On his October 15 posting from Rome, Archbishop Dew noted that there had been vigorous arguments in the small group discussions taking place this week.

"The arguments are very strong as to whether this should be about doctrine and truth, or about mercy and compassion for those who struggle or for whom life is difficult," he said.

But the Archbishop of Wellington stated that doctrine is not being done away with.

"We are saying that the Church needs to be warm and welcoming - showing the mercy and kindness of Jesus."

Archbishop Dew also noted another bishop referring to the parable of the wheat and the weeds and saying that we need to admit we are all in this together.

"Sometimes we are the wheat and sometimes we are the weeds, but whatever happens, life will be full of both," Archbishop Dew said.

He also observed that some synod members only want to use scripture passages that support their own arguments.

In his October 16 posting, Archbishop Dew mentioned media portrayals of the competing factions at the synod, and admitted there is some truth in these.

"[But] it seems to me the majority [at the synod] are very aware of the need for the Church to reach out in new ways to many who do struggle," he wrote.

"I am sure that the mission of Pope Francis - even though some don't like it - is to make the Church a place of love and welcome, a community where people know they are accepted and cared for."

Archbishop Dew was sure this would come through when the small group discussions were to be reported back.

The blog is being updated daily with Archbishop Dew's postings on the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference website.

Sources

• Archbishop Dew synod blog
• Archbishop Dew synod blog
• Image: NZ Catholic

Archbishop Stanislaw Gadecki discussed the synod in a recent interview with EWTN Germany.

The archbishop was asked about if there had been a "German-Polish" war at the synod.

Archbishop Gadecki described such talk as a "huge exaggeration".

"The issues represented by the Germans come not only from Germany, but also New Zealand, the French-speaking part of Canada, Switzerland," he said.

"So, it is not only the German side.

"Content-related differences do not comply with languages, but one bishop is of this opinion, the other bishop holds that opinion.

"Conjuring up images of a Third World War at the synod is a little funny."

New Zealand's episcopal representatives at the synod were Cardinal John Dew and Bishop Charles Drennan.

New Zealand lay people Dr John Kleinsman and Sharron Cole also participated in the synod.

During the synod, Bishop Drennan blogged about the positions taken by those raised under communism or who had been trained in seminaries under professors who grew up under communist regimes.

"Ok, inevitably the brutal experience of communism marks the person deeply but can paralysis of thinking lead anywhere?," Bishop Drennan wrote.

"Isn't dynamism inherent to the role of being successors to the apostles?"

Archbishop Gadecki stressed that the synod is "not the final voice of the Church".

"The synod is only a movement towards collegiality between the Pope and the bishops occurring with and under the Pope.

"The synod is useful only insofar as it serves this collegiality."

He also criticised the synod's final document for not clearly offering a real doctrine of the love of God, "which is the starting point, of sin and grace, practically, also of salvation".

"Many synod fathers returned with astonishment, affirming that they have tried to point out that the document does not speak very openly of sin — as if we were ashamed," the archbishop said.

"In order not to hurt the sinner, we have to make use of euphemisms, delicate language that says a certain behaviour is not compliant with rules, with norms."

It has been predicted that Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation on the family will be released this month.

Sources

• National Catholic Register
• Catholic News Agency
• NZCBC
• Pompallier's People blog
• National Catholic Register
• Image: Catholic World Report

This divide, evident among a small minority of cardinals and bishops present (and not present) at the Extraordinary Assembly, has been recognized through their views on how to "pastorally" apply Catholic teaching regarding marriage, family and sexual relations.

It has also come to light that a so-called secret planning group, seemingly consisting of this small minority together with some theologians and journalists, has been meeting to discuss such progressively theological opinions before the October Synod of this year.

The Church, since her inception, has been forced to define, and at times reiterate, the objective truth of the Faith in relation to error, hence the deposit of Catholic doctrine which has guided her for nearly 2000 years.

Such definitions, in the face of error, have primarily been discussed and defined in Ecumenical Councils.

Due in part to the remarkable media attention the Synod of Bishops has received, the Synod's role in relation to Church teaching has become inflated and even exaggerated.

One of the primary guarantors and promoters of the true Faith is, and has always been, the College of Bishops (in communion with and under the Roman Pontiff) as ontologically always existing and governing the Body of Christ.

Indeed, the Second Vatican Council affirmed the three ways by which the Church can pronounce her teaching infallibly: through the College of Bishops spread throughout the world (when the Pope, having consulted all bishops' opinions regarding a topic, declares a particular dogma; for instance when Pope Pius XII declared the corporeal Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary as a dogma of the Faith in 1950); in an Ecumenical Council (in which the entirety of the College of Bishops, with and under the Pope, is present); and by the Pope ex cathedra.

With the upcoming Synod of Bishops pronounced by Pope Francis to discuss issues related to the family and evangelization, and with confused understandings of what a Synod is, even among Catholics, it seems very timely to look at how the Church has officially defined it and what power it actually holds according to her own law. Continue reading

Sources

• The Catholic World Report
• Image: Religion News Service

In a recent interview, Cardinal Gerhard Muller said the synod in October will need to deal with "the challenge of finding pastoral solutions to ensure a stronger integration of people in difficult situations into the community".

But this must be done "without reducing the word of Jesus and the teaching of the Church", he said.

"We must help people, including Catholics, to gain a renewed understanding of the meaning of marriage and publicly committing oneself to another person," he added.

"There needs to be a review of the preparation and guidance processes for marriage."

Continue reading

The bishops would like a period of spiritual reflection in each parish.

They would also like to hear the experiences of clergy on the main "pastoral challenges" they encounter with families.

Cardinal Vincent Nichols said that material would be sent out to parishes and clergy after Christmas.

The period of reflection should go on until June or July of next year ahead of the synod in October 2015.

"It is not so much a request for opinions as a request for testimony," Cardinal Nichols said.

He hopes the material to be prepared will reflect the same sense of balance as at October's synod.

The aim is to support marriage and the family as well providing appropriate pastoral responses in difficult situations.

The cardinal said he saw no reason why the reflections in parishes and by clergy should not be made public.

Continue reading

Archbishop Martin said he was "quite surprised at the remarks of some commentators within church circles about the recent synod of bishops, often making accusations of confusion where such confusion did not exist and so actually fomenting confusion".

He did not identify specific comments along these lines.

But Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput, who did not attend the gathering, did broach the topic just after the synod.

"I was very disturbed by what happened" at the synod, Archbishop Chaput said.

"I think confusion is of the devil, and I think the public image that came across was one of confusion."

A mid-point report from the synod pressed for a more welcoming approach by the Church to divorced people and homosexual persons.

The final report toned down the language used.

Archbishop Martin said he believed that "a longing for certainties may spring from personal uncertainty rather than strong faith".

"A strong - and indeed orthodox faith - is never afraid of discussion," he said.

"They [critics] fail to see how Pope Francis shows that his concern for people who suffer is far from being a sign of dogmatic relativism, but rather is a sign of pastoral patience," Archbishop Martin said.

The archbishop also said that "a church which becomes a comfort zone for the like-minded ceases to be truly the Church of Jesus Christ".

Archbishop Martin said this while preaching at a Mass marking the refurbishment of a church at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

The archbishop attended the synod and spoke of the need for new language with which to communicate with married couples, according to excerpts of his remarks published by the Irish bishops' conference.

Many people "would hardly recognise their own experience in the way we present the ideals of married life", he told the synod.

"Indeed many in genuine humility would probably feel that they are living a life which is distant from the ideal of marriage as presented by Church teaching," he said.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• Religion News Service
• Image: Irish Independent

Cardinal André Vingt-Trois wants these groups to report back to him by Pentecost.

He explained that the teams should have six to 12 members, chosen by priests with their parish council.

He wrote: "Married couples, single parents, widows or widowers . . . the main thing is that they can work together."

The parish teams are to send him a report that focuses not on Church teaching about families, but on concrete problems that families face and what the diocese can do for them.

Last week, the English translation of the final report from the Synod on the Family became available.

This included the three paragraphs that did not get the traditional two thirds majority vote, but which were put into the final report by Pope Francis anyway, as well as the voting tallies.

A note at the end of the document stressed it was a work in progress that looked forward to next October's larger synod.

German Cardinal Reinhard Marx told media that: "The doors are open - wider than they have ever been since the Second Vatican Council."

Cardinal Marx, who is a member of the Pope's advisory council of cardinals added: "Francis wants to get things moving."

He said it was the Pope's explicit wish that ordinary Catholics take part in the reform process.

The cardinal said: "We are all Church together and we want to move ahead together on this way forward, so ‘Avanti', as Pope Francis always says."

Synod secretary-general Cardinal Lorenzo Baldissieri told British lawmakers that "a very important aspect of the Church's life is based on our understanding that the Spirit of the Risen Christ is given to all the baptised".

"Synods are not about taking a poll or voting in a democratic way on Church teaching and practice, but they embody a humble openness to the fact that the Lord is leading the pilgrim Church through the power of the Holy Spirit," he said.

Sources

• The Tablet
• Catholic World News
• Image: Catholic Voices

Speaking to Filipino media, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle said synod media coverage was correct, but focussed on same-sex unions and divorced people.

Yet the synod fathers also discussed families separated by economic migration, the danger of pornography and domestic violence, he said.

"This got less coverage," he noted.

The prelate also lamented "the lack of Asian and African journalists" covering the Vatican, saying that "coverage of the synod was still dominated by the West".

But Cardinal Tagle said the Church recognises that the world is becoming increasingly complex.

"[It recognises] that each of us must be comfortable with diversity and complexity. We cannot be shocked if there are different opinions.

"The Christian tradition but also the Word of God and the teachings of the Church, over time, have shown their richness.

"They are not monochromatic or dull. Those that seem different opinions may instead be different facets of the same reality."

Cardinal Tagle also said labelling people as conservative, liberal or traditionalist is a way of preventing true listening.

Meanwhile, speaking in Poland, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith took issue with media announcing a coming revolution in the Church.

Cardinal Gerhard Muller said the recent synod should be considered revolutionary only in attempting to combat "sin and egoism" and foster "a culture of life rather than death".

"But there's no political democracy in the Church, as Benedict XVI has said - nor can there be any revolution in the popular understanding of the word," Cardinal Müller added.

"From the very beginning, a great revolution of Jesus was carried out in the Church, and this has its centre in God and never loses its significance."

Sources

• Asia News
• The Tablet
• Image: Google News

They are explaining "the necessity of conversion, the nature of the Mass", and "the purity of heart the Scriptures require of us to receive Holy Communion".

The cardinal wrote this in a homily written for a Mass in the extraordinary form in Rome last week.

Before next October, Catholics have to work to build a consensus "out of the present divisions", he wrote.

"Pastoral practice and teachings can only be change by consensus," he noted.

"Doctrine does develop, we understand truth more deeply, but there are no doctrinal back-flips in Catholic history," the cardinal wrote.

"The apostolic tradition announced first by Christ and founded in the Scriptures is the touchstone for truth and genuine pastoral practice."

Continue reading

In an opinion piece on abc.net, Archbishop-elect Anthony Fisher wrote that "modernity struggles with any kind of love that goes beyond feelings".

"People today are less and less willing to commit, for the long haul, to another person or a small community of persons, come what may, even when the loving is hard," he added.

It is this "fundamental problem" that faces the family, rather than the "hot button" issues in the media during the synod on the family, the archbishop stated.

Factors contributing to the "shrinkage and fragmentation" of the modern family include urbanisation, industrialisation and a view of the institution as being founded solely on the affections of the couple for each other.

Archbishop-elect Fisher wrote that there are some positives in the modern outlook, such as greater respect for freedom and the equality of the sexes.

But when "concepts of love and sexuality are unmoored from religious values and mores . . . major stress points become evident".

These include: "disconnection of domestic relations from marriage; disconnection of sexuality from love and procreation; and the relegation of the family to the private sphere".

