The only thing that’s changed is everything

2610 words, 13 min read

Yesterday, at the closing mass of the Synod on the Family, Pope Francis concluded his homily with the following words:

“There is a [...] temptation, that of falling into a “scheduled faith”. We are able to walk with the People of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother. We run the risk of becoming the “many” of the Gospel who lose patience and rebuke Bartimaeus. Just a short time before, they scolded the children (cf. Mark 10:13), and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him. They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus. In the end, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on his path (cf. v. 52). He did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus. Dear Synod Fathers, we have walked together.”

To my mind, these few lines sum up the Synod perfectly, by presenting two poles: one, characterized by rules, clarity and predictability and the other by an path that twists and turns, that is full of surprises, but where we are walking not only among Jesus’ friends, but side-by-side with Jesus himself.

Detractors of the Synod have already declared it a failure, a preservation of the status quo, a “no change” of doctrine, a failure for not opening up access to the Eucharist for the divorced and remarried and a giving-in to African pressures on gays. They, however, are precisely the group for whom Pope Francis had harsh words in the speech he delivered after the Synod Fathers voted on the final report (the Relatio Finalis) paragraph-by-paragraph:

“[The Synod] 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 closed hearts that frequently hide even behind the Church’s teachings or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, and judge difficult cases and wounded families.”

Instead of being a failure, I believe, that the Synod was a dramatic first step along the path that Pope Francis presented the week before, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops. In that landmark speech, Francis shared his vision of a synodal Church, a Church that is on a journey with Christ in the present moment:

“A synodal Church is a Church of listening, knowing that listening “is more than hearing”. It is a mutual listening in which everyone has something to learn. Faithful people, the College of Bishops, Bishop of Rome: each one listening to the others; and all listening to the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of truth” (Jn 14:17), to know what he “says to the Churches” (Rev 2:7).”

In such a synodal Church, authority too changes, and becomes rooted in the cross, as Pope Francis explains:

“Let us never forget it! For the disciples of Jesus, yesterday, today and always, the only authority is the authority of service, the only power is the power of the cross, in the words of the Master: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority over them felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.”(Mt 20: 25-27). It shall not be so among you: in this expression we reach the heart of the mystery of the Church - “it shall not be so among you” - and receive the necessary light to understand hierarchical service.”

Pope Francis is also very clear, in the homily he delivered on the morning of the Synod’s last day, about a consequence of being a journeying, synodal Church also being constant change. However, since the journeying party includes Jesus, it is not a thrashing about or a bending with the wind. Instead it is a tight adherence to the person of Christ, while being immersed in the ever-changing now. A freedom with rather than a freedom from or a freedom to:

“The times change and we Christians must change continuously. We must change while being firm in our faith in Jesus Christ, firm in the truth of the Gospel, but our attitude must move continuously according to the signs of the times. We are free. We are free by the gift of freedom that Jesus Christ gave us. But it is our task to look at what happens inside us, to discern our feelings, our thoughts; and what happens outside us and to discern the signs of the times. With silence, with reflection and with prayer.”

All of the above is, to my mind a beautiful spelling out of what Pope Benedict XVI meant when he said, at the beginning of the 2012-13 Year of Faith, that faith “is no theory, but an encounter with a Person who lives within the Church.”

With the above perspective, of a community walking with Jesus, where service is the basis of authority and where life is full of surprises because we aren’t following a set of instructions, but developing a relationship with Jesus instead, let us look at what the Synod on the Family was all about.

First, the Synod was a resounding endorsement of the family, as Cardinal Schönborn put very clearly:

“I think that the principal message of this Synod is the theme of the Synod: that the Catholic Church around the world, with one billion and 200 million Catholics, have discussed the topic of marriage and the family for two years, with all its positives aspects and difficulties ... This alone is a remarkable fact for our time, because the core of the message is this: a great yes to the family. The success of this Synod for me is a great yes to the family; that the family is not over, not an old model, but that it is a fundamental model of human society.”

Second, that this endorsement wasn’t just a pre-cooked message to be rubber-stamped, but that it was, instead, the result of an intense process of discernment, discussion and at times even outright verbal warfare both inside the Synod and by interests outside it. Just as examples, a letter from some cardinals to the pope got leaked and resulted in all sorts of recriminations, some cardinals accused others of being opposed to Jesus, and false news about the pope’s health was released two days before the final vote. The inappropriate nature of some of the behavior inside the Synod lead the German language working group to open their final report with the following words:

“We have observed the public statements of individual Synod Fathers regarding the people, content and course of the Synod with great dismay and sadness. This contradicts the spirit of walking together, the spirit of the Synod and its elementary rules. The images and comparisons used are not only coarse and wrong, but hurtful. We distance ourselves from them categorically.”

Third, that there was a great diversity among the Synod Fathers. One of the English language working group’s reports stated that “[o]n many [...] points there was consensus, on others there was wide if not universal agreement, and on a few there was significant disagreement.” Pope Francis too saw this very clearly, when he said in his closing speech:

“[W]e have also seen that what seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion. Cultures are in fact quite diverse, and each general principle needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied.”

To my mind this is a very positive picture, which sends a clear message that it is possible to talk about even divisive and sensitive topics openly in the Church.

Fourth, that there was a tremendous desire for unity in the Synod, in the face of the variety of disparate views represented in it. Two things evidence this very clearly. First, that all of the final report’s 94 points were accepted with a 2/3rds majority. In fact, the vast majority (something around 80% of the points) were accepted with near unanimity, and even the handful of more controversial points received support from over 2/3rds of the Synod Fathers. Second, that the German language working group, which included the strongest proponents of both positions in favor of least change (Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller) and of most change (Cardinal Walter Kasper), arrived at unanimous support for all of its reports. Cardinal Reinhard Marx, who was also in that group, gave a very intimate account of how that came about in one of the official press conferences:

“You have to argue. You can’t say I have an opinion. You must be very clear in your knowledge, to quote St. Thomas and the others. When you listen for a few minutes to Cardinal Müller, Cardinal Kasper and Cardinal Schönborn discussing about St. Thomas that is very interesting and when they say St. Thomas said this or that then he really did. So, you have to be together and say: that is the meaning of St. Thomas. [...] We had the will to make a text together. It was clear when we wouldn’t find unanimity but we tried to come together and also in the different points, for example regarding the divorced and remarried, we tried to make a text that everyone could accept as a proposal to the Holy Father. [Before the first set of reports we felt that other groups were looking to us to see whether we would find unanimity, given who we are in this group] and Cardinal Schönborn said: “The others are looking at us, so make an effort to come together.””

Fifth, the Synod presented the family as a subject, an agent, rather than an as an object, as something that needs to be managed. One of the Italian working groups put this particularly clearly:

“Given [...] that evangelization is the duty of the whole Christian people, [...] families, under the grace of the sacrament of marriage, need to become ever more subjects of pastoral care, expression of a mission that becomes visible through a concrete life, not something that is only theoretical but an experience of faith rooted in people’s real problems. Priests should therefore be trained to recognize families as subjects, valuing the skills and experiences of all: lay, religious and ordained.”

Sixth, that the sheer variety and breadth of family circumstances and factors affecting them requires closeness, tenderness and discernment to be the basis of sharing God’s love with all. No set of rules, laws, principles can be a substitute for personal relationships, and Pope Francis is very clear about this too:

“[T]he true defenders of doctrine are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit; not ideas but people; not formulae but the gratuitousness of God’s love and forgiveness. This is in no way to detract from the importance of formulae, laws and divine commandments, but rather to exalt the greatness of the true God, who does not treat us according to our merits or even according to our works but solely according to the boundless generosity of his Mercy (cf. Rom 3:21-30; Ps 129; Lk 11:37-54). It does have to do with overcoming the recurring temptations of the elder brother (cf. Lk 15:25-32) and the jealous labourers (cf. Mt 20:1-16). Indeed, it means upholding all the more the laws and commandments which were made for man and not vice versa (cf. Mk 2:27).”

