Tuesday Conference

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Theology e-weekly

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Dear Father,
Tuesday Conference r each es its 22nd issue w ith an
article on the most celebrated synod, on the title The 94 Thesis
Final Document of the Synod. This document has been
welcomed by most as a carefully crafted work of art which seeks to
balance the very different views and cultural perspectives of all
Synod participants. Rather than producing any groundbreaking
theological developments, it showcases a new, more inclusive way
of working.
The Churchs first duty is not to hand down condemnations
or anathemas, but to proclaim Gods mercy, to call to conversion,
and to lead all men and women to salvation in the Lord.
The perfect family doesnt exist, not is there a perfect
husband or a perfect wife, and lets not talk about the

perfect mother-in-law! Its just us sinners. If we learn

to say were sorry and ask forgiveness, the marriage
will last.

-Pope Francis

Page - 02

No doctrinal developments, no doctrinal surprises, no

doctrinal backflips. No changes in praxis or discipline.

Relazione Finale (Final Report)

Synod
document is

rather a
beautiful
commendation
of large
families and of
the witness of
happily
married
spouses and
their children
as agents of
evangelization.

The Synod Fathers

approved by 177 votes out of
265, a two-thirds majority,
the final Relatio of the 14th
Ordinary General Assembly
of the Synod on the Family,
made up of 94 paragraphs,
each one of which was voted
on individually.
Only two of the 94 paragraphs showed a disparity in the
voting, were approved by a very slender majority of 178 and 180
votes, both of them surrounding the topic of pastoral care for
divorced and remarried persons.

The Grammar of the Relazione Finale

The key word in this process unsurprisingly
under a Jesuit Pope is discernment, or the ability to
listen, learn and respond to personal stories.
There is no black and white
answer, no simple yes or no as
some insisted, instead its
necessary to discern in each case.
Discernment is that Pope Francis
knows a lot about; with his Jesuit
background
of
the Spiritual
Exercises of St Ignatius, he has
been doing it all his life.

Regarding Proposals to equivalent to marriage to unions between

homosexual persons, there is no foundation whatsoever to
assimilate or establish even remotely analogous between
homosexual unions and God's plan for marriage and the family.

Page - 03

The synod rejects all forms of coercion by the state in

favor of contraception, sterilization and abortion.

Part 1, the synod looks at the challenges facing the family both in the
socio-cultural and religious context today, amid anthropological changes in society.
It refers to :

the resistance of young people to definite commitments,

speaks of the falling birthrate in many places.
speaks of an exasperated individual culture and the ideology of gender,
which denies the natural difference and reciprocity between man and woman.
The synod gives particular attention to migrants, refugees, the homeless, the
itinerant people, the untouchables and those affected by illnesses that bear a social
stigma. It emphasizes the churchs duty here to assist them, and especially migrant
families.
The text shows great sensitivity to the poverty and economic difficulties
which so many families are living in, difficulties that also prevent young people
from marrying.
Part 2 focuses on th e
vocation of the family, and looks at it from a
biblical perspective. It speaks:

the churchs teaching on the family,

starting from the Second Vatican Council

through the teachings of Paul VI ,

John Paul II, Benedict XVI , Francis...

Part 3, w h ich w as th e most discussed and disputed section,

looks at the mission of the family in todays world.
Indeed, the most heated discussion in the synod revolved around one theme
in this chapter: the controversial question of whether Catholics who have divorced
and civilly remarried could, under certain circumstances, receive communion. A
sizeable group of synod fathers, including three cardinals heading Roman Curia
Offices (Ouellet, Sarah and Pell), sought to totally exclude this possibility from the
text but in the end they failed.

Synod on marriage

Page - 04

Are at increase:
number couples living together without marriage or canonical or civil. .
number of those who, after living together for a long time, ask for the
celebration of marriage in church .
All these situations must be addressed in a constructive manner, trying to turn
them into opportunities journey of conversion towards the fullness of marriage
and the family in the light of the Gospel.

The marriages with disparity of cult represent a privileged place for

inter-religious dialogue in everyday life, and can be a sign of hope for religious
communities, especially where there are situations of tension.
To deal constructively with diversity in order to faith, you must pay
particular attention to people who join in such marriages, not only in the run-up to
the wedding.

