Posts Tagged synod of bishops
Europe’s fractious Catholics set out their views in synod questionnaire / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Future of the Church, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on June 2, 2015
Like their counterparts around the world, Europe’s bishops’ conferences are supposed to have been engaged in a listening process for next October’s Synod of Bishops on the family.
“And while little has been divulged officially so far about the views collected from Catholic respondents, it’s been possible to glean some measure of the strong feelings being expressed.
“When the Vatican sent out the final report of the synod’s October 2014 Extraordinary Assembly, it asked bishops to conduct an ‘in-depth examination’ and seek out ‘practical solutions’ to the ‘innumerable challenges’ identified at the synod sessions.
“It circulated 46 questions, as part of the lineamenta, or preparatory documents, about family ministry and how the church could best tackle issues such as homosexuality, divorce and remarriage, contraception, and cohabitation …
“Europe’s fractious and divided church looks set to play a key role when the synod convenes in October.”
By Jonathan Luxmoore, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Voice of the Faithful 2015 National Assembly Will Take Place in Hartford, April 18
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful on March 18, 2015
Voice of the Faithful, a Roman Catholic Church reform movement focusing on issues surrounding the clergy sexual abuse scandal and the laity’s role in Church governance, will hold its 2015 National Assembly on Saturday, April 18, at the Connecticut Convention Center, Hartford.
The featured speaker will be Marie Collins, a Catholic clergy sexual abuse survivor from Ireland who pioneered child protection policies there and is on the Vatican’s Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
Organizers also have scheduled five interactive workshops to allow attendees to offer opinions and learn about VOTF activities surrounding several issues:
- Degrees of Transparency: The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing in Diocesan Financial Accountability
- Towards Healing the People of God
- Let’s Talk About It: Can Clergy & Laity Speak to Each Other as Equals
- Survivor Support: A Discussion with Fr. Tom Doyle
- Your Voice for the Synod on the Family
Collins was among the first in March 2014 whom Pope Francis appointed to his Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. She has spoken out for years on the Church’s need to provide better protection for children and justice for clergy sexual abuse survivors. She helped the Dublin Archdiocese set up its Child Protection Service in 2003 and was a member of the Lynott Committee drafting the Church’s all-Ireland child protection guidelines. She was among survivors who lobbied the Irish government for the Murphy Commission, which reported in 2009 extensive clergy child abuse and coverup in the Dublin Archdiocese. In 2012, she spoke about being a clergy abuse victim at the Vatican symposium on child sexual abuse “Toward Healing,” which was attended by Church leaders from around the world.
The documentary “A Matter of Conscience: Confronting Clergy Sexual Abuse” also will be screened at the Assembly. The film, produced by Boston College faculty members John and Susan Michalczyk, features several members of Catholic Whistleblowers, a group Catholic priests and religious formed in 2013 to support other whistleblowers and identify shortcomings in Church child protection policies.
Registration for the 2015 National Assembly is at the Voice of the Faithful website, votf.org.
Voice of the Faithful®: Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of faithful Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in the governance and guidance of the Church. More information is at votf.org.
National clergy group launches its own synod questionnaire / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Voice of the Faithful on February 26, 2015
As U.S. dioceses continue their Vatican-ordered consultations for the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family, a national clergy group has launched its own questionnaire in an effort to highlight the issues most pressing to priests.
“The Association of U.S. Catholic Priests sent a synod survey on Jan. 31 to its 1,000-plus members, asking each not to answer the 46 questions presented in the synod’s working document, the lineamenta, but instead to rank them in importance on a seven-point scale from ‘not important’ to ‘essential.’ Each question also offers comment space for priests to expand on those questions they deemed as essential.”
By Brian Roewe, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Also of interest is, “Strong Catholic Families offers simplified survey for family synod,” by Soli Salgado, National Catholic Reporter.
U.S. dioceses consult Catholics on family issues for fall synod / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Voice of the Faithful on February 17, 2015
Catholics who want to give input to their local bishops ahead of October’s global Synod of Bishops on the family have ample opportunity — but they better hurry.
“A preliminary sampling of 21 dioceses around the U.S. found all were seeking input from individual Catholics through online surveys or parish consultations, and information on how to provide that input was easily available through the local diocesan newspaper, the diocesan website, or both.
“But most dioceses in this preliminary sampling are closing the consultation in early March, and at least a few are closing the consultations as early as Friday. Many dioceses issued the invitation to participate in surveys in January. Juneau, Alaska, seems to be earliest, issuing an invitation Jan. 14.
“In 2013, Pope Francis initiated a two-year churchwide consultation on the family that included an extraordinary Synod of Bishops, which met at the Vatican in October 2014, and an ordinary Synod of Bishops, which will meet Oct. 4-25 at the Vatican and focus on the theme, ‘The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.’”
By Dennis Coday, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Reform groups’ petition asks Vatican to diversify lay voices at family synod / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Future of the Church, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 13, 2015
At the Synod of Bishops on the family held at the Vatican in October 2014, several couples from around the world were invited to attend as representatives of the Catholic laity. One American couple, Alice and Jeff Heinzen, spoke about the beauty of family life and the advantages of natural family planning, a practice embraced in the church’s teachings.