An example of this personal discernment-based approach is also the proposal in the final report regarding the divorced and re-married, which says (in §85-86):

“It is [...] the task of pastors to accompany interested [divorced and civilly remarried] persons on the way of discernment in keeping with the teaching of the Church and the guidance of bishops. In this process it will be useful to make an examination of conscience through times of reflection and penitence. The divorced and remarried should ask themselves how they behaved toward their children when the conjugal union entered into crisis; if there were attempts at reconciliation; how is the situation with the abandoned partner; what consequences the new relationship has on the rest of the family and the community of the faithful; what example it offers to young people who must prepare for marriage. A sincere reflection can strengthen the trust in the mercy of God which is never denied to anyone. [...] Therefore, while upholding a general norm, it is necessary to recognize that the responsibility regarding certain actions or decisions is not the same in all cases. Pastoral discernment, while taking account of the rightly formed conscience of persons, must take responsibility for these situations. Even the consequences of the acts carried out are not necessarily the same in all cases. The process of accompaniment and discernment directs these 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 the Church and the steps that can foster it and make it grow.”

Seventh, that mercy is the root of divine love [“Misericordia est radix amoris divini”] as already St. Thomas Aquinas taught and as Pope Francis again underlined as the Synod closed and as the opening of the Jubilee of Mercy approaches:

“The Church’s first duty is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim God’s mercy, to call to conversion, and to lead all men and women to salvation in the Lord (cf. Jn 12:44-50). […] In effect, for the Church to conclude the Synod means to return to our true “journeying together” in bringing to every part of the world, to every diocese, to every community and every situation, the light of the Gospel, the embrace of the Church and the support of God’s mercy!”

One of the Synod Fathers, Fr. Antonio Spadaro SJ, the director of the Jesuit journal La Civiltà Cattolica, summed this up beautifully in a tweet today:

“After #Synod15 the #Jubilee switches from the binary logic of a door, open/closed, to that of a face, which vitally changes before another face.”

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Just in case you are left feeling short-changed about the content of the final report, the scarcity of references to it in the above post are a consequence of two facts: first, that it has no magisterial value (i.e., it is not the Church speaking to its faithful or the world through it - instead, it is a collection of ideas that serve as input for Pope Francis), and, second, that it was the shared journey of the Synod Fathers that matters rather than that document - in keeping with Pope Francis’ call for being a synodal Church instead of one that feels herself best expressed in laws, rules or documents.

Synod15: the community of those who walk with Jesus

Two days ago, in the Vatican press conference, Cardinal Schönborn provided a great synthesis of what this Synod was about:

"I think that the principal message of this Synod is the theme of the Synod: that the Catholic Church around the world, with one billion and 200 million Catholics, have discussed the topic of marriage and the family for two years, with all its positives aspects and difficulties ... This alone is a remarkable fact for our time, because the core of the message is this: a great yes to the family. The success of this Synod for me is a great yes to the family; that the family is not over, not an old model, but that it is a fundamental model of human society."

Then, regarding the question of the divorced and remarried, Cardinal Schönborn focused on discernment:

"[I]n this diversity and unity in collegiality, the question that has long interested the press but also many of our people [is] the situation of the divorced and remarried. We spoke about it, spoke about it very carefully, but the key word is the word "discernment". And I invite you all to think that there is no black or white, no simple "yes" or "no": there is to be discernment. And this is the word of St. Pope John Paul in "Familiaris Consortio" from 1984, when he says, it is obligatory, out of love for the truth, that the pastors exercise discernment because the situations are different and there is a need for the discernment of Pope Francis, good Jesuit, formed by the Exercises of St. Ignatius, this "discernment" that he learned already when young: trying to understand the situation of this couple, of that person."

Last week also saw the publication of an interview with Archbishop Paul-André Durocher, who spoke about the universal need for mercy and the actions of the Holy Spirit beyond the confines of Church teaching:

"Instead of speaking about “good families” and “hurt families,” in my small group there was a real recognition that we are all hurting and in need of God’s mercy. Mercy isn’t just for a certain category of people. We all stand in the need of God’s mercy. And, at the same time, the Spirit is working in a lot of situations that, on the face of it, do not correspond to church teaching."

The Belgian Bishop Luc Van Looy also spoke in similar terms, when he said:

"This Synod inaugurates the Church of tenderness and declares the end of the Church that divides the world into those who are good and those who bad. Not distinguishing between good families and bad families, will speak clearly of the tenderness that the Church wants to show towards any family situation."

Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, has in the meantime also published the text of his intervention at the Synod, in which he said:

"The Word of God does not present God only as a perfect Spirit, creator of heaven and earth, (as declared in the Christian Doctrine’s Second Catechism), but affirms that “God is love” (1 John 4,8.16). Saint Augustine tried to delve deeper into the path of love in God and reached the point of affirming that God is the Lover, the Beloved, and Love itself. However, he felt incapable of pursuing this path and bequeathed to us the deepening of this mystery in man and woman, in the three qualities of intelligence, memory and will. But what remained to be fully developed was the deeper understanding of the mystery of God who is Love. [...]

What is love? How can we understand and experience love? Our pathway must be found in the pathway of Him who came to us from the bossom of the Father, that is, the Son. To meet man, God who is love made himself nothing (Nazareth, Mary, Joseph, Bethlehem, the flight to Egypt. The Cross) (cf. Philippians 2:5-11).

Love passes through the incarnation and the mystery of the resurrection. Love makes itself nothing to be able to meet the other. This is the Kenotic dimension of love. Without this path it would be difficult for man and woman to find that relationship with God, but also with each other, whether man or woman. In this sense I think we could find the Trinitarian path of anthropology, not only theoretically but concretely."

And, finally, let's conclude with Pope Francis' words from the closing mass of the Synod, celebrated yesterday, where he warns against a "scheduled faith":

"There is a [...] temptation, that of falling into a “scheduled faith”. We are able to walk with the People of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take; everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother. We run the risk of becoming the “many” of the Gospel who lose patience and rebuke Bartimaeus. Just a short time before, they scolded the children (cf. 10:13), and now the blind beggar: whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to include, above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him. They, like Bartimaeus, have faith, because awareness of the need for salvation is the best way of encountering Jesus. In the end, Bartimaeus follows Jesus on his path (cf. v. 52). He did not only regain his sight, but he joined the community of those who walk with Jesus."

Pope Francis: refresh hearts, don’t hide behind Church’s teachings

The second Synod on the Family has concluded this afternoon with a vote on its final report - the Relatio Finalis - all of whose 94 points were approved with a 2/3 majority by the Synod Fathers, followed by and closing speech given by Pope Francis and then a final Te Deum. Here I would like to just share what I think are the core passages of Francis's address to the Synod, but I would very much like to encourage you to read it in full, available here in English.

Pope Francis starts by asking himself what this whole synodal process was about and first dismisses two potential false expectations:

"Certainly, the Synod was not about settling all the issues having to do with the family, but rather attempting to see them in the light of the Gospel and the Church’s tradition and two-thousand-year history, bringing the joy of hope without falling into a facile repetition of what is obvious or has already been said.

Surely it was not about finding exhaustive solutions for all the difficulties and uncertainties which challenge and threaten the family, but rather about seeing these difficulties and uncertainties in the light of the Faith, carefully studying them and confronting them fearlessly, without burying our heads in the sand."

Neither is the point here to settle all the questions, not to jus repeat what has always been said while ignoring what is going on around us. Instead, the point is a reading of reality through the eyes of the Gospel:

"It was about urging everyone to appreciate the importance of the institution of the family and of marriage between a man and a woman, based on unity and indissolubility, and valuing it as the fundamental basis of society and human life. [...]

It was about trying to view and interpret realities, today’s realities, through God’s eyes, so as to kindle the flame of faith and enlighten people’s hearts in times marked by discouragement, social, economic and moral crisis, and growing pessimism."

