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Synod of bishops – The pastoral challenges of the family In the context of evangelisation

The Vatican has today published the results of the consultation it had requested bishops to make in preparation for the synod to be held in Rome on 05 Ootober. A group of 150 bishops will meet to discuss the pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation.
Link to the full text  below and also the table of contents for your information.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_20140626_instrumentum-laboris-familia_en.html
SYNOD OF BISHOPS
________________________________________________________
III EXTRAORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
THE PASTORAL CHALLENGES
OF THE FAMILY
IN THE CONTEXT OF EVANGELIZATION
INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS
VATICAN CITY
2014
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Introduction
Preface
Part I
Communicating the Gospel of the Family in Today’s World
Chapter I
God’s Plan for Marriage and the Family
The Biblical Teaching on the Family (1-3)
The Family in the Documents of the Church (4-7)
Chapter II
The Knowledge and Acceptance of the Teachings on Marriage and the Family from Sacred Scripture and Church Documents (8)
The Knowledge of the Bible on the Family (9-10) 
The Knowledge of the Documents of the Magisterium (11)
The Necessity of Properly Prepared Clergy and Ministers (12)
A Diversified Acceptance of Church Teaching (13-14)
Some Reasons for the Difficulty in Acceptance (15-16)
Fostering a Greater Knowledge of the Magisterium (17-19)
Chapter III
The Gospel of the Family and the Natural Law
The Relation of the Gospel of the Family to the Natural Law (20)
Present-Day Problems Related to the Natural Law (21-26)
Practical Objections to the Natural Law concerning the Union between a Man and a Woman (27-29)
A Call for a Renewal in Terms of Language (30)
Chapter IV
The Family and Vocation of the Person in Christ
The Family, the Person and Society (31-34)
In the Image of Trinitarian Life (35)
The Holy Family of Nazareth and Learning to Love (36-38)
The Differences, Reciprocity and Manner of Living as a Family (39-42)
The Family and the Integral Development of a Person (43-44)
Guidance in the Renewed Desire to Marry and Form a Family and the Related Crises (45-48)
Ongoing Formation (49)
Part II
The Pastoral Program for the Family in Light of New Challenges
Chapter I
The Pastoral Program for the Family: Various Proposals Underway
The Responsibility of Bishops and the Clergy and the Charismatic Gifts in the Pastoral Care of the Family (50)
Marriage Preparation (51-56)
Popular Piety and a Familial Spirituality (57)
Support for a Familial Spirituality (58)
Testimony on Behalf of the Beauty of the Family (59-60)
Chapter II
The Pastoral Challenges of the Family (61)
a) The Crisis of Faith and Family Life
Pastoral Action in the Crisis of Faith (62-63)
b) Critical Situations within the Family
Difficulty in Relationships / Communication (64)
The Break-Up and Breakdown of Families (65)
Violence and Abuse (66-67)
Dependence, the Media and the Social Network (68-69)
c) External Pressures on the Family
The Impact of Work on the Family (70-71)
Migration and the Family (72)
Poverty and the Struggle for Subsistence (73)
Consumerism and Individualism (74)
Counter-Witness in the Church (75)
d) Special Situations
The Weight of Societal Expectations on the Individual (76)
The Impact of Wars (77)
Disparity of Cult (78)
Other Critical Situations (79)
Chapter III
Difficult Pastoral Situations
a) Situations in Families (80)
Cohabitation (81-82)
De facto unions (83-85)
Persons Separated, Divorced and Divorced and Remarried (86)
Children and Those Who Are Alone (87)
Teen Mothers (88)
Situations of Canonical Irregularity (89-92)
Concerning the Reception of the Sacraments (93-95)
Other Requests (96)
Concerning Separated and Divorced Persons (97)
Streamlining the Processing of Marriage Cases (98-102)
Pastoral Care in Difficult Situations (103-104)
The Request for Marriage by Non-Practicing Catholics and Unbelievers (105-109)
b) Concerning Unions of Persons of the Same Sex
Civil Recognition (110-112)
An Evaluation of the Particular Churches (113-115)
Some Pastoral Guidelines (116-119)
The Transmission of the Faith to Children in Same Sex Unions (120)
Part III
An Openness to Life and Parental Responsibility in Upbringing
Chapter I
The Pastoral Challenges concerning an Openness to Life (121-122)
Knowledge and Acceptance of the Magisterium concerning a Mentality of an Openness to Life (123-125)
Some Causes of Difficulty in Acceptance (126-127)
Pastoral Recommendations (128)
Concerning Sacramental Practice (129)
Promoting a Mentality of an Openness to Life (130-131)
Chapter II
The Church and the Family in the Challenge of Upbringing
a) The Challenge of Upbringing in General
The Challenge of Upbringing and the Family Today (132)
The Transmission of the Faith and Christian Initiation (133-134)
Some Specific Difficulties (135-137)
b) Christian Education in Difficult Family Situations (138)
An Overview of the Situation of Upbringing (139-140)
Requests Addressed to the Church (141-145)
The Response of the Particular Churches (146-150)
The Time and Manner of the Christian Initiation of Children (151-152)
Some Specific Difficulties (153)
Some Pastoral Guidelines (154-157)
Conclusion (158-159)

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Last Friday Pope Francis also had other matters on his mind along with the ‘Ad limina’ visit of the Irish bishops. He gave hour and a quarter long interview with the Spanish Newspaper El País.
A lot of what he says will sound familiar.
“Talk, please. A fraternal conversation, if you feel up to it, or at least in a civilized way. Don’t throw insults at each other. Don’t condemn before talking.”
“Too much order. When you read the Acts of the Apostles, Saint Paul’s epistles, it was a mess, there were troubles, people moved. There was movement and contact with people. An anesthetized person is not in touch with people. He protects himself against reality.”