Archbishop-elect Fisher stated that the results are plain to see.

"In our grandparents' day, nearly everyone was married; now fewer than half are.

"Of those who ever give marriage a try, it's generally only after a long period of experimentation and cohabitation, even though this radically reduces marital sticking power," he wrote.

"Many adults think children are an optional extra for their marriage.

"Many children grow up without the experience of a Mum and Dad committed to each other and to them over the long haul. "

Archbishop-elect Fisher wrote that the memory of a genuine marriage culture remains, but sometimes this manifests itself in the phenomenon of serial monogamy.

Sources

• ABC
• Image: Catholicism Pure and Simple

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia urged the US bishops to consider this in response to what he called the "new marriage regime" of same-sex civil marriage.

In a lecture in New York on October 20, Archbishop Chaput said he wasn't necessarily endorsing that move yet, the Religion News Service reported.

But "in the spirit of candour encouraged by Pope Francis", he said the American bishops should "discuss and consider it as a real course of action".

By long-standing practice, US Catholic priests act as agents of the state when signing a couple's marriage certificate.

"It's hard to see how a priest or bishop could, in good conscience, sign a marriage certificate that merely identifies ‘Spouse A' and `Spouse B,' " Archbishop Chaput said.

"Refusing to conduct civil marriages now, as a matter of principled resistance, has vastly more witness value than being kicked out of the marriage business later by the government, which is a likely bet," he said.

Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court decided not to review state appeals against gay marriage.

Archbishop Chaput said this was a "tipping point" that confirmed that traditional believers are now a minority in society and on the defensive.

More than 30 US states now allow same-sex marriage.

Archbishop Chaput also expressed concerns about "confusion" coming out of the synod on the family.

"I was very disturbed by what happened" at the synod, Archbishop Chaput said.

"I think confusion is of the devil, and I think the public image that came across was one of confusion."

Archbishop Chaput said the final synod report was an improvement on a preliminary report.

But he was still concerned that it did not go far enough in clearly restating Church teachings on marriage and homosexuality.

Archbishop Chaput is expected to host Pope Francis in Philadelphia next September for a World Meeting of Families.

Sources

• Religion News Service
• Image: Thomas More Prep Marian

Cardinal Vincent Nichols said he had developed his understanding of how the divorced and remarried could undergo a penitential path.

This in turn could lead them being re-admitted to the sacraments.

Something was "opened up in me", he explained, when he looked at proposals for penitential pathways for the remarried.

These included individuals exploring with a spiritual director the breakdown of their marriage and the impact it might have had on their children.

Cardinal Nichols said the next synod - to take place in October 2015 - needed to continue to see the "goodness in every person, whatever their sexuality, whether they're cohabiting or in a second marriage, [that] their lives continue to carry the hallmark of the work of the Holy Spirit".

In many ways he said this is the "practice of priests", but it was "important that it is reflected at this kind of level at the Church".

A document issued half way through the synod said there were "seeds of the Word" in cohabiting couples and those divorced and remarried.

It also praised elements of same-sex relationships.

The synod's final document backed away from this language, but Cardinal Nichols said it is a work in progress.

Meanwhile, the theologian closely involved in writing the mid-point document, Archbishop Bruno Forte, said Pope Francis is calling for further reflection on such issues.

He said there are pastoral situations when civilly remarried divorcees can receive the sacraments, such as serious illness or being in danger of death.

"Can these sacraments be granted in any other special situations?" he asked.

"We will have to wait and see what the local Churches have to say in order to work out which of these cases are most urgent."

Sources

• The Tablet
• Vatican Insider
• Image: The Telegraph

In a summary statement on the synod, Archbishop Dew said "if the Church is to be a mother that consoles, encourages, reaches out, supports it must listen to what is emerging from the discussion".

But the Archbishop of Wellington noted that things will not change overnight and that the synod is only the start of a process.

He recalled that in the days before leaving for Rome he was astounded at the messages he received, offering prayerful support and expressing hope and enthusiasm about the synod.