Francis then had some hard words for those who, like the Pharisees in Jesus' time, want to hide behind doctrine and impose unbearable burdens, but he also pointed to the fruits have have come in spite of such erroneous attitudes:

"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 closed hearts that 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. [...]

In the course of this Synod, the different opinions which were freely expressed – and at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways – certainly led to a rich and lively dialogue; they offered a vivid image of a Church which does not simply “rubberstamp”, but draws from the sources of her faith living waters to refresh parched hearts."

Next, he yet again set out his vision of a Church that is a Church of sinners, open and welcoming of all and whose mission is to spread the beauty of the Gospel:

"It was about making clear that the Church is a Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners seeking forgiveness, not simply of the righteous and the holy, but rather of those who are righteous and holy precisely when they feel themselves poor sinners.

It was about trying to open up broader horizons, rising above conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints, so as to defend and spread the freedom of the children of God, and to transmit the beauty of Christian Newness, at times encrusted in a language which is archaic or simply incomprehensible."

Francis then spoken about the heterogeneity of the Church as she is today:

"[W]e have also seen that what seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion. Cultures are in fact quite diverse, and each general principle needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied. The 1985 Synod, which celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, spoke of inculturation as “the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity, and the taking root of Christianity in the various human cultures”. Inculturation does not weaken true values, but demonstrates their true strength and authenticity, since they adapt without changing; indeed they quietly and gradually transform the different cultures."

Here Francis agains drew a golden thread from a challenging, even negative, situation to the hope that springs from the Gospel (which is reminiscent of St. Paul's "inculturating" the Gospel in his advice to slaves and slave owners and thereby sowing the seeds of that system's destruction).

After a reminder that God "desires only that “all be saved” (cf. 1 Tm 2:4)", Francis again attacked those who adhere to the letter of the law, while trampling on its spirit:

"[T]he true defenders of doctrine are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit; not ideas but people; not formulae but the gratuitousness of God’s love and forgiveness. This is in no way to detract from the importance of formulae, laws and divine commandments, but rather to exalt the greatness of the true God, who does not treat us according to our merits or even according to our works but solely according to the boundless generosity of his Mercy (cf. Rom 3:21-30; Ps 129; Lk 11:37-54). It does have to do with overcoming the recurring temptations of the elder brother (cf. Lk 15:25-32) and the jealous labourers (cf. Mt 20:1-16). Indeed, it means upholding all the more the laws and commandments which were made for man and not vice versa (cf. Mk 2:27)."

Francis then spoke powerfully about the economy of salvation and underlined its gratuitous nature and the supremacy of mercy over condemnation:

"[T]he necessary human repentance, works and efforts take on a deeper meaning, not as the price of that salvation freely won for us by Christ on the cross, but as a response to the One who loved us first and saved us at the cost of his innocent blood, while we were still sinners (cf. Rom 5:6).

The Church’s first duty is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim God’s mercy, to call to conversion, and to lead all men and women to salvation in the Lord (cf. Jn 12:44-50)."

That this is not a break with tradition - the lived tradition that is the Mystical Body of Christ as opposed to a "dead" tradition of formulae and laws not made for man - is then underlined by Francis when he spends about a sixth of his speech quoting his predecessors' teaching about mercy:

"Blessed Paul VI expressed this eloquently: “”We can imagine, then, that each of our sins, our attempts to turn our back on God, kindles in him a more intense flame of love, a desire to bring us back to himself and to his saving plan… God, in Christ, shows himself to be infinitely good… God is good. Not only in himself; God is – let us say it with tears – good for us. He loves us, he seeks us out, he thinks of us, he knows us, he touches our hearts us and he waits for us. He will be – so to say – delighted on the day when we return and say: ‘Lord, in your goodness, forgive me. Thus our repentance becomes God’s joy”.

Saint John Paul II also stated that: “the Church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy… and when she brings people close to the sources of the Saviour’s mercy, of which she is the trustee and dispenser”.

Benedict XVI, too, said: “Mercy is indeed the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God… May all that the Church says and does manifest the mercy God feels for mankind. When the Church has to recall an unrecognized truth, or a betrayed good, she always does so impelled by merciful love, so that men may have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn 10:10)”."

And in a beautiful footnote on the meaning of the family, he adds: "no family should feel alone or excluded from the Church’s loving embrace, and the real scandal is a fear of love and of showing that love concretely."

Having read and listened to the interventions, articles and interviews of and with the Synod participants, and to Pope Francis' homilies and catecheses!, over the course of the last three weeks, and now reading Francis' closing remarks at the Synod leaves me with a tremendous sense of optimism and it leaves me looking forward to what he will do next, to make the Church better positioned for a greater welcoming of all who want to be part of her. The Church is a loving mother who cannot but be close to all her children if she is to remain faithful to her Spouse's example and to His living in and among us today.

Synod15: Christians must change continuously

Today let us start with the homily that Pope Francis gave yesterday morning - the morning of the day when the Synod Fathers were reviewing the draft of the Synod's final report.

"We have this freedom of judging what happens outside us. But to judge we need to know well that which happens outside us. And how can we do that? Hon we do what the Church calls "knowing the signs of the times"? The times change. It is properly due to Christian wisdom to know these changes, know the different times and to know the signs of the times. What does one thing mean and what another. And to do this without fear, with freedom.

This is an effort that we typically don't make: we conform ourselves, we calm ourselves down with a "they told me, I heard, people say, I read ..." Like that we are clam ... But what is the truth? What is the message that the Lord wants to give me with that sign of the times? To understand the signs of the times, what is first of all needed is silence: to make silence and to observe. And then to reflect inside us. An example: why are there so many wars now. Why did something happen? And to pray ... Silence, reflection and prayer. Only like that can we understand the signs of the times, what Jesus wants to tell us.

The times change and we Christians must change continuously. We must change while being firm in our faith in Jesus Christ, firm in the truth of the Gospel, but our attitude must move continuously according to the signs of the times. We are free. We are free by the gift of freedom that Jesus Christ gave us. But it is our task to look at what happens inside us, to discern our feelings, our thoughts; and what happens outside us and to discern the signs of the times. With silence, with reflection and with prayer."

I hope they all read it before the day's work ...

Going back to the Synod, yesterday saw an extensive interview with Cardinal Schönborn, in which he was asked about implications of the proposal for the divorced and remarried made by the German language working group. In particular he was asked about whether being in a second, non-sacramental union is a permanent state of mortal sin:

"It is interesting to note that the teaching of the Church has already renounced speaking generically of mortal sin in these cases. At the beginning there is the mortal sin of adultery and often this is the case, if there is a sacramentally valid bond of marriage. But if with the passage of time a situation is created that involves also objective requirements, for example towards children born in the new union? Are they simply illegitimate children while having a Mom and a Dad? Of course, there remains the conflict between the sacramental obligation - if the marriage was valid - and the new union. But it can not simply be affirmed that the whole situation is of grave sin, because honoring the new reality and the new objective situations is also a demand of justice. Because of this, there is a need for such discernment that is able to look at the different realities of people.

The classic case is of the woman with young children abandoned by her husband. She can survive if she finds a man who is willing to welcome her and these children: it is not possible to speak simply of adultery because of a second marriage. There is also another reality of generosity and virtue in this new reality, which, however, is not sacramental. And here it is important to entrust oneself to the words of St. Thomas, and we have lived through a small conflict at the Synod between a radical Augustinianism and classical Thomism. Augustine in the "Civitas Dei" presents the idea that every act of the pagans is a vice, that there is no virtue in them. But Thomas refused this position with force and also the Fathers of the Church such as Clement of Alexandria and St. Maximus the Confessor spoke of the virtues of the pagans. The Bible itself does it with Job, a pagan ... St. Thomas explains: even though paganism is idolatry, in spite of it, pagans can perform truly virtuous acts.

