at reconciliation; what is the situation of the abandoned party; what effect does the new relationship have on the rest of the family and the community of the faithful; and what example is being set for young people, who are preparing for marriage. A sincere reflection can strengthen trust in the mercy of God which is not denied anyone.
Moreover, one cannot deny that in some circumstances “imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified” (CCC, 1735) due to several constraints. Accordingly, the judgment of an objective situation should not lead to a judgment on “subjective imputability” (Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration of 24 June 2000, 2a). Under certain circumstances people find it very difficult to act differently. Therefore, while supporting a general rule, it is necessary to recognize that responsibility with respect to certain actions or decisions is not the same in all cases. Pastoral discernment, while taking into account a person’s properly formed conscience, must take responsibility for these situations. Even the consequences of actions taken are not necessarily the same in all cases. [This paragraph reached the required ⅔ of the Fathers (177 votes) by 1 votes, 178-80]
86. The path of accompaniment and discernment guides the faithful to an awareness of their situation before God. Conversation with the priest, in the internal forum, contributes to the formation of a correct judgment on what hinders the possibility of a fuller participation in the life of Church and Church practice which can foster it and make it grow. Given that gradualness is not in the law itself (cf. FC 34), this discernment can never prescind from the Gospel demands of truth and charity as proposed by the Church. This occurs when the following conditions are present: humility, discretion and love for the Church and her teaching, in a sincere search for God's will and a desire to make a more perfect response to it. [This paragraph reached the required ⅔ of the Fathers (177 votes) by 13 votes, 190-64]
October 24, 2015 - Pope Francis Concluding Synod Address:
...It was about bearing witness to everyone that, for the Church, the Gospel continues to be a vital source of eternal newness, against all those who would “indoctrinate” it in dead stones to be hurled at others. It was also about laying bare the closed hearts which frequently hide even behind the Church’s teachings or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families.
October 28, 2015 – Pope Francis’ Interview with Scalfari:
Pope Francis: What do you think of the conclusions of the Synod on the family?
Scalfari: The compromise that the Synod had reached did not seem to take into account the changes had had taken place in the family in the past fifty years, [and] therefore to try to recover the traditional family is an objective that is completely unthinkable. The open Church that you want finds herself before an equally open family, for better or for worse, and this is what the Church finds before her.
Pope Francis: It is true, it is a truth and for that matter the family that is the basis of any society changes continuously, as all things change around us. We must not think that the family does not exist any longer, it will always exist, because ours is a social species, and the family is the support beam of society, but it cannot be avoided that the real-world family, open as you say, contains some positive aspects, and some negative ones. And how are these differences manifested? The negative aspects are the dislike or even the hatred between the new spouses and those of the first [marriage], if there was a divorce; the limited sense of brotherhood especially among children of parents partially or totally different, a different kind of fatherhood swinging between mutual indifference or mutual friendship. The Church ought to work in a way so that the positive elements prevail over the negative ones. This is possible, and we will do this. The diverse opinion[s] of the bishops is part of this modernity of the Church and of the diverse societies in which she operates, but the goal is the same, and for that which regards the admission of the divorced to the Sacraments, [it] confirms that this principle has been accepted by the Synod. This is bottom line result, the de facto appraisals are entrusted to the confessors, but at the end of faster or slower paths, all the divorced who ask for it will be admitted.”
November 2, 2015 - Fr. Lombardi, papal spokesman, said regarding the Scalfari interview of October 28, 2015:
As has already occurred in the past, Scalfari refers in quotes what the Pope supposedly told him, but many times it does not correspond to reality, since he does not record nor transcribe the exact words of the Pope, as he himself has said many times. So it is clear that what is being reported by him in the latest article about the divorced and remarried is in no way reliable and cannot be considered as the Pope's thinking.
November 10, 2015 - Pope Francis’ Speech in Florence:
...Pelagianism leads us to trust in structures, in organizations, in planning that is perfect because it is abstract. Often it also leads us to assume a controlling, harsh and normative manner. Norms give Pelagianism the security of feeling superior, of having a precise bearing. This is where it finds its strength, not in the lightness of the Spirit’s breath. Before the evils or problems of the Church it is useless to seek solutions in conservatism and fundamentalism, in the restoration of obsolete practices and forms that even culturally lack the capacity to be meaningful. Christian doctrine is not a closed system, incapable of raising questions, doubts, inquiries, but is living, is able to unsettle, is able to enliven. It has a face that is supple, a body that moves and develops, flesh that is tender: Christian doctrine is called Jesus Christ. The reform of the Church then — and the Church is ‘semper reformanda’ — is foreign to Pelagianism. She is not exhausted in the countless plans to change her structures. It instead means being implanted and rooted in Christ, allowing herself to be led by the Spirit. Thus everything will be possible with genius and creativity….
November 15, 2015 - Pope Francis answers question from Lutheran woman during a visit of the Evangelical Lutheran Church to Rome
Q. My name is Anke de Bernardinis and, like many women in our community, I am married to an Italian, who is a Roman Catholic Christian. We have lived happily together for many years, sharing joys and sorrows. And so we greatly regret being divided in faith and not being able to participate together in the Lord’s Supper. What can we do to achieve, finally, communion on this point?
Pope Francis: ...It is true that, in a certain sense, to share means there aren’t differences between us, that we have the same doctrine–I underline that word, a word that’s difficult to understand. But I ask myself: but don’t we have the same baptism? And if we have the same baptism, shouldn’t we be walking together? You are a witness to a profound journey, because it is a journey of marriage, a journey of the family and of human love and of a shared faith, no? We have the same baptism. … When you teach your children who Jesus is, why Jesus came, what Jesus did for us, you are doing the same thing, whether in the Lutheran language or the Catholic one, but it’s the same.... Eh, there are explanations, interpretations.’ Life is bigger than explanations and interpretations. Always refer back to baptism. ‘One faith, one baptism, one Lord.’ This is what Paul tells us, and from there take the consequences.... "I would never dare to give permission for this, because it’s not my jurisdiction. ‘One baptism, one Lord, one faith.’ Talk to the Lord and then go forward. I don’t dare to say anything more."
http://aleteia.org/2015/11/16/pope-francis-stirs-communion-controversy-at-lutheran-gathering-in-rome
November 20, 2015 - Pope Francis’ Address to the Participants in the Convention sponsored by the Congregation of the Clergy
..I tell you honestly, I’m afraid of rigidity, I am afraid. Rigid priests.... Stay away! They bite you! And I recall an expression of St Ambrose, from the fourth century: “Where there is mercy there is the spirit of the Lord, and where there is rigidity there are only his ministers”. A minister without the Lord becomes rigid, and this is a danger to God’s people. Be pastors, not officials… They enter young, they seem healthy but when they feel confident the illness begins to emerge…. When I realize that a young man is too rigid, too fundamentalist, I do not have confidence; in the background there is something that he himself does not know. But when they feel confident.... Ezekiel 16, I cannot remember the verse, but it is when the Lord tells his people all that he did for them: he found them when they were just born, and he clothed them, he espoused them.... “And then, when you felt secure, you prostituted yourself”. It is a rule, a rule of life. Eyes open to the mission in seminaries. Eyes open.
November 30, 2015 - Pope Francis in-flight press conference from Africa:
Q. ...We know that condoms are not the only method of solving the epidemic, but it’s an important part of the answer. Is it not time for the Church to change it’s position on the matter? To allow the use of condoms to prevent more infections?
Pope Francis: The question seems too small to me, it also seems like a partial question. Yes, it’s one of the methods. The moral of the Church on this point is found here faced with a perplexity: the fifth or sixth commandment? Defend life, or that sexual relations are open to life? But this isn’t the problem. The problem is bigger...this question makes me think of one they once asked Jesus: “Tell me, teacher, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? Is it obligatory to heal?” This question, “is doing this lawful,” … but malnutrition, the development of the person, slave labor, the lack of drinking water, these are the problems. Let’s not talk about if one can use this type of patch or that for a small wound, the serious wound is social injustice, environmental injustice, injustice that...I don’t like to go down to reflections on such case studies when people die due to a lack of water, hunger, environment...when these problems are no longer there, I think we can ask the question “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”... I would say not to think about whether it’s lawful or not to heal on the Sabbath, I would say to humanity: “make justice,” and when all are cured, when there is no more injustice, we can talk about the Sabbath.
Q. … Today more than ever, we know that fundamentalism threatens the entire planet. We also saw this in Paris. Before this danger, do you think that religious leaders should intervene more in the political field? ...the religious “dignitaries,” bishops and imams?
Pope Francis: ...Fundamentalism is a sickness that exists in all religions. We Catholics have some, not just some, so many, who believe they have the absolute truth and they move forward with calumnies, with defamation and they hurt (people), they hurt. And, I say this because it’s my Church, also us, all of us. It must be combatted. Religious fundamentalism isn’t religious. Why? Because God is lacking. It’s idolatrous, as money is idolatrous. Making politics in the sense of convincing these people who have this tendency is a politics that we religious leaders must make, but fundamentalism that ends up always in tragedy or in crime, in a bad thing comes about in all religions a little bit.
December 8, 2015 - Pope Francis Remarks for Opening of Holy Door at St. Peters:
...The Jubilee challenges us to this openness, and demands that we not neglect the spirit which emerged from Vatican II, the spirit of the Samaritan, as Blessed Paul VI expressed it at the conclusion of the Council...
December 14, 2015 - Pope Francis' Homily at Casa Santa Marta:
...they have no horizons, they are men who are locked in their calculations, they are slaves to their rigidity...In this Year of Mercy – the Pope said - there are these two paths: one of those who hope in God’s mercy and know that God is the Father; and then there are those who take refuge in the slavery of rigidity and know nothing of God's mercy… the closed, legalistic slave of his own rigidity....
December 15, 2015 - Pope Francis Remarks for Opening of Holy Door at St. John Lateran
..God does not love rigidity. He is Father; He is tender; everything (is) done with the tenderness of the Father.
January 9, 2016 - Pope Francis’ book-length interview The Name of God is Mercy:
...we must avoid the attitude of someone who judges and condemns from the lofty heights of his own certainty, looking for the splinter in his brother’s eye while remaining unaware of the beam in his own. Let us always remember that God rejoices more when one sinner returns to the fold than when ninety-nine righteous people have no need of repentance. ...he [the one seeking repentance] needs to find an open door, not a closed one. He needs to find acceptance, not judgment, prejudice, or condemnation. He needs to be helped, not pushed away or cast out. Sometimes, when Christians think like scholars of the law, their hearts extinguish that which the Holy Spirit lights up in the heart of a sinner when he stands at the threshold, when he starts to feel nostalgia for God.
I would like to mention another conduct typical of the scholars of the law, and I will say that there is often a kind of hypocrisy in them, a formal adherence to the law that hides very deep wounds. Jesus uses tough words; he defines them as “whited sepulchers” who appear devout from the outside, but inside, on the inside... hypocrites. These are men who live attached to the letter of the law but who neglect love; men who only know how to close doors and draw boundaries. Chapter 23 of the Gospel of Matthew is very clear on this; we need to return there to understand what the Church is and what it should never be. He describes the attitudes of those who tie up heavy burdens and lay them on other men’s shoulders, but who are unwilling to move so much as a finger; they are those who love the place of honor and want to be called master. This conduct comes when a person loses the sense of awe for salvation that has been granted to him. When a person feels a little more secure, he begins to appropriate faculties which are not his own, but which are the Lord’s. The awe seems to fade, and this is the basis for clericalism or for the conduct of people who feel pure. What then prevails is a formal adherence to rules and to mental schemes.
