Conservatives concerned by Pope’s Synod appointees

Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015

Conservative commentators are expressing concern about the makeup of the additional 45 Synod members personally selected by the Pope.

They are suggesting that “conservative” bishops have been excluded while more “progressive” ones have found favour.

The archbishop of Wellington, Cardinal John Dew, has been identified by these bloggers as being on the “progressive” side.

Two lay people and two Bishops from New Zealand will travel to Rome to participate in the Catholic Church’s discussion led by Pope Francis on Marriage and the Family, next month.

This is a significant number to represent a small country like New Zealand, especially a country with a small Catholic population.

“Francis has fished some of the new ones out from among the runners-up of the voting in the episcopal conferences,” writes Sandro Magister.

“This is the case, for example, of the New Zealander John Atcherley Dew, whom he made a cardinal, and of Blase J. Cupich of the United States, whom he promoted as archbishop of Chicago, both active members of the progressive wing.”

“The runners-up in the various countries also included leading personalities of the conservative wing, like Salvatore J. Cordileone in the United States, Ignatius Ayau Kaigama in Nigeria, Olivier de Germay in France, Héctor Rubén Aguer in Argentina, José Antonio Eguren Anselmi in Argentina, Klaus Küng in Austria, Juan Antonio Reig Plá in Spain,” Magister says.

“Francis has not selected any of these among the synod fathers of his appointment.”

It reflects Pope Francis’ efforts in reaching out to the margins, including geographical ones, ensuring that the Church throughout the world has a voice in this global discussion. Add to that, Cardinal Soane Mafi, Bishop of Tonga, and Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Bishop Eugene Hurley, and Ms Maria Harres from Australia who will also be attending and there will be significant input from the Pacific.

“This cardinal has opposed Church teaching on marriage for years. Why did the pope handpick him for the Synod?” asks a headline on LIFESITE, referring to Cardinal Dew.

The blog is under the byline Voice of the Family,

Voice of the family is a conservative pro life blog.

The co-founder and editor-in-chief of Lifesitenews is John-Henry Westen.

He was a speaker at the 2013 Eucharist Convention in Auckland.

While here he also gave a talk about New Zealand’s Marriage Equality bill.

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