Jesus is moved when faced with human suffering, as we read in the Gospels. And today Jesus embraces, and in this embrace of mercy the person feels loved and recognizes their own sin. With his catecheses last year, Pope Francis has given us a great lesson, they are so beautiful as to bring us to tears, because we learn about closeness to life, but with the eyes of the shepherd who does not coldly observe reality as a scientist or ideologist: it is truly the school of the shepherd."

Yesterday, the Anglican Bishop Tim Thornton wrote about his experience of being one of the fraternal delegates at the Synod:

"This is a pastoral synod. I struggle with the word pastoral as we so easily misuse it to mean being nice to people. I think pastoral means taking people seriously and attending to people. If that happens then how we react to them and what we do as a result of that attention will in its turn affect us.

So one of the core issues here is whether doctrine develops and if it does, does that mean change and how does the pastoral work, attending to people relate to the teaching of the church.

I think we ought in the Church of England to have something positive to say here about valuing every person and placing the incarnation at the centre of our theology and praxis. That does not mean we simply let people do what they want to do. But it does mean we pay attention to God and to people and we work in that impossible place in the middle holding on to insights from God and people as we strive to articulate what being human, loved children of God, mature disciples means in our daily lives."

In an interview yesterday, Cardinal Francesco Montenegro, the Archbishop of Agrigento, was asked about his reaction to Pope Francis' landmark speech last Saturday, to which he responded:

"The Pope has turned the pyramid on its head, with his Gospel perspective he is overturning many ways of being. These [worried] reactions [to the Pope's speech] are quite natural for me, one is disorientated. Some defend a past, some dream of a different future. I believe that a Romanian proverb says: when the caravan departs, the dogs bark. The fact that there are so many reactions is the sign that what he is proposing is something new and powerful. A bit like during the time of Saint Francis: we risked reliance on a structured Church, a faith that was a little easy, where I can please God with the little prayer and a little bit of charity. But the Pope is putting us in the street, he tells us to meet our brother when it would be more convenient for us to stop at the altar. He asks us to keep our eyes open as we pray. He explains to us that our Church, that we would like to have clean and untouched, must go out and maybe get a little dirty because it is in the street.

Once I said to Francis: Thank you because we can finally talk about the poor without becoming red in the face. Before we were almost ashamed. He is giving us a luminous image of the Church, even while wounded and dented. A Church of mercy, because those who hunger understand the hungry. A Church that lives insecurity and stands next to the least, those who have not yet come to the churches despite the slogans of the Council, because the boundary for the poor is precisely the front door of our churches. If they enter they disturb the liturgy, it is better for them to leave because they don't helps us to pray. The Pope tells us that if you want to give a true meaning to what we are and do, we need contact with the poor. Monsignor Tonino Bello said that the mutual acceptance of differences is not to feed the poor but to eat with the poor. Francis is telling us the Gospel, and we are amazed, when we should be telling him: we are living these things. He has no idea how many people tell me that they are back in the church and to the sacraments because they are touched by the Pope's witness."

As a parting gift, Pope Francis has today given a copy of Diego Fares' book "The scent of the pastor. Pope Francis' vision of the bishop." to all Synod Fathers ...

Pope Francis: the Bible is a highly dangerous book

Pope Francis has written a beautiful introduction to a new publication of the youth edition of the Bible in German - YOUCAT Bible, whose full translation I offer here:

"Dear young friends,

if you saw my Bible, it could be that you wouldn't particularly like it: What - this is the Pope's Bible! Such an old, worn book! You could give me a new one for $ 1,000, but I would not want it. I love my old Bible, which has accompanied me during half my life. It saw my joy and it got wet from my tears. It is my most precious treasure. I live from it. I wouldn't swap it for anything in the world.

The Youth Bible that you have opened, I really like. It's so colorful, so rich in testimonies - testimonies of the saints, testimonies of young people - and it entices to start a reading at the beginning and only to stop on the last page. And then…? And then you'll hide it. It disappears on a shelf, at the back of the third row. It gathers dust. One day your children then flog in a car boot sale (mercadillo). No, that mustn't happen.

I'd like to tell you something: There are more persecuted Christians today than in the early days of the Church. And why are they persecuted? They are persecuted because they wear a cross and bear witness to Jesus. They are convicted because they own a Bible. The Bible is therefore a highly dangerous book. So dangerous that you are treated in some countries as if you hoarded hand grenades in your wardrobe. It was a non-Christian, Mahatma Gandhi, who once said: "You Christians have in your care a document with enough dynamite in it to blow the entire civilization to pieces, to turn the world upside down to bring this war-torn world peace. But you are treating it as if it were merely a piece of good literature - nothing else."

So what is it that you are holding in your hands? A piece of literature? A couple of beautiful old stories? Then we'd have to say to the many Christians who have let themselves be imprisoned and tortured for the Bible: How stupid you were, it's just a piece of literature! No, by the word of God, light has come into the world. And it will never go out again. In Evangelii Gaudium (175) I said: "We do not blindly seek God, or wait for him to speak to us first, for “God has already spoken, and there is nothing further that we need to know, which has not been revealed to us”. Let us receive the sublime treasure of the revealed word."

So, what you are holding in your hands is something divine: a book like fire! A book through which God speaks. So remember: The Bible is not meant to be placed on a shelf, but to be kept close at hand, to read from it often, every day, both alone and together. You are playing sports together and go shopping together. Why don't you read the Bible in pairs, as three, four together? Out in nature, in the woods, on the beach, at night, in the glow of a few candles ... You will make a tremendous experience! Or are you perhaps scared of making a fool of yourself by suggesting that to each other?

Read with attention! Do not stay on the surface like when reading comics! Never just skim the Word of God! Ask yourself: "What does this say to my heart? Does God speak through these words to me? Does He touch me in the depths of my desires? What should I do?" Only in this way can the power of the Word of God unfold. Only in this way can our lives change, can it become great and beautiful.

I would like to tell you how I read my old Bible! I often pick it up, read a bit from it, then I put it away and let myself be looked at by the Lord. It is not I who looks at the Lord, but HE who looks at me. HE is here. I let myself be looked upon by him. And I feel - that is no sentimentality - I feel deeply the things that the Lord tells me. Sometimes he does not speak. Then I feel nothing, only emptiness, emptiness, emptiness ... But I remain there patiently, and so I wait. Reading and praying. Praying while sitting, because it hurts me to kneel down. Sometimes I even fall asleep while praying. But that does not matter. I'm like a son with the father, and that's important.

Would you like to make me happy? Read the Bible!

Your Pope Francis"

Wow! The simplicity of Francis' words and the love of God that exudes from them make me smile and wish to share them with my sons as soon as I can.

Synod15: If you fail, we stay together; you belong to us

Today saw Pope Francis make an historic announcement of a new Vatican dicastery - the Congregation for Laity, Family and Life, thereby elevating the representation and care for the laity to the same level as that of bishops, doctrine, oriental Churches, liturgy, causes of the saints, evangelization, clergy, the religious, and education - the other Vatican congregations:

"I have decided to establish a new Dicastery with competency for Laity, Family and Life, that will replace the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the Pontifical Council for the Family. The Pontifical Academy for Life will be joined to the new Dicastery. To this end I have constituted a special commission that will prepare a text delineating canonically the competencies of the new Dicastery. The text will be presented for discussion to the Council of Cardinals at their next meeting in December."

In an interview two days ago, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi gave the following answer to a question about the Biblical roots of Pope Francis' speech about the future of the Church and the discussions at the Synod:

"I would say that the entire path, the itinerary, of the New Testament is marked by a kind of constant golden thread, which is linked to the message of Christ that continues to persist to this day. But, at the same time, there is a continuous articulation of this message with very diverse forms and types. Just think about the comparison between the messages of the four Gospels that also reflect different sensitivities. Just with regard to the issue of marriage, and its indissolubility, we see that Mark's message is radical, as it is in the affirmation of Christ himself. Matthew repeats the same radicalism, but he introduces this mysterious exception, which says that he feels the pastoral problem in a complex way. We have an example of it in the experience of "reconciliation" in Jerusalem, that is certainly synodal - in Acts 15 - where, on the one hand, there is a clear record of the distinction between different positions, Judeo-Christian, and the Churches that come from the Gentiles. And, on the other hand, there is an attempt at mediation, and this is achieved in the decree of the so-called Council of Jerusalem. And this is a mediation that, it can be seen, does not solve the problem completely, that then gets resolved gradually within the history of Christianity."