When awe wears off, we think we can do everything alone, that we are the protagonists. And if that person is a minister of God, he ends up believing that he is separate from the people, that he owns the doctrine, that he owns power, and he closes himself off from God’s surprises. “The degradation of awe” is an expression that speaks to me. At times I have surprised myself by thinking that a few very rigid people would do well to slip a little, so that they could remember that they are sinners and thus meet Jesus. I think back to the words of God’s servant John Paul I, who during a Wednesday audience said, “The Lord loves humility so much that sometimes he permits serious sins. Why?
If the confessor cannot absolve a person, he needs to explain why, he needs to give them a blessing, even without the holy sacrament… The love of God exists even for those who are not disposed to receive it… The very fact that someone goes to the confessional indicates an initiation of repentance, even if it is not conscious.
January 15, 2016 - Pope Francis’ Audience with Ecumenical Delegation of the Lutheran Church of Finland; Intercommunion occurs at St. Peters
Pope Francis: “...Your dialogue is making promising progress towards a shared understanding, on the sacramental level, of Church, Eucharist and Ministry. These steps forward, made together, lay a solid basis for a growing communion of life in faith and spirituality, as your relations develop in a spirit of serene discussion and fraternal sharing…”
Lutheran ‘Bishop’ Salmi on receiving communion in St. Peter’s Basilica after the papal meeting:
“I myself accepted it [Holy Communion]... this was not a coincidence… At the root of this there is, without a doubt, the ecumenical attitude of a new Vatican… The pope was not here at the mass, but his strategic intention is to carry out a mission of love and unity. There are also theological adversaries in the Vatican, for which reason it is difficult to assess how much he can say, but he can permit practical gestures.”
The diocese of Helsinki later said in a statement on January 20, 2016 that the Lutheran intercommunion at St. Peter’s Basilica was an “error that occurred in the distribution of communion,”: “Only members of the Catholic Church in the state of grace may receive the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist, or Holy Communion… The new mindset of Pope Francis that is mentioned in the article is not a sign that the Catholic Church is going to change its practice with regard to the distribution of the Holy Eucharist.” https://s3.amazonaws.com/lifesite/Translation_of_Finnish_Catholic_Information_Service_statement.pdf
February 9, 2016 - Pope Francis’ Address to the Missionaries of Mercy
...If someone comes to you and feels something must be removed from him, but perhaps he is unable to say it, but you understand … it’s all right, he says it this way, with the gesture of coming. First condition. Second, he is repentant. If someone comes to you it is because he doesn’t want to fall into these situations, but he doesn’t dare say it, he is afraid to say it and then not be able to do it. But if he cannot do it, ad impossibila nemo tenetur. And the Lord understands these things, the language of gestures. Have open arms, to understand what is inside that heart that cannot be said or said this way … somewhat because of shame … you understand me. You must receive everyone with the language with which they can speak...
February 15, 2016 - Pope Francis’ Meeting with Families in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico
Humberto and Claudia Gomez, a couple civilly married since Humberto was never married, while Claudia is divorced with three children, said to the pope: “Those that remarry can not access the Eucharist, but we can enter into communion through the brother in need... that is why we volunteer at hospitals. We visit the sick….”
Pope Francis: … There is, on the other hand, what the witness of Humberto and Claudia made evident when they explained how they tried to convey to others the love of God that they experienced through service and generous giving. Laws and personal commitment make a good duo that can break the spiral of uncertainty. And you have the inspiration, you pray, and you are united to Jesus, and you are involved in the life of the Church. You used a beautiful expression: “Let us take communion with the brother who is weak, ill, needy, in prison”. Thank you….
It is true that living in family is not always easy, and can often be painful and stressful but, as I have often said referring to the Church, I prefer a wounded family that makes daily efforts to put love into play, to a family and society that is sick from isolationism or a habitual fear of love...
February 18, 2016 - Pope Francis' in-flight press conference from Mexico:
Q. Holy Father, for several weeks there’s been a lot of concern in many Latin American countries but also in Europe regarding the Zika virus. The greatest risk would be for pregnant women. There is anguish. Some authorities have proposed abortion, or else to avoiding pregnancy. As regards avoiding pregnancy, on this issue, can the Church take into consideration the concept of “the lesser of two evils?”