Conclusion of the Synod of Bishops; address of Pope Francis

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10 Comments

Time will judge the impact of the synod. The Pope’s closing comments stand for themselves but perhaps many will read as much into what he left unsaid as what he 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.”

“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.”

“The Synod experience also made us better realize that the 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 – they are necessary – or from the importance of 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 “

“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).”

15 Comments

  2. Eddie Finnegan says:

    So who among the 150 Synod Members will begin his intervention with this schemata-dumping declaration on the Instrumentum Laboris? “We must help the Holy Father (Francis) achieve his goals for this Synod and next year’s, the ones he expresses at Domus Sancti Marthae and Copacabana . . .”
    But who am I to judge . . .?
    In October 1962, it was a German Jesuit Cardinal Augustin Bea (Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity) who launched his intervention: “We must help the Holy Father (John XXIII)achieve his goals for the Council, the ones he expresses in his radio messages and in his exhortations. These are not the same as those of the (10) schemas, either because the Theological Commission which directs them, is closed to the world and to ideas of peace, justice and unity; or because of the division of the work and a lack of co-ordination. They’ve made room for everything except the Holy Spirit . . .”
    Naturally, after a few minutes of that, both Ottaviani and Archbishop Lefebvre were fit to be tied. And the rest, at least for a brief window of hope, was Church history.

    Reply
  3. Joe O'Leary says:

    I see that gays have been promoted from “those people” to “these people”!

    Reply
  4. Sean O'Conaill says:

    Is there a cartoonist somewhere who could sketch all these mitred heads, with three speech bubbles overhead, from left to right:
    Bubble 1: “This is what married Catholics have told us about our teaching!”
    Bubble 2: “What should we do?”
    Bubble 3: “TEACH LOUDER!!!”

    Reply
  5. Mary Cunningham says:

    For context of ‘these people’ (#3) see
    Chapter III
    Difficult Pastoral Situations
    b) Concerning Unions of Persons of the Same Sex
    Some Pastoral Guidelines
    116. ‘When considering the possibility of a ministry to these people, a distinction must be made between those who have made a personal, and often painful, choice and live that choice discreetly so as not to give scandal to others, and those whose behaviour promotes and actively — often aggressively — calls attention to it.’
    So ‘these people’ are better off to live ‘discreetly’. Secrecy, hiding the truth, fear of ‘scandal’, has the Vatican learned nothing? This mind set is not only ‘bonkers’ but downright dangerous bonkers for mental well-being.
    Have a look at this short documentary ‘Novena’ broadcast on 23/6/14
    http://www.rte.ie/player/ie/show/10296436/

    Reply
  6. Joe O'Leary says:

    Rome consulted the laity in a widely distributed questionnaire. But the laity did not realize that this was a cheap form of inquisition. Rome now have our “Dubia” and is giving its “Responsa” according to the time-honoured format of the Holy Office. The Responsa sound quite familiar — “Negative ad omnes questiones,” “non licet,” “omnino improbandum et habendum pro falso et damnato,” “errores gravissimae, haeresi proximae.” In short, another episode in the ever-popular long-running series, “Rome Says No”.
    http://cta-usa.org/media-center/guiding-document-upcoming-synod-simply-old-hat/

    Reply
  7. Joe O'Leary says:

    Let’s hope Francis adds a lot of laity and women to the Synod personnel.

    Reply
  10. Anthony Murphy says:

    @Sean – teach louder???? Do you mean the teaching will progress from silence to a whisper??

    Reply
  11. Eddie Finnegan says:

    So does Cardinal Baldisseri’s synod secretariat include a Bea, a Liénart, a Frings, a Congar or even a young Ratzinger, with sense enough to advise him to bin his ‘instrumentum laboris’ in good time for someone to write a new one over the next three months?

    Reply

  12. I think, Father Joe, that Pope Francis has accomplished as much change as he, alone, can do! I do not hold out hope for any more remarkable change….

    Reply
  13. Joe O'Leary says:

    Darlene, if he cannot invite women and laity to sit in on the Synod, he must be a very weak pope indeed.

    Reply

  14. I suspect Pope Francis is feeling physically taxed and perhaps, if there is much truth to there being resistance to him at the Vatican, then he might also be weary from opposing the negativity. I do believe, his faith is great and that he wanted to accomplish the overhaul, as he called it, but it just may not be possible.

    Reply
  15. Reyanna Rice says:

    If you read this document keeping in mind the many key phrases Francis uses in his writings and speeches/homilies, getting past the initial negative verbiage of the document, in the later sections I see “Francis Fingerprints” throughout it, quite significantly so in some sections. Some of the wording comes directly out of his recent speeches. For example in one section, it talks about kids who are left to fend for themselves for long parts of the day. In his speech to the St Egidio community recently, Francis spoke many of these same words talking about these kids as virtual orphans. The document has a very herk-jerky feel to it because of this but I find great hope in the fact that the “Francis ” Fingerprints” are on it. He speaks about the many groups that are in the peripheries of the church for various reasons, socioeconomic reasons, life choice reasons etc. I think he is viewing the cohort of the world’s bishops, most of them, on the peripheries of the church in their thinking in relation to the rest of us who stand very close to Francis in his “big tent” vision of the church.

    Reply

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