M
McCall1981
Guest
Very happy to read this 
Cardinal Baldisseri emphasizes that a wide range of issues affecting the family will be discussed, not just the question of Communion for divorced-remarried Catholics, and that changes to Church doctrine are not envisioned.
by ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI AND CARL BUNDERSON/CNA/EWTN NEWS 05/21/2014
VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, has emphasized that the next synod will not be focused exclusively on the much-talked about issue of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics.
“I would like to remind you that the next assembly of the synod of bishops is titled ‘The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.’ So the synod will deal with the family in its various aspects — not with a single issue,” the cardinal said in a May 20 email interview with CNA.
“In my view, a good service for people would be that of giving each issue regarding the family the same ‘space’ for discussion.”
The year leading up to the Oct. 5-19 synod on the family has been marked by media speculation that it will be dedicated to discovering a “pastoral solution” allowing for the admittance of persons who are divorced and civilly remarried, while their spouse is still living, to Communion, while also preserving Catholic teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
**“Regarding the possibility for the synod of bishops of changing the doctrine of the Church,” Cardinal Baldisseri said, “I underscore that the First Vatican Council’s document Dei Filius affirmed that ‘understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding.’”
The cardinal then continued: “And I also remind you that John XXIII said in the inaugural speech of the Second Vatican Council that ‘authentic doctrine … should be studied and expounded through the methods of research and through the literary forms of modern thought. The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another.’”**
A Collegial Universal Church
While comments from a number of German bishops have sparked a media frenzy and calls for the Church to change its teachings on Communion for the divorced and remarried, the synod of bishops is intended to reflect the collegiality of the universal Church.
In parts of Africa, polygamy has been a concern for the Church, with the Kenyan president recently signing a law legalizing the practice, which was already part of the customary law of some peoples. Other concerns from across the globe include the practices of cohabitation and contraception, