Synod
fathers seek seeds of truth in every family home
(Vatican Radio) Synod participants moved another step closer
to the conclusion of their two week meeting on Thursday as the results of their
small working groups were made public. Church leaders and lay experts in the 10Circoli Minori, as they’re called, have been poring over the text of a
working document on the challenges facing families in the context of
evangelisation. Joining Fr Federico Lombardi and his assistants at the press
office to explain the next stage of the proceedings was Austrian Cardinal
Christoph Schonborn, as Philippa Hitchen reports.....
A “key day” in the life of this Synod was how Fr Lombardi
described the discussion on Thursday morning as leaders of the 10 language
groups (3 in English and Italian, 2 in French and Spanish) presented the fruits
of their labours that have been so closely scrutinised by the world’s press.
Each group has worked hard to suggest improvements or amendments to be included
in a final Synod document that will be discussed and voted on by the whole
assembly on Saturday. While certain parts of the media have been depicting a
bitter conflict between the so-called traditional and more reform-minded
bishops, Canadian Fr Tom Rosica said the sincere and honest discussions have
been a vital part of the Pope’s desire for a reform of the Church’s decision
making process.
“What
I saw this morning was remarkable….people talked very openly and it was an
important part of the renewal of the synodal process…”
But
what exactly does that reform mean and will this first Synod of the Francis era
lead to substantial changes in the Church’s teaching and practice on marriage
and family life? Not changes, said Cardinal Schonborn, but a development of
doctrine that has always taken place as the Church struggles to face the new
challenges of people living in the modern world. Pope Francis, he said, is
inviting us to "pastoral conversion" in a Church that is fast
becoming a minority in many European countries, just as it is in other parts of
the world. That requires the courage to go out of our churches and into the
streets, treating all people with respect and welcome, rather than judging
their domestic arrangements or sexual orientation….
“We
first look at the person and not at the sexual orientation………….and when the
catechism or the document speaks about accoglienza (welcome) this is a basic
human and Christian behaviour. But the respect for every human person does not
mean respect for every human behaviour”
Cardinal
Schonborn also spoke in very personal terms of his experience of suffering as
the son of divorced parents, as well as his admiration for the exemplary love
and care shown by a gay couple he knows back in his home city of Vienna. The
task of the Church, he reminded journalists, is to seek positive seeds of truth
in every situation, not peering anxiously behind bedroom doors, but embracing
the love that can found in the living rooms of every family home.
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