Pope Francis: Abortion is not the lesser of two evils. It is a crime. It is to throw someone out in order to save another. That’s what the Mafia does. It is a crime, an absolute evil. On the ‘lesser evil,’ avoiding pregnancy, we are speaking in terms of the conflict between the fifth and sixth commandment. Paul VI, a great man, in a difficult situation in Africa, permitted nuns to use contraceptives in cases of rape. Don’t confuse the evil of avoiding pregnancy by itself, with abortion. Abortion ...is an evil in and of itself, but it is not a religious evil in the beginning, no, it’s a human evil. Then obviously, as with every human evil, each killing is condemned….. On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one, or in the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear. I would also urge doctors to do their utmost to find vaccines against these two mosquitoes that carry this disease. This needs to be worked on.
Q. Does that mean they [the divorced and remarried] can receive Communion?
Pope Francis: This is the last thing. Integrating in the Church doesn’t mean receiving communion. I know married Catholics in a second union who go to church, who go to church once or twice a year and say I want communion, as if joining in Communion were an award. It’s a work towards integration, all doors are open, but we cannot say, ‘from here on they can have communion.’ This would be an injury also to marriage, to the couple, because it wouldn’t allow them to proceed on this path of integration. And those two were happy. They used a very beautiful expression: we don’t receive Eucharistic communion, but we receive communion when we visit hospitals and in this and this and this. Their integration is that. If there is something more, the Lord will tell them, but it’s a path, a road.
February 19, 2016 - Fr. Lombardi clarifies that Pope Francis did refer to condom usage:
Q. Regarding the strategies for combating the spread of Zika virus, advocated by WHO, Pope Francis reiterated that abortion is a crime, an absolute evil. The media talk today of an opening of the Pope to contraception. What can you tell us about that?
Fr. Lombardi: ... Now it is not that he says that this action [artificial contraception] is acceptable and may be used without any discernment, indeed, he made it clear that it can be considered in cases of special urgency. The example that Paul VI made and the authorization to use the pill for the religious who were at very serious risk, and ongoing violence by the rebels in the Congo, at the times of the Congo war tragedies, suggests that it is not that it was a normal situation in which this was taken into account. And also - remember for instance - the discussion followed a passage from the book of Benedict XVI interview "Light of the World", in which he spoke about the use of condoms in situations at risk of infection, for example, with AIDS.So, the contraceptive or condom, in particular cases of emergency or gravity, could be the object of serious discernment of conscience. This is what the pope said. Meanwhile, regarding abortion he did not give room for consideration... in any case, avoid recourse to abortion and, if there were any major emergencies, then a well-formed conscience can see whether there are any possibilities or need of recourse to non-abortifacients to prevent pregnancy.
March 19, 2016 - Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia:
3. Since “time is greater than space”, I would make it clear that not all discussions of doctrinal, moral or pastoral issues need to be settled by interventions of the magisterium… Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs.
292. Christian marriage, as a reflection of the union between Christ and his Church, is fully realized in the union between a man and a woman who give themselves to each other in a free, faithful and exclusive love, who belong to each other until death and are open to the transmission of life, and are consecrated by the sacrament, which grants them the grace to become a domestic church and a leaven of new life for society. Some forms of union radically contradict this ideal, while others realize it in at least a partial and analogous way. The Synod Fathers stated that the Church does not disregard the constructive elements in those situations which do not yet or no longer correspond to her teaching on marriage.
297. … ‘No one can be condemned for ever, because that is not the logic of the Gospel!’…
298. The Church acknowledges situations “where, for serious reasons, such as the children’s upbringing, a man and woman cannot satisfy the obligation to separate” (Footnote 329) John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (22 November 1981), 84: AAS 74 (1982), 186. In such situations, many people, knowing and accepting the possibility of living “as brothers and sisters” which the Church offers them, point out that if certain expressions of intimacy are lacking, “it often happens that faithfulness is endangered and the good of the children suffers” (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, 51) [GS 51 relates the difficulties of periodic continence/NFP for married couples abstaining from sex]
299. … Such [divorced and civilly remarried] persons need to feel not as excommunicated members of the Church, but instead as living members, able to live and grow in the Church and experience her as a mother who welcomes them always, who takes care of them with affection and encourages them along the path of life and the Gospel.
300. … Priests have the duty to “accompany [the divorced and remarried] in helping them to understand their situation according to the teaching of the Church and the guidelines of the bishop….Useful in this process is an examination of conscience through moments of reflection and repentance. The divorced and remarried should ask themselves: how did they act towards their children when the conjugal union entered into crisis; whether or not they made attempts at reconciliation; what has become of the abandoned party; what consequences the new relationship has on the rest of the family and the community of the faithful; and what example is being set for young people who are preparing for marriage. A sincere reflection can strengthen trust in the mercy of God which is not denied anyone”...Given that gradualness is not in the law itself (cf. Familiaris Consortio, 34), this discernment can never prescind from the Gospel demands of truth and charity, as proposed by the Church….These attitudes are essential for avoiding the grave danger of misunderstandings, such as the notion that any priest can quickly grant “exceptions”, or that some people can obtain sacramental privileges in exchange for favours…. there can be no risk that a specific discernment may lead people to think that the Church maintains a double standard.
301. … Hence it is can no longer simply be said that all those in any “irregular” situation are living in a state of mortal sin and are deprived of sanctifying grace. More is involved here than mere ignorance of the rule. A subject may know full well the rule, yet have great difficulty in understanding “its inherent values”, or be in a concrete situation which does not allow him or her to act differently and decide otherwise without further sin.
302. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly mentions these factors: “imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit, inordinate attachments, and other psychological or social factors”. In another paragraph, the Catechism refers once again to circumstances which mitigate moral responsibility, and mentions at length “affective immaturity, force of acquired habit, conditions of anxiety or other psychological or social factors that lessen or even extenuate moral culpability”...
303. Recognizing the influence of such concrete factors, we can add that individual conscience needs to be better incorporated into the Church’s praxis in certain situations which do not objectively embody our understanding of marriage….Yet conscience can do more than recognize that a given situation does not correspond objectively to the overall demands of the Gospel. It can also recognize with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal. …
305. For this reason, a pastor cannot feel that it is enough simply to apply moral laws to those living in “irregular” situations, as if they were stones to throw at people’s lives. This would bespeak the closed heart of one used to hiding behind the Church’s teachings, “sitting on the chair of Moses and judging at times with superiority and superficiality difficult cases and wounded families”. Along these same lines, the International Theological Commission has noted that “natural law could not be presented as an already established set of rules that impose themselves a priori on the moral subject; rather, it is a source of objective inspiration for the deeply personal process of making decisions.” Because of forms of conditioning and mitigating factors, it is possible that in an objective situation of sin – which may not be subjectively culpable, or fully such – a person can be living in God’s grace, can love and can also grow in the life of grace and charity, while receiving the Church’s help to this end (Footnote 351) In certain cases, this can include the help of the sacraments. Hence, “I want to remind priests that the confessional must not be a torture chamber, but rather an encounter with the Lord’s mercy” (Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium [24 November 2013], 44: AAS 105 [2013], 1038). I would also point out that the Eucharist “is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak” (ibid., 47: 1039).. .. By thinking that everything is black and white, we sometimes close off the way of grace and of growth, and discourage paths of sanctification which give glory to God.
308. … I understand those who prefer a more rigorous pastoral care which leaves no room for confusion. But I sincerely believe that Jesus wants a Church attentive to the goodness which the Holy Spirit sows in the midst of human weakness. The Church’s pastors, in proposing to the faithful the full ideal of the Gospel and the Church’s teaching, must also help them to treat the weak with compassion, avoiding aggravation or unduly harsh or hasty judgements. The Gospel itself tells us not to judge or condemn.
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