Synod on Homosexuals
Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community.
Are we capable of providing for these people, a place of fellowship in our
communities? Oftentimes, they want to encounter a Church which offers them a
welcoming home. Are our communities capable of this, accepting and valuing their
sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and
matrimony?
(From the interim report of the synod )
When faced with families that
live the experience of having within them
persons with homosexual tendencies,
the Church reaffirms that every person
independent of their own sexual
tendency.
they must be respected in their dignity
and welcomed with respect.
take care to avoid every mark of
unjust discrimination.

On the Divorced and Remarried

Page - 05

People separated or divorced but have not remarried who are often
witnesses of marital fidelity, must be encouraged to find in the Eucharist the food
that sustains them in their state.
The faithful who are divorced and civilly remarried need to be

more integrated in the Christian communities, avoiding any chance of

scandal. The logic of integration is the key to their pastoral care.

They not only do not have to feel excommunicated.

but can live and grow as living members of the Church.
she takes care of them with affection and encourages them in the path of life and
of the Gospel.
-The most contested paragraph of the whole report. The
Pastors are obliged to discern situations. There is indeed a difference between:
1. those who have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been
unjustly abandoned.
2. those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid
marriage.
3. those who have contracted a second marriage for the sake of the children, and
are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous marriage,
irreparably broken, had never been valid.
The interview 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.
Through these 4 paragraphs (83-84-85-86) the synod recommends to the
Pope that the path be opened for the integration of them. Nowhere does it close the
door to the possibility that Catholics w h o ar e divor ced and r em ar r ied
may, under certain circumstances, be allowed to receive communion.

Other Top Proposals

Page - 06

OPEN TO LIFE AND SEX EDUCATION

MARRIAGE PREPARATION

Parents must be involved in the

sexual education of their children and
not leave it up to others. It is key for
their stability and for the success of
their future marriage.

It must be improved. Offering

only six classes before the wedding is
not enough. Also, couples who have
been married for years, should be more
involved in helping younger couples, in
some of the challenges they face.

MIGRANT FAMILIES

It did not ignore the struggles of

those fleeing from war and poverty. The
challenges faced by families who had to
leave their country to start a new life is
deep. It ask dioceses and parishes work
to ensure their dignity.

EDUCATING CONSCIENCES

The Synod proposes that a priest

must help those falling short to develop
awareness through reflection, so they
can understand their personal situation
before God.

Now we need Rome to tell the world

After reading on the recent Synod, we are left
with one memorable image. It is the image of two
young people in love and hoping to marry and then
cruelly separated, for 17 years, while the man was
imprisoned by an unjust regime and his fiance did
not know whether he was alive or dead, she kept
faithful to their mutual promise of a life together
until, they were reunited and could get married.
Who was telling this story in the synod hall?
Their daughter, Dr Anca-Maria Cernea (Romania) on 16th October. As she
reminded the Cardinals, The Churchs mission is to save souls. Evil, in this world,
comes from sin. Not from income disparity or climate change. The solution is:
Evangelization and Conversion.
Now we need Rome to tell the world: Repent of your sins and turn to
God for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.
Sometimes in history, when men in the Church are too cowardly to do
their duty, God shames them by calling a woman to do it for them. St.
Joan of Arc and St. Catherine of Sienna come to mind.

Page - 07

CONCLUDING SPEECH: POPE FRANCIS

As I followed the labours of the Synod, I asked myself: What will it mean for
the Church to conclude this Synod devoted to the family? Cer tainly,
the Synod:
Rather the synod:

was not about settling all the

issues having to do with the

family.

was about urging everyone to appreciate

the importance of family & of marriage

about making clear that the Church is a

Church of the poor in spirit & of sinners
seeking forgiveness, not simply of the
righteous and the holy.

was

not
about
finding
solutions for all the difficulties
and uncertainties.

True Defenders of Doctrine

not those who uphold its letter; but its
spirit.

not ideas; but people.

not formulae; but the forgiveness.

Will Pope Francis write an Apostolic Exhortation ???

Yes, there will be an Apostolic Exhortation of the Pope. I believe that
Francis will be more rapid in preparing it.
When?? A year is too much. Experts in management tell me that if eight
months pass by without saying anything then people return to the starting point
and its necessary to re-do the whole process.
The church has always been weak when it
comes to follow-up, but, the fruit of the synod
cannot just be a document, however good. The
ideal follow-up would consist of particular synods,
he added. Each bishop when he returns home
holds a synod with his people, both priests
and laity, to discuss how to realise the
possibilities opened by the synod on the
family.
-the Father General of the Jesuits, Adolfo Nicols, S.J., who attended the synod.
Published from Vincentian Vidyabhavan, Aluva.