Posts Tagged synod on the family
Synod small groups suggest much work remains in finding consensus / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Catholic Bishops, Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 15, 2015
With the conclusion of the second round of small group discussions, consensus is emerging around a few key themes at the synod on the family: The working document needs a lot of work, the Church should speak more clearly and positively about Catholic marriage, and couples need catechetical resources, or ‘best practices’ as one group put it, to help them sustain their commitments.
“Dig a bit deeper into the reports released Wednesday (Oct. 14), however, and it becomes clear that bishops are still grappling with a variety of more difficult issues–cohabitation, domestic abuse, women’s leadership, and the growing reality that young people just aren’t that into marriage. These inquiries serve as something of a preview to next week’s discussion.”
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
‘Yes, we can!’ emerges as rallying cry at 2015 synod / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 14, 2015
Given the blindingly obvious fact that there are deep divisions at the 2015 Synod of Bishops, various ways of analyzing those fault lines have been proposed. Some see them in terms of the difference between a deductive and inductive approach, some between meeting the world halfway versus not being swallowed up by it, and so on.
“As the synod rolls into its second week (week of Oct. 12), yet another way of understanding the fundamental divide is coming into focus: The gap between those who believe the demands of classic Catholic teaching on sex, marriage, and the family may be unrealistic or inappropriate for some share of the contemporary population, and those convinced that it’s widely attainable in the here-and-now.
“Perhaps one could call the latter position the “Yes We Can!’ brigade at the 2015 synod.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this commentary.
Synod bishops may punt the tough issues to the local level / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Vatican, Voice of the Faithful on October 9, 2015
As bishops wrap up the first week of deliberations about family life, hints are emerging that complex pastoral challenges could ultimately be addressed not with sweeping changes in Rome, but at the local level.
Could national bishops’ conferences come up with their own rules about annulments, Communion, and how to minister to gays and lesbians?
Maybe.
By Michael O’Loughlin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Archbishop: Synod should reflect on possibly allowing female deacons / Catholic News Service
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Voice of the Faithful on October 6, 2015
Canadian Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher of Gatineau, Quebec, said the synod should reflect on the possibility of allowing for female deacons as it seeks ways to open up more opportunities for women in church life.
“Where possible, qualified women should be given higher positions and decision-making authority within church structures and new opportunities in ministry, he told Catholic News Service Oct. 6.
“Discussing a number of proposals he offered the synod fathers to think about, he said, ‘I think we should really start looking seriously at the possibility of ordaining women deacons because the diaconate in the church’s tradition has been defined as not being ordered toward priesthood but toward ministry.’
“Currently, the Catholic Church permits only men to be ordained as deacons. Deacons can preach and preside at baptisms, funerals and weddings, but may not celebrate Mass or hear confessions.
By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service, in National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this story.
Synod Notebook: On Day One, a debate about process and taking things off the table / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Synod on the Family, Voice of the Faithful on October 6, 2015
As the 2015 Synod of Bishops gets underway, two things seem clear. One is that many prelates seem determined to stay positive as much as possible, playing down their differences and trying to shift the discussion away from controversial matters toward areas of potential common ground.
“The other is that real tensions over issues, as well as the synod process, may make that goal awfully hard to achieve.”
By John L. Allen, Jr., Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
List of participants augurs another rollicking synod on the family / Cruxnow.com
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Synod of Bishops, Voice of the Faithful on September 15, 2015
While most of the protagonists from last year’s hotly debated Synod of Bishops on the family will be back for Round Two, the Vatican made it official on Tuesday (Sept. 15) that one star of last year’s show will be conspicuously absent: US Cardinal Raymond Burke, who emerged as a champion of the traditionalist camp last year.”
By Ines San Martin, Cruxnow.com — Click here to read the rest of this story.
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.
Are things looking up for women in the church? / National Catholic Reporter
Posted by Voice of the Faithful in Voice of the Faithful, Women in Catholic Church on May 7, 2015
A plethora of conferences about women have popped up all over Rome in the last three months. The Vatican’s former hard-line freeze on discussing women’s roles may at last be thawing out.
“The Pontifical Council for Culture’s controversial February event, ‘Women’s Cultures: Equality and Difference,’ was the first to break the ice. A month later, Voices of Faith hosted a searingly honest discussion by female theologians and activists from inside Vatican walls.
“Then, on April 14, the U.S. embassy to the Holy See sponsored an interreligious conference on ‘Women’s Leadership in Conflict Resolution: Faith Perspectives.’ Cardinal Peter Turkson shared a private conversation he had with Pope Francis, who told him he saw no obstacles to a woman or married couples being appointed as the new secretary of justice and peace or as heads of the pontifical councils for the laity and for the family. (Turkson, however, was careful to remind attendees of the need to “de-couple” the question of women’s roles from priestly ordination.)
“Most recently, Rome’s Pontifical University Antonianum and four embassies to the Holy See sponsored an April 28 conference on women in the church. Significantly, Catholic Health Association president Sr. Carol Keehan was an invited speaker.”
By Christine Schenk, National Catholic Reporter — Click here to read the rest of this article.
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.
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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