Cardinal Ravasi then also spoke about the family in the context of dialogue with non-believers and of the Courtyard of the Gentiles that the Pontifical Council for Dialogue, which he leads, manages:

"In the third part this issue enters the stage - let's think about the so-called marriages with a disparity of cult - so, at their basis there is interreligious dialogue. I would say that we should perhaps emphasize that it is not only a legal matter, it is also a liturgical-pastoral one, but that it is also one of the invaluable opportunities for affirm the dialogue first and foremost interreligious dialogue, and also dialogue with non-believers. Because - as we know - the family, the family community, is one of the environments where it would be possible to make even this reality blossom, that we try to build at a broader level, and that is the reality of dialogue."

Returning to yesterday's press conference, it is worth picking up on some points made by Cardinal Reinhard Marx there. In his introductory remarks he emphasized that most people who are in touch with the Church, but also most people in general, share the same dream of one man and one woman being together forever and having children.¹

"The message the Church has to give is: your dream is right, but [if] you fail we'll stay [with] you. We stay together. You belong to us."

He then went on to emphasize the simultaneously private and public nature of the bond between the spouses:

"How can we help families? The dream they have in the beginning when they say "yes" to each other. One man, one woman, yes - that is the most intimate second, or minute, or half an hour - I don't know - in your life, but the public interest is very great. It is intimate and private, but this most intimate and private action is of most importance for the public interest. Otherwise society will not have a future. And the Church not and civilization not."

Carinal Marx was then asked a very good question about why the German language working group arrived at unanimity and whether that was because of formulations that were so generic that they could mean anything [asked by a journalist who, I'd say, very likely had not read the German text at that point]:

"We have discussed a lot and we know each other - Cardinal Müller, Cardinal Kasper, Cardinal Marx, Cardinal Koch ... and the others, also the couple who were in good contact with Cardinal Müller during their studies, when he was at the university of Mainz. So, that is a good [basis for speaking] together, to be open and say what is the meaning here and can we find a text, can we find a formulation together. And, a great effort to make theology. So, you have to argue. You can't say I have an opinion. You must be very clear in your knowledge, to quote St. Thomas and the others. When you listen for a few minutes to Cardinal Müller, Cardinal Kasper and Cardinal Schönborn discussing about St. Thomas that is very interesting and when they say St. Thomas said this or that then he really did. So, you have to be together and say: that is the meaning of St. Thomas. [...] We had the will to make a text together. It was clear when we wouldn't find unanimity but we tried to come together and also in the different points, for example regarding the divorced and remarried, we tried to make a text that everyone could accept as a proposal to the Holy Father. [Before the first set of reports we felt that other groups were looking to us to see whether we would find unanimity, given who we are in this group] and Cardinal Schönborn said: "The others are looking at us, so make an effort to come together.""

Asked about the concept of the "internal forum", mentioned in the German but also other working group reports, he then explained:

"No, that is not a commission. No! Not the commission! [he laughs :)] That is the sheltered way with the priest, so it was clear, and that was one of the very important points of our study of St. Thomas Aquinas, by Cardinal Müller and Kasper. At the weekend they came back and said: "I read St. Thomas" ... that we have to look on the different situations - that is also Familiaris Consortio - to discern the things in a situation and also - that is St. Thomas - to look at what are the principles, what is the application to the special situation and to the special person in their situation. And St. Thomas is very clear in it. So, that is not possible in a great commission. That is the normal challenge for pastoral accompanying of a person in a spiritual way - that is the task of the priest. But, we have given also some criteria. [Here Cardinal Marx provides a summary of the criteria from the group's report.] The forum internum means that these criteria are not a public process but that it is a spiritual way and then you can find a way of whether it is possible to make a reconciliation."

In response to a question where theology and doctrine were used interchangeably, he responded:

"Theology and doctrine is not the same thing. You have to look at what the Church defines at different levels. I am astonished that many people speak about doctrine. They have no idea what doctrine is. We have different levels. Opinio certa, de fide definita, revealed truth, doctrine of the Church, and so on ... So, that's the first point. The doctrine is the tradition of the Church. The tradition of the Church is not a closed shop, but a living tradition. Between Casti Conubii, the Encyclical of Pius XI, and Familiaris Consortio is a way - its not the same. Between Vatican Council I and II there is a way. They are not the same! I cannot understand that these normal things are not clear. We don't change the truth but we find the truth. The truth owns us, we don't own the truth. The truth is a person we meet. That's the point."

In response to another question, Cardinal Marx gives an example of a lack of "synthesis" - maybe consistency - in the current Catholic theology of marriage:

"There is a lack of synthesis in the theology of marriage. [...] When two persons who have left the Protestant church marry in a German registry office, they receive the sacrament of marriage, because canon law says: every marriage contract between two baptized is automatically sacrament. And I said to myself, as a student, is this possible? Perhaps in other cultures, in the past, where everybody was Catholic ... And also Cardinal Müller sees it. We work together. We must deepen these studies to look at the relationship between faith and sacrament."

And as a closing point, he quoted from Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice:

"The quality of mercy is not strain'd,
It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven
Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;"

Today also saw the publication of an interview with Cardinal Walter Kasper in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, where he responded to a question about why there are attempts made to influence the Synod:

"Because some people are nervous and now look with apprehension towards the outcome of the Synod, from within and from the outside. Moreover some do not like this Pope, that seems obvious to me. Maybe they tried to influence us, but we do our work, the Pope is in good shape. It is a vain attempt."

To a question about whether he felt hurt when he was accused of being opposed to Pope Benedict XVI:

"It is unfair to involve Pope Benedict in matters of the Synod. And then, with Ratzinger we have known each other for over fifty years! We have always cooperated, also during his pontificate ... There were also different positions, but this is normal, in theology: Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure have supported different things, and they're both saints!"

Then, he was asked about how come his working group, which included Cardinal Müller and himself always voted unanimously for its reports:

"Yes, and there was good cooperation between Müller and me, there has never been a rift that some thought. I hope we can move in the direction indicated by our working group. Of course no one wants to touch doctrine. This is a pastoral matter, a matter of discipline. For admission to the sacraments you look at the person's conscience, the "internal forum", one indicates the authority of the bishop. We must distinguish individual situations, it is clear, no one wants a generalized solution, for all."

Then, in another instance of fisticuffs among the cardinals, Cardinal Francis Arinze had some sharp words for Cardinal Reinhard Marx yesterday, after Marx said that “[t]he advice to refrain from sexual acts in the new relationship not only appears unrealistic to many. It is also questionable whether sexual actions can be judged independent of the lived context”:

“You might as well tell the man who is walking in the office, and his secretary is a lady, that it is unreasonable to expect them to be chaste. Likewise, it would be ‘unreasonable’ to expect people to be honest when they see a chance to take government money, or to take another person's property. [...] You cannot name a situation which Christ did not foresee, nor can you tell us that you are wiser than Christ and that you can modify what he has said. We will then ask you, ‘who do think you are? Greater than Christ?’ He is the way the truth and the life.”

Let's again conclude though with this morning's great homily by Pope Francis:

""Oh, Father, can we think that sanctification comes from the effort that I make, like victory, for those who do sport, comes from training?" No. The effort that we make, this daily work of serving the Lord with our soul, with our hearts, with our bodies, with our whole life, only opens the door to the Holy Spirit. It is Him who enters us and save us! He is the gift in Jesus Christ! If it were otherwise, we would be self-sufficient ascetics: no, we are not self-sufficient ascetics. We, with our effort, open the door. [...]