“But Deborah Rose-Milavec, executive director of FutureChurch, said, ‘While their voice and constituency should be represented, they should not be overrepresented. The purpose of the synod is to break new ground on these issues and to develop pastoral practices that reach out to Catholics who have not felt welcomed because they do not entirely conform to current teaching and practice.’
“In an effort to ‘widen the circle’ at the second synod on the family, scheduled for October 2015, reform groups FutureChurch, Voice of the Faithful and the American Catholic Council have drafted a petition calling for more diverse laity to be invited. Twenty other organizations have joined the cause. The letter, which launched Jan. 21, addresses Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, and the bishops of the world. Organizers plan to deliver it March 4 by mail and email to the bishops, and hand-deliver a copy to Baldisseri at the Vatican.”
By Soli Salgado, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
‘We have a lot of work to do’ / America
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, church reform, Future of the Church, Synod of Bishops, Women in Catholic Church on February 6, 2015
Cardinal Marx on Pope Francis, the synod and women in the church
Cardinal Reinhard Marx, archbishop of the Diocese of Munich and Freising, is head of the German bishops’ conference, a member of the Council of Cardinals that advises Pope Francis on church governance, coordinator of the Vatican’s Council for the Economy and author of Das Kapital: A Plea for Man (2008). Cardinal Marx delivered the annual Roger W. Heyns Lecture on Jan. 15 at Stanford University in California. This interview, which has been edited for clarity and approved by the cardinal, took place on Jan. 18 in Memorial Church at Stanford University.”
By Luke Hansen, S.J., America — Click here to read the rest of this interview.
Forecast: 2015 Synod of Bishops will be just as stormy as last time / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on February 3, 2015
Just a day before America’s big game, Pope Francis set the stage for the Vatican’s equivalent of the 2015 Super Bowl by confirming 48 prelates as members for October’s Synod of Bishops on the Family, after they had been chosen by their bishops’ conferences around the world.
“It’s not yet a complete lineup; other bishops’ conferences still have to submit their picks. In addition, the pope presumably will appoint the heads of Vatican offices as members of the Oct. 4-25 summit, and also will make a handful of personal picks.
“Looking only at Saturday’s (Jan. 31) crop, however, one point already seems clear: There’s absolutely no reason to believe the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be any less contentious than last year’s edition, which featured a vigorous, and occasionally nasty, back-and-forth over issues such as homosexuality and divorce.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this article.
Cardinal sparks row over whether Church teaching on family can change / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in church reform, Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on January 28, 2015
During a recent Vatican summit, the top official at the Synod of Bishops stirred controversy by reportedly telling participants they should not be ‘shocked’ by theologians questioning Church teaching on matters such as marriage and family life.
“Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri also reportedly said that if the aim of the synod is simply to repeat established Church teaching and discipline, then it would be ‘senseless’ to hold it.”
By Ines San Martin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Catholic organizations post open letter to let bishops know 2015 Synod on the Family needs broad input
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Voice of the Faithful on January 22, 2015
Should only bishops be heard at 2015 Synod on the Family?
Voice of the Faithful®, along with 15 other Catholic organizations, is issuing an open letter calling on the world’s bishops to widen the circle of auditors and experts invited to the 2015 Synod of Bishops on the Family.
In part, the letter states: “We urge the Vatican Synod office to make every effort to include a wide diversity of Catholics, especially those from the constituencies being discussed: divorced and remarried people; cohabitating couples; interfaith families; impoverished families; single parents; families with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender members; same-sex couples; and families torn by the violence of war and abuse.”
Click here to read and sign the letter and offer additional comment. You have until March 3. The letter then will be sent to all English-speaking bishops and Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops. The Ordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family takes place this October.
COR (Catholic Organizations for Renewal), to which VOTF belongs, also has put up a website to help facilitate input into the synod — OurCatholicFamily.org — And Click here to download sample letters and resources from fellow COR member FutureChurch. These will help you communicate your views to your bishop.
Click here to review the Lineamenta the Vatican has sent to bishops around the world to outline the parameters of the synod and the process of collecting input.
Voice of the Faithful® is a worldwide movement of faithful Roman Catholics working to support survivors of clergy sexual abuse, support priests of integrity and increase the laity’s role in governance and guidance of the Church.
Vatican asks for wide input on 2015 synod, not based on doctrine / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Pope Francis, Synod of Bishops, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on December 9, 2014
For the second time in two years, the Vatican has asked national bishops’ conferences around the world to seek input from Catholics at ‘all levels’ about how the church should respond to sometimes difficult questions of modern family life, such as divorce and remarriage.
“Issuing a document in preparation for a second worldwide meeting of Catholic bishops on family life next year, the Vatican has also stressed the need for mercy in responding to such difficult situations — even asking the bishops to avoid basing their pastoral care solely on current Catholic doctrine.
“The call for input came Tuesday in a document released by the Vatican’s Office for the Synod of Bishops, which in October 2015 will to host the second of two global bishops’ meetings called by Pope Francis for 2014 and 2015.
“The document is partly a summary of the last meeting in October and partly a series of 46 questions meant to help prepare for the next synod. The Vatican synod office is sending the document in coming days to bishops’ conferences around the world.”
By Joshua J. McElwee, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Voice of the Faithful
A lay movement for governance reform in the Roman Catholic Church, responding to the clergy sexual abuse scandal and supporting survivors.
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