Summaries of family synod interventions by Bishop Charles Drennan and Cardinal John Dew were posted to the Polish bishops’ conference website last week, but were subsequently removed. Summaries of interventions by several dozen synod fathers were posted. This appeared to be in violation of rules at the synod. The Vatican is only releasing short summaries Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Synod’
Cardinal Dew tells synod of need to befriend families
Friday, October 16th, 2015
In his intervention at the synod on the family in Rome, Cardinal John Dew reinforced the message that when families are struggling, they need friends. In an interview with the Catholic News Service, Cardinal Dew said that during his intervention he quoted from a letter issued by the Oceania bishops in 1994. Cardinal Dew said Read more
NZ bishop wants theology-science dialogue on sexual orientation
Friday, October 16th, 2015
Bishop Charles Drennan has called for theologians to engage with the science that says sexual orientation is neither a matter of choice nor of conditioning. In his intervention at the synod on the family in Rome last week, Bishop Drennan appealed for mercy for a particular category of people who feel rejection – persons with Read more
Prelates admit to confusion at family synod
Tuesday, October 13th, 2015
Some of the prelates at the synod on the family have expressed confusion over what is expected of them in their deliberations. The 13 small groups that had been meeting last week released their reports on Friday. The four English-speaking groups are chaired by Australian Cardinal George Pell, British Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Irish Archbishop Eamon Martin, and Read more
- English language small group reports week 1
- Synod document is supposed to be martyred, Cardinal Tagle says
- Less time for speeches, more time for dialogue
- Take a positive approach to families, synod members say
- Pope tells synod to avoid hermeneutic of conspiracy
- German archbishop tells synod Church’s stance on divorce makes people doubt God
- Synod hears experiences of two married couples
Pope says care for divorced not only synod topic
Friday, October 9th, 2015
Pope Francis has urged the synod on the family not to act as if the only question is pastoral care of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. Francis said this in an unscheduled intervention during the second day of the synod in Rome. Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi told reporters that the Pope affirmed that “Catholic Read more
- Pope Francis’s address to the opening of the synod
- Cardinal Kasper on the difference between doctrine and discipline
- Will the synod fathers be surprised by the Spirit?
- Synod’s purpose is to underline importance of marriage and family as institution
- Call for prelates to be given space and responsibility for pastoral care for those in their dioceses
Archbishop proposes women deacons, couples giving homilies
Friday, October 9th, 2015
At the synod on the family, a Canadian archbishop has called for the ordination of women deacons and for married people to speak in homilies at Masses. Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher, a former president of the Canadian bishops’ conference, released the text of his synod speech on his blog. He proposed three courses of action for Read more
Prominent converts ask synod to uphold marriage teaching
Friday, October 9th, 2015Australian Bishop Peter Elliott is among dozens of converts to Catholicism who have asked the synod on the family to uphold Church teaching on marriage. More than 100 converts signed an open letter to the synod fathers and the Pope. The signatories include such prominent converts as Scott and Kimberley Hahn, Mark Regnerus and John Read more
Bishop Drennan plays down talk of synod factions
Friday, October 9th, 2015
Bishop Charles Drennan of Palmerston North has acknowledged talk of factions at the synod on the family, but he has a different take on the supposed splits. In a blog post on the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference website, Bishop Drennan said there is a “marked air of openness” at the synod and no topics are Read more
Francis opens synod calling for Church as bridge
Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
Pope Francis has opened the synod on the family by calling for a Church that proclaims the truth, but which must be a bridge and not a roadblock. In his homily at the opening Mass of the three-week synod at the Vatican, the Pope spelled out “God’s dream” for humanity. “[This is] God’s dream for Read more
Appeal for synod to hold line on conscience and contraception
Tuesday, October 6th, 2015
Bishops at the synod on the family have been asked to reject a paragraph in the synod’s working document dealing with contraception. Theologians, philosophers and scholars issued the appeal in the American journal “First Things”. Among the signatories are academics from the Pontificial John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, as well Read more