VATICAN CORNER
At the Va”can on October 24, 2015, at the end of the three week gathering of the 270 Cardinals and Bishops from around the world, the Synod on the Family came to a close. Pope Francis closed the mee”ng that had been full of arguments, calling for a more open-hearted, compassionate Church rooted in people’s lives and not a programmed lifeless one that fears changes and challenges. At the end, in their final document the delegates agreed to a qualified opening toward divorcees who have remarried outside the Church and currently cannot receive communion. The final document sidestepped the issue of whether the Church should use more welcoming language towards homosexuals. A year ago, that second issue threw into turmoil the preliminary mee”ng for this Synod. On the day before the closing day of the current gathering, Pope Francis denounced Church leaders who he said some”mes bury their heads in the sand and hide behind rigid doctrine while families suffer. The overall results of the Synod appeared to be somewhat of a victory for Pope Francis, who is the final judge and will now write his own major document on family issues. He said “A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than an oasis, creates other deserts.” Francis has con”nually stressed that the Church should be open to change, side with the poor and rid itself of the pomp and stuffiness that has alienated so many Catholics. The Synod avoided ending in a total deadlock on some issues, but because conserva”ves came very close to defea”ng the ar”cles on divorcees, it showed the deep divisions within the delegates. The conserva”ves said the mee”ng had le& “a crisis of trust” between the faithful and Church leaders over the opening to divorcees, which it said would lead to “the scandalizing of the faithful, not least our children and grandchildren.” A progressive analyst said that the synod was a defeat for “those (conserva”ves) who wanted to emphasize the law over mercy, who were opposed to any changes in Church prac”ce.” Pope Francis con”nued his theme of a more compassionate, more listening Church in his Sunday homily of a Mass with the bishops in St. Peter’s Basilica. He weaved his comments around the Bible story of Jesus stopping to restore sight to a blind man while his apostles had not been moved by the man’s cries. “This can be a danger for us: in the face of constant problems, it is be!er to move on, instead of le>ng ourselves be bothered … our hearts are not open,” Francis said at the Mass, a!ended by the synod’s 270 bishops. He said Church leaders needed to beware “a scheduled faith” where everything was programmed, and a condescending point of view where “whoever bothers us or is not of our stature is excluded”. To be con”nued …
Source: Ruters.com