"This hasn't happened before previous synods," he said, noting how the issues were very important to people.

The archbishop said his own intervention on behalf of the New Zealand Church "focussed on the need for Church language to be changed so that it gave people hope and encouragement".

"To find a language that speaks the truth of the Gospel, but in a way that doesn't make them simply sanctions, but draws people to God."

He also noted that the concept of graduality, which was much discussed at the synod, did not refer to graduality of doctrine, faith or morals.

"It recognises that none of us are perfect, but we're all on a journey, so what are we doing to help (or hinder) others on that journey, who are often in very difficult and complex family situations?" he asked.

Archbishop Dew said the fact that the topic of homosexuality was discussed so openly at the synod was a "change from previous discussions".

His highlight for the whole synod was the presentation by Pope Francis before the closing Mass.

This address received a five-minute standing ovation.

"I highly recommend people reading his speech . . . , it is available online and I know I will be meditating on it for a long time to come."

Sources

• Archbishop John Dew
• Pope Francis' address to synod fathers
• Image: Wel-Com

More than 4300 people from around the world completed a questionnaire on www.thetablet.co.uk between 3 and 14 October about what they'd like to see from the synod on the family.

Nearly 85 per cent of respondents were from the United States or the United Kingdom.

Men respondents outnumbered women by a two to one ratio.

In the US, the survey was highlighted on conservative blogs.

Of the divorced and civilly remarried (without an annulment) survey respondents who receive Communion, ten per cent do so with the permission of a priest.

Catholics in Britain and Ireland in such circumstances were almost twice as likely as US Catholics to receive Communion without having sought priestly permission (29 per cent to 17 per cent).

Of the priests who responded, more than a third said the ban on artificial contraception could be ignored in good conscience and that cohabitation could be an acceptable stage en route to marriage.

Respondents said the best way for the Church to support marriage and family life was to run courses for married couples, while also clearly setting out its teaching on sexual matters.

Practising Catholics said the chief threats to marriage and family life were: artificial contraception; gay marriage and adoption; pressure caused by long working hours, money worries and unemployment; and the proliferation of pornography.

Almost three-quarters of practising Catholics welcomed the presence of lay people at the synod, with one-quarter saying they wished more had been invited to attend and to be involved in decision-making.

Meanwhile, a Pew Research Center survey in the United States has found that 85 per cent of Catholics aged between 18 and 29 feel that homosexuality should be accepted by society.

Among church-going Catholics of all ages who attend Mass at least once a week, twice as many say homosexuality should be accepted (60 per cent) as say it should be discouraged (31 per cent).

Sources

• The Tablet
• The Tablet
• Pew Research Center
• Image: Catholic Herald

American Cardinal Raymond Burke confirmed to the National Catholic Reporter that he has been told he will be removed from his current role.

Asked who told him he would be removed, Cardinal Burke replied: "Who do you think?"

Late last year, Pope Francis removed Cardinal Burke from the Congregation for Bishops.

Cardinal Burke reportedly said he has enjoyed his role at the Apostolic Signatura, which he has held from 2008, and is disappointed to leave it.

"In the Church as priests, we always have to be ready to accept whatever assignment we're given," Cardinal Burke is reported to have said.

The cardinal has yet to receive formal notice of his move.

The Apostolic Signatura is the Catholic Church's highest court.

Rumours have been circulating for weeks inside the Vatican that Cardinal Burke will be assigned as patron of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, which is a largely ceremonial role.

Cardinal Burke has made news frequently in recent days voicing disapproval with the direction of the synod on the family.

He voiced staunch disapproval of the relatio document released at the synod mid-point last week, saying that it would cause confusion among the laity.

This document called on the Church to listen more widely to people's concerns and to apply mercy more generously.

Cardinal Burke said in interviews that the mid-point document was "not of the Church" and that Francis should issue a clarification reaffirming traditional Catholic doctrines.

The mid-point document was eventually superseded by a less liberal final document.

Last month, Cardinal Burke accused sections of the media of trying to hijack the synod.

In 2009, Cardinal Burke called on US bishops to withhold Communion from pro-choice Catholic politicians.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• BBC
• Catholic News Agency
• Catholic News Agency
• Image: Catholic News Agency

The preliminary report, issued half way through the synod, asked if the Church community was welcoming to gay people.

It noted that gay people have "gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community" and acknowledged some positive aspects of same-sex relationships.

But final document, the relatio synodi, restated norms from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

It stated that there "is no foundation whatsoever" to compare homosexual marriage to heterosexual marriage.

But it said gay people "should be welcomed with respect and sensitivity" and that discrimination against gays "is to be avoided".

The paragraph containing this text did not get the traditional two thirds majority (122 votes) needed to be included in the final report, with 118 bishops voting for it and 62 against.

But this may have indicated the some progressive bishops felt the final text had been too watered down or restrictive.

Two other proposed paragraphs also did not get to the two thirds threshold, but did get absolute majority votes.

Both concerned the issue of Communion for divorced and remarried people.

One proposed: "Any access to the sacraments should be preceded by a penitential journey under the responsibility of the diocesan bishop."

But Pope Francis decided to include these three paragraphs in the final report anyway, in the interests of maximum transparency, a Vatican spokesman said.

Bishops' conferences will use the document, described as a work in progress, in preparation for the 2015 synod.

The final report was the product of revisions last week of small working groups of bishops.

In a three-page "message" on Saturday, the synod fathers called for the Church to be "a house with doors always open to welcome everyone".

In his final address at the synod, Pope Francis called on the prelates to "feed the flock" and to search for lost sheep.

The Pontiff directed them to avoid the temptation to become a "hostile rigorist" concerned only with enforcing Church doctrine.

He also warned against being a "destructive do-gooder" that advocates "false mercy" instead of truth telling.

Sources

• National Catholic Reporter
• The Tablet
• Reuters
• Catholic News Agency (synod fathers' message)
• Globe and Mail
• Vatican Radio (Pope Francis' speech at synod conclusion)
• Vatican Press Office (Synod final report: in Italian)
• Irish Times
• Image: Vatican Radio

The text - known as the relatio -sought to summarise the discussions at the gathering so far.

It has been described as a "pastoral earthquake" and suggests the Church should recognise the good in unions outside marriage.

But Australian Cardinal George Pell said the document was an "incomplete resumé" of what the synod fathers had said, and it needed to be "enhanced and corrected".

"In seeking to be merciful, some want to open up Catholic teaching on marriage, divorce, civil unions, homosexuality in a radically liberalising direction, whose fruits we see in other Christian traditions," he told The Tablet.

American Cardinal Raymond Burke called for the relatio to be set aside completely, with a new document produced that presents the Church's true teaching and pastoral practice together.

He said that the document "lacks a solid foundation in the Sacred Scriptures and the Magisterium".

Polish Archbishop Stanisław Gądecki told Vatican Radio that the document departs from the teaching of St John Paul II and that traces of anti-marriage ideology can be seen in it.

"It focuses on exceptions, but what is needed is the proclamation of truth," he said.

South African Archbishop Wilfred Napier complained that the document will be seen by many as Church teaching and as reflecting the views of the whole synod, when it doesn't.

But he said much of it did correspond to what has been said, and it "has a lot of very good, very good things".

Following the reading of the relatio to the synod assembly on Monday, 41 prelates made speeches about the text and suggested additions or changes.

Other criticisms included a lack of treatment of sin, little sign of support for those trying to live up to the ideal of Christian marriage, and the risk of conforming to the mentality of the world.

The relatio is being discussed and revised by the synod fathers and will be presented to the Pope on Saturday.

Sources

• The Tablet
• National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic World News
• National Catholic Reporter
• Catholic News Agency
• Catholic World Report
• Image: National Catholic Reporter

At a press conference after the release of the synod's half way report (relatio), Archbishop Bruno Forte said "it seems obvious to me that humans have different experiences [and] have rights that must all be protected".

He did not equate same-sex unions with traditional marriage.

But he said: "Naturally, this does not mean that we should rule out looking for a way to describe the rights of people living in same-sex unions."

"It is a question - I think - of being civilised and respecting people's dignity."

At the press conference, when the synod's relator general, Cardinal Peter Erdo, was asked about the report's conciliatory statements on gay people, he turned the microphone over to Archbishop Forte.

"He who wrote the text must know what it is talking about," the cardinal said.

Queried about the statement that "homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community", Archbishop Forte said that "the fundamental idea is the centrality of the person independently of the sexual orientation".

Archbishop Forte was also asked to reflect further on the "positive elements" in cohabitation and same-sex unions.

"I think the document intends to find positive aspects wherever these are to be found and they do exist of course," he said.

"Rejecting something is easy, but recognising and giving value to all that is positive, even when dealing with these kinds of experiences, I think is an exercise in intellectual honesty and spiritual charity."

Some of the synod fathers have said the first week of discussions at the synod have recalled the spirit of Vatican II's Gaudium et Spes, Archbishop Forte said.

"[This is] the Church that looks kindly upon the world, making the expectations and the suffering of today's men and women its own."

Sources

• Vatican Insider
• Catholic World News
• Image: Catholic News Agency

Bishop Anthony Borwah of GBarnga diocese in Liberia has sent a written intervention to the synod instead.

In August, Bishop Borwah discovered that neighbouring Ivory Coast had restricted airline travel and closed its borders.

So he couldn't get to Abidjan where he would have been able to apply for a visa to enter the European Union.

Bishop Borwah's intervention described the challenges facing the family in Liberia today.

These include Ebola, polygamy, migration, unemployment, the lack of a father-figures, domestic violence, child trafficking, and sexual tourism.

"Existential questions from the poor, prevalent during the civil war, are been asked again: Where is God? What wrong have we (Liberians) done again?

"How come we have once again become the abandoned and scum of the earth?"

The bishop has called for daily prayer gatherings in his diocese in the wake of the Ebola outbreak.

At these gatherings, strict hygiene restrictions are being observed and updates are given of the latest Ebola situation.

More than 80 per cent of Liberia's population live in poverty and food prices have skyrocketed due to recent port and border closures.

Bishop Borwah is grateful for global aid groups and donors, including Catholic agencies, but more support is needed.

Survivors of Ebola also need support because they are being stigmatised, he said.

The death toll in West Africa has reached more than 4000 people, mainly from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

There have been more than 8000 suspected cases in the current outbreak.

But Pope Francis has not forgotten the Liberian people, Bishop Borwah said.

"The Holy Father prays for Ebola stricken people every day, even as the synod goes on," the bishop said.

"He is very close to our suffering."

Sources

• Time
• The Independent
• Image: The Journal

In an interview with Zenit on October 15, after the evening working groups' discussions at the synod on the family, Cardinal Kasper said homosexuality is a taboo subject in Africa.

"Africa is totally different from the West. Also Asian and Muslim countries, they're very different, especially about gays," he said.

"You can't speak about this with Africans and people of Muslim countries. It's not possible. It's a taboo.

"For us, we say we ought not to discriminate, we don't want to discriminate in certain respects."

"I think in the end there must be a general line in the Church, general criteria, but then the questions of Africa, we cannot solve," Cardinal Kasper added.

"There must be space also for the local bishops' conferences to solve their problems, but I'd say with Africa it's impossible [for us to solve].

"But they should not tell us too much what we have to do."

Cardinal Kasper also said the great majority of people in Germany, Great Britain and most other places want an "opening" from the Church on the issue of divorce and remarriage.

The cardinal has proposed that some divorced and civilly remarried Catholics be able to receive Communion after a period of penitence.

"The Pope also told me that [such problems exist] also in his family, and he has looked at the laity and seen the great majority are for a reasonable, responsible opening," Cardinal Kasper said to Zenit.

The cardinal said his impression was that "a growing majority" of synod members wanted such an "opening", but there had been no vote on it.

Before the synod, other senior cardinals criticised Cardinal Kasper's proposal.

Sources

• Zenit
• Image: John Thavis