Some months ago I met a woman. A young mother of a family - a good family - who had cancer. A bad cancer. But she moved with happiness, as if she was healthy. And speaking of that attitude, he said: 'Father, I put it all towards conquering cancer!' So is the Christian. We who have received this gift in Jesus Christ and have passed from sin, from a life of iniquity to a life of being a gift in Christ, in the Holy Spirit, we must do the same. Every day one step. Every day one step."

---

¹ I have taken the liberty of changing some of the conjunctions and other terms used by Cardinal Marx [indicated in square brackets - but not always as I was doing that at the same time as transcribing ...], who spoke in English and who in the beginning started in German, saying that he will be able to express himself in a more nuanced way like then, only to be asked by Fr. Lombardi to speak English since not all journalists had access to the simultaneous translation.

Synod15: martyrdom of a document (Part 3)

The reports of the 13 working groups on the third and last part of the Instrumentum Laboris - "The Mission of the Family Today" - have now been published and I will again share an overview of their common themes here, with the same nomenclature as I did for the first and second part.

Please, note that these reports are much extensive (at 16K words) than those on the fist and second parts (both at 12K words), which is indicative both of this third part being the most extensive in the Instrumentum Laboris and of the topics discussed here being the most controversial.

With that in mind, here is again a selection of the contents of the English, Italian, Spanish and German reports, grouped by topic:

1. Family as subject of evangelization.
   G: "To clearly emphasize the family as a pastoral subject it needs to become understood that Christian families are called to witness to the Gospel of marriage, which is entrusted to them through their lives. Christian couples and families are therefore part of the new family of Christ, his Church. So may married couples be a sacrament for the world."
   IA: "The family as the subject of evangelization (and not only as an object of care) is to be preserved in its being "domestic church", where the Gospel makes its home in prayer, spirituality and the daily life of the couple and their children (in the diversity of families), beyond all idealism or resignation to the present time."
   IB: "Given the fact that evangelization is the duty of the whole Christian people, [...] the necessity emerged for families, under the grace of the sacrament of marriage, to become ever more subjects of pastoral care, expression of a mission that becomes expressed through the concrete life, not something that is only theoretical but an experience of faith rooted in people's real problems. In this perspective, priests should be trained to recognize such being subjects, valuing the skills and experiences of all: lay, religious and ordained."
   AB: "The group stressed that the family is not just the object of evangelization but an active subject, agent, and source of evangelization. The family carries out the work of evangelization within the family cell itself, through the self-giving love of the spouses, through the education to unselfish affectivity of children, and being a transforming leaven in society. The actual living out of family communion is a form of missionary proclamation. The mission and witness of evangelization finds its roots in the sacraments of initiation: baptism, confirmation, and Eucharist."


2. New language.
   G: "An appropriate and renewed language is decisive, especially for the leading of adolescent children and young people to a mature human sexuality. This is primarily the responsibility of parents and must not be left solely to the schools or the media and social media. Many parents and pastoral workers find it difficult to find a proper and at the same time respectful language that presents the aspects of biological sexuality in the overall context of friendship, love, enriching complementarity and mutual self-giving of man and woman."


3. On gender.
   G: "The Christian view derives in principle from God having created the person as male and female and having blessed them, that they may be one flesh and be fruitful (Gn 1:27f; 2:24) Being man and being woman are God's good creation, both in their personal dignity and in their distinctness being equal. According to the Christian understanding of the unity of body and soul, biological sexuality ("sex") and socio-cultural gender roles ("gender") can be analytically distinguished from each other, without it being possible to fundamentally or arbitrarily separate them. All theories that view the gender of a person as an a posteriori construct and want to promote its arbitrary exchangeability in society, are to be rejected as ideologies. The unity of body and soul is consistent with the concrete social self-understanding and social roles of men and women in various cultures to be differently expressed and subject to change."


4. Dignity and responsibility for women.
   G: "Becoming aware of the full personal dignity and public responsibility of women is a positive sign of the times, which the Church values and promotes."


5. Sacramentality of marriage. G: "In no longer homogeneous Christian societies or countries with different cultural and religious backgrounds, it can not be assumed that a Christian understanding of marriage is present even among Catholics. A Catholic who does not believe in God and His revelation in Jesus Christ can not automatically perform a sacramental marriage without, or even against, his knowledge and his will. What is lacking is intention, or at least the wish for that to happen, which the Church understands by it. Although sacraments do not come about by the faith of the recipient, they can not do so without them or even against them; at least is is a Grace that remains fruitless, because it is not received with faith, which is determined by love, and taken on with free will. [...] We recognize the diversity of studies that exist about this issue and recommend an in-depth study of these issues with the aim of a magisterial revaluation and greater coherence of the dogmatic, moral theological and canon law statements regarding marriage with pastoral practice."


6. Valuing mixed marriages.
   G: "Regarding the issue of mixed marriage, we ought to mention especially its positive aspects and the special calling of such marriage, since non-Catholic Christians are in no way outside the One Church, but belong to her through baptism and a certain, albeit incomplete, communion with the Catholic Church (cf. UR 3). Interdenominational marriage too is to be regarded as a domestic church and has a specific vocation and mission, which consists in an exchange of gifts within the ecumenism of life."
   AC: "Some were keen to stress that mixed marriages, while they present challenges, also present great opportunities; and in general we felt that there was need to speak more positively about both mixed marriages and disparity of cult. Disparity of cult can present great challenges in some situations - more so with some religions than others - but such marriages can also be a prime locus of an interreligious dialogue which has its feet on the ground. That is a value in itself. We proposed that the Synod recommend that a special rite for the celebration of interreligious marriages be devised."


7. Family and the state.
   G: "Without families there can be no community. Therefore, the political community is obliged to do everything possible to facilitate these "living cell" and to permanently promote them. The oft-lamented "structural disregard" towards families has to be overcome. Means to this are mainly access to housing and employment, the facilitation of education and childcare, as well as fair family benefits in tax legislation, which recognize the contribution of families to society in an equitable manner. It must be clear: It is not the family that has to subordinate itself to economic interests, but vice versa."


8. Parenthood.
   G: "In accordance with God's order of creation, conjugal love of man and woman and the transmission of human life are directed to one another. God has called men and women to participate in his own creative work and speak to being interpreters of his love, and has placed the future of humanity in their hands. This creative mission is to be realized by man and woman through responsible parenthood. They should, in front of God, take into consideration their health, economic, psychological and social situation, their own welfare and the welfare of their children, such as the welfare of the whole extended family and of society to judge the number and temporal spacing of their children (GS 50). In accordance with the personal and humanly all-encompasing nature of conjugal love, the right way of family planning is the mutual agreement reached through conversation between spouses, the consideration of the rhythm and the respect for the dignity of the partner. In this sense, the Encyclical Humanae vitae (10-12) and the Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio (14, 28-35) should be newly developed [or presented - "erschlossen"] and readiness for children be reawakened in the face of a mentality that is often hostile to life and partially hostile to children."
   IC: "The theme of generation ought to be the subject of a catechesis that promotes the beauty of an opening to the gift of life for the family and society. The desire for a large family clashes with economic and cultural conditioning practices that decrease the desire for more generous birth rates and require family policies in support of the fecundity of the family."
   AA: "[W]e 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."


9. Divorced and re-married.
   G: "The first criterion comes from St. Pope John Paul II in FC 84 where he invites "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. Finally, there are those who have entered into a second union for the sake of the children's upbringing, and who are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous and irreparably destroyed marriage had never been valid." It is therefore a task for the shepherds, to follow this path of distinction together with the concerned parties. Here it will be helpful to undertake steps together in an honest examination of conscience, of refelction and of penance. Like that, the divorced and remarried should ask themselves how they have dealt with their children, as the marital union fell into crisis? Were there attempts at reconciliation? What is the situation of the abandoned partner? What is the impact of the new partnership on the other family, and the community of believers? What impact in terms of being role models is there on younger ones who could decide for marriage? An honest reflection can strengthen trust in the mercy of God, which is denied no one who brings his failure and his need before God. Such a path of contemplation and penance, in the internal forum, in view of the objective situation in conversation with the confessor, can contribute to the personal formation of conscience and to clarify how far access to the sacraments is possible. Everyone must examine themselves in accordance with the words of the Apostle Paul, which apply to all who approach the table of the Lord: "A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. ... If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under judgment"(1 Cor 11:28-31)."
   HA: "Jesus shows closeness and as Christians, like Jesus, we must do the same because, as St. Augustine said, "become what you receive". There is a need, therefore, to integrate the divorced a re-married through a "via caritatis" that would allow for opening doors and be close to those who are injured. [...] The "path of charity" is a pastoral approach that welcomes is close, while the "judicial path" arouses suspicion and distrust in many and there is no doubt that many of our marriages are not true sacraments. It is not enough to talk about ways of mercy and closeness, we must arrive instead at specific proposals because we will, otherwise, remain at the level of nice words, but empty ones."
   IC: "The Fathers have agreed on four points: remove some forms of liturgical, educational, pastoral exclusion that still exist; promote ways of human, family and spiritual integration by priests, experienced couples and counselors; in order to participate in the community, without prejudice to the current doctrine, discern individual situations in the internal forum under the guidance of the bishop and designated priests, with common criteria according to the virtue of prudence, while educating the Christian community to welcoming them; entrust to the Holy Father a deeper understanding of the relationship between the medicinal and communal aspects of Eucharistic communion, with regard to Christ and the Church."
   IB: "Concerning the discipline regarding divorced and remarried, to date, it is not possible to establish general criteria covering all cases, which are sometimes very different from each other. There are remarried divorcees that walk according to the Gospel, offering significant witness to charity. At the same time, there is no denying that, in certain cases, there are factors that limit the ability to act differently. [...] Limitations and constraints then become a call to discernment, primarily by the bishop, that is to be accurate and respectful of the complexity of such situations."
   IA: "Regarding the situation of those who have experienced the failure of marriage, members of the working group have agreed on the need to engage with them in a way that takes special care to distinguish among the variety of circumstances, however, while promoting paths of faith, of reconciliation and of integration into the ecclesial community. The importance of these paths including a careful and prudent pastoral discernment under the final authority of the Bishop was reaffirmed; Episcopal Conferences are called to mature common criteria adapted to the situations of the respective particular Churches."
   AC: "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"."
   AA: "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."


10. Joy and the cross.
    HB: "Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, we must remain alert, scanning the horizon to offer hope, joy and commitment to Jesus and the Church, in the face of the complaints of the eldest son who was hurt and upset that his father cared for the lost son and celebrated [his return]. In Jesus crucified and forsaken all the pains of humanity flow together. In communion with Him we all feel welcomed."


11. Marriage preparation.
    IC: "There is a need to move from "courses" of preparation to a "path" of involvement of the couple in the Church's life and of the Church in the path of the couple, translating it into a real journey of "initiation". [...] Here the future is dedided of the Church and society that requires a real change of mentality, to which are called not only believers, but all those who care about the future of humanity. Especially in the formation of priests, present and future, and all those who love the family (from couples with experience to all with a variety of relevant skills) we will require a more focused preparation for the new challenges."
    IA: "[I]t is the task of the ecclesial community to offer a permanent journey of catechesis that accompanies all stages of life and involves families, without being limited to the immediate preparation for the sacraments. What is being proposed, with the help of associations and movements, are formation programs that introduce a person gradually to the life of grace, that teach how to find the center and unifying principle of the meaning of life in a relationship with the Lord Jesus and that give witness to the Gospel in daily commitments."


12. Civil marriage and cohabitation.
    IC: "Cohabitation and civil marriages: the Fathers, while critically assessing these different experiences, have strongly reaffirmed the need to lead them to maturity, with a closeness that takes away the allure of trial relationships, favoring ways that promote human development, of growth of faith and working, housing and cultural conditions fit for arriving at a definitive matrimonial choice."
    AC: "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."
    AB: "Care should be taken to identify elements that can foster evangelization and human and spiritual growth. Attention should be given, for example, to find those aspects of relationships established by civil marriage, traditional marriage, and with obvious differences co-habitation, which might then lead to growth towards a full celebration of sacramental marriage with the completion it brings."


13. Homosexual persons.
    IC: "The Fathers recommend to focus pastoral care on families that include homosexual persons, and on the formation of competent pastoral workers. They call for a deeper understanding of the anthropology of the topic."
    AC: "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."
    AA: "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. The Church as the spouse of Christ patterns her behavior after the Lord Jesus whose all-embracing love is offered to every person without exception. Parents and siblings of family members with homosexual tendencies are called to love and accept these members of their family with an undivided and understanding heart."


14. Affectivity and sexuality.
    IB: "It is also necessary to announce the positive meaning of corporeality, the language of love that has mutual donation as its grammar and, at the same time, to point out the value and beauty of continence and chastity."
    IA: "Particular attention should be paid to emotional growth, teaching a love capable of self-giving and relationships that are not compromised by a desire to possess, without fear of exploring the Christian virtues able to regenerate relationships and make them shine, first among them being chastity - the positive principle of a way of acting that looks after the other and oneself in the truth of love."
    AB: "In sexual loving, the married couples experiences God’s tenderness. The Church’s teaching on sexuality – including the meaning of chastity – must stress the beauty, joy, and richness of human sexuality and the place of sexual love in a committed, exclusive, and permanent relationship. The rich Christian vision of sexuality is in many places being undermined by a narrower and impoverished understanding."


15. Apology for lack of mercy.
    G: "In a misconceived effort to uphold Church teaching, pastoral care has repeatedly lead to harsh and merciless attitudes that have brought about people's suffering, in particular single mothers and illegitimate children, via people in pre-marital and non-marital partnerships, via people with a homosexual orientation and to the divorced and remarried. As bishops of our Church we ask them for forgiveness."


16. Comments on the working of the Synod:
    G: "We have observed the public statements of individual Synod Fathers regarding the people, content and course of the Synod with great dismay and sadness. This contradicts the spirit of walking together, the spirit of the Synod and its elementary rules. The images and comparisons used are not only coarse and wrong, but hurtful. We distance ourselves from them categorically." [Cardinal Marx said in the press conference today that this was provoked by Cardinal Pell's comments about Cardinal Kasper.]

Synod15: Jesus came not for the healthy but for the sick

In an interview yesterday, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay, spoke at length about his long-standing care for gay people, which became very public when, as the only religious leader in India he opposed its re-criminalization of homosexuality:

"Initially it began with involvement in civil law with banning homosexuality. I felt that was not right–indiscriminately putting everybody in same category. Therefore, I spoke, saying the Church was not in favor of this. This was a bit of a surprise to many people because of what they think the Church teaches. You must make a distinction with an individual, who is absolutely part of the Church, who we must care for, and who might have a [homosexual] orientation. You can’t put them in chains, or say we have no responsibility whatsoever. The law was struck down, but now it’s back again.

Subsequently, I met a few people also. I realized their goodness, that many people do not realize. They are often painted one way and the images are bad. My own view is that the Church has to be all-embracing, inclusive. and take care of everybody. Our moral principles are clear. I would be too worried that we are breaking our moral code or that the Church’s principles are shattered because we say that we are pastoral. The Catechism has said also that they must be cared for. Some people say you are going too far.

To not be welcoming would not be a Catholic attitude. It would not be Christ’s attitude, certainly. We have to be very compassionate, understanding, and open to people. [...]

[T]he Church is an all-embracing mother. The Church is mother and teacher. The mother does not send her children away, no matter what."

Yesterday also saw the publication of the intervention of Hervé Janson, the superior general of the Little Brothers of Jesus, who is the only non-priest participating in the Synod as a full member with voting rights. Brother Hervé spoke with great humility and evoked a strong sense of closeness with the families his order cares for:

"[B]y our vocation, in the imitation of Jesus of Nazareth, we live among the people in their neighborhoods, shoulder to shoulder with very simple families who often struggle as best they can to live and bring up their children. We are witnesses of so many families who, for me, are models of holiness; they are the ones who will receive us into the kingdom! And sometimes, I suffer from what our mother the church imposes on their backs, burdens which we ourselves would not be able to support, as Jesus said to the Pharisees! For there are many women and men who suffer from being rejected by their pastors."

He then gave some specific examples of families in need of welcome and closeness, and asked what Jesus would have done:

"I am thinking of these African Christian women I knew when I lived in Cameroon, spouses of a polygamous Muslim husband: they felt excluded from the church, unaccompanied, very much alone.

Among others, I think of a Belgi[an] family, good friends of mine; one of their daughters has admitted that she has lesbian tendencies, is living with another young woman and has decided to have a child through artificial insemination. The problem is how the parents should react, precisely as Christians parents. They have showered her with treasures of sensitivity, tenderness, and proximity!

Is the church not also a family and should it not have the same attitudes toward these men, these women so often helpless, in doubt and in darkness, feeling themselves excluded. What kind of proximity? What kind of accompaniment? What sort of attitude would Jesus have and what would he do in our place, as Father de Foucauld always asked himself?

He was filled with compassion when he saw the abandoned crowds.

He restored hope to this Samaritan woman by speaking to her, this foreign heretic in the eyes of the Jews, she who had had five husbands! “If you knew the gift of God!”"

And, finally, Brother Hervé presented a beautiful synthesis of what Pope Francis has been teaching every since the start of his pontificate:

"We who are all sinners, are invited to love one another and to let ourselves be comforted and healed by Jesus who came not for the healthy but for the sick. The Eucharist is the food of those who are in the process of forming the Body of Christ.

The mercy of God is for everyone. Jesus did not come to judge but to save what was lost. He gave his apostles and their successors a heavy responsibility with regard to his mercy: that of binding it or loosening it. Let us be firmly attached to Jesus and let us loosen through the Spirit which makes us free and links us together to Life."

And, finally, let us conclude again with the words of Pope Francis from this morning's homily, where he spoke about God's boundless love:

"How does God give [...] us our salvation? He gives it to us like he says he'll give it to us when we do a good deed: he will give us a good measure, pressed down, full, overflowing ... But this suggests abundance and this word 'abundance' is repeated three times [in today's first reading]. God gives in abundance to the point where Paul summarizes it like this: 'Where sin increased, grace overflowed all the more'. Overflows, everything. And this is the love of God: without measure. All of himself.

The heart of God is not closed: it is always open. And when we arrive, like that son, he embraces us, kisses us: a God who celebrates.

God is not a mean God: He does not know meanness. He gives everything. God is not a God who stands still: He looks, waits for us to convert ourselves. God is a God who goes out: he goes out to look for us, to look for each one of us. But is this true? Every day he looks for us, he is looking for us. As he has already done, as he has already said, in the Word of the lost sheep and the lost coin: search. It is always like that.

It's true, we have the habit of always measuring situations, things with the measures we have: and our measures are small. Because of this, we will do well to ask the Holy Spirit's grace, pray to the Holy Spirit, the grace come closer at least a little bit, to understand this love and have the desire to be hugged, kissed with that measure without limits."

Synod15: Gospel is mercy, guilt is useless

In his intervention during a General Congregation last week, Cardinal Reinhard Marx spoke about two topics. First, the need for a renewed marriage preparation and the subsequent accompanying of married couples:

“The Church’s marriage preparation and accompanying must not be driven by moral perfectionism. Neither can pastoral care be one of the “all or nothing”. It is much more about a differentiated perception of the various life and love experiences of people. Our eyes should be directed less at what (still) does not succeed in life, or perhaps fails thoroughly, and more what already succeeds. It is usually not the raised finger, but the outstretched hand, that motivates people to pursue the path of sanctification. We need a ministry that values ​​the experience of people in loving relationships and that is able to awaken spiritual yearning. The sacrament of marriage is to be announced above all as a gift that enriches and strengthens marriage and family life, and less as an ideal that is to be achieved by human power. As essential as lifelong fidelity is to the unfolding of love, so the sacramental nature of marriage should not be reduced to its indissolubility. It is a comprehensive relationship that unfolds.”

Cardinal Marx then proceeds to argue for an admission of some divorced and civilly-remarried to the Eucharist, where the core of his argument is the following:

“From a perspective of sacramental theology, two things are to be borne in mind. Can we, in good conscience, exclude all divorced and civilly remarried faithful from the Sacrament of Reconciliation? Can we deny them a reconciliation with God and the sacramental experience of God’s mercy, even when they sincerely repent for the breakup of their marriage? Regarding the question of admission to sacramental communion, it must be remembered that the Eucharist not only represents the union of Christ and his Church, but that it also renews that union repeatedly and strengthens the faithful on their path of sanctification. Both these principles of admission to the Eucharist, namely the witness of the unity of the Church and a participation in the means of grace, can sometimes be in tension. The Council says in the Decree Unitatis Redintegratio (no. 8): “Witness to the unity of the Church very generally forbids common worship to Christians, but the grace to be had from it sometimes commends this practice.” Beyond Ecumenism, this statement is also of fundamental pastoral importance. In his Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, the Holy Father added, with reference to the teaching of the Church Fathers: “The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness.” (no. 47)”

To bring this topic closer to lived experiences, Bishop Alonso Gerardo Garza spoke to the Synod about a boy from his diocese, who shared the Eucharist he received with his divorced and re-married parents:

“During catechism classes, what remained imprinted in his heart and in his mind were a few things: the first is that Jesus is really present in every part of the Eucharist, no matter how small, the second is the importance of not keeping Jesus only to ourselves, but to take him to our friends and families. Finally when communion was spoken about during catechism, there was also an emphasis on parents and godparents approach the sacrament of confession and the Eucharist.

In this boy, these concepts were very clear and they led him to giving a piece of the host that he received to his parents, because he saw that they are good, they accompanied him to catechism, they all went to church together and he did not understand why a priest could not give the host to them while he could receive it himself.”

When asked in an interview what he expects to see in terms of the divorced and re-married, Cardinal Donald Wuerl responded:

“I do not know what the result will be. But we have already got one, a really positive step: it is clear that Pope Francis wants a Church in which everyone’s concerns are heard. I do not know what will happen at the end of this week. It seems to me that the outcome of the synod is to tell the whole world that in the Catholic Church we can have arguments and that the principle of God’s love is the norm. We have to understand how to bring people to God.”

Surprisingly, even Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller is reported by the German language Vatican Radio to have said that, in extreme cases, some divorced and civilly-remarried could be admitted to receiving the Eucharist (pointing to paragraph 84 of St. John Paul II’s Familiaris consortio, where such an option is proposed where repentance and abstinence from sexual intercourse are the conditions). Cardinal Müller added that “it would be possible to think more in this direction.”

In an interview yesterday, Fr. Antonio Spadaro, SJ spoke very clearly about a key challenge that underlies the topics discussed at the Synod, which is that of how the Church and world are to relate:

“You can not illuminate reality without having listened to it first. Man is not an alien element to the preaching of the Gospel: the Gospel is not an abstract doctrine that sets out to hit men from the outside, like a stone. It is to be incarnated in the lived lives, in experiences; sometimes also conflicting, sometimes instead serene ... So, this dimension of the relationship with reality, with actual experience, is fundamental. The Gospel must enlighten lives in their concreteness.”

When asked about whether there is a need for a rediscovery of sin, Fr. Spadaro argued:

“The proclamation of the Gospel, i.e., that the Lord died for us, died for me, is not a proclamation of sin. So, it is important to understand the reality of the Gospel well. The proclamation of the Gospel is a proclamation of mercy: in the light of the mercy of the Lord’s forgiveness, I understand my sin, I comprehend my sin, because the risk is to fall into a kind of great sense of guilt. Then, if the perception of the merciful God is lacking, the sense of sin is only a sense of guilt, that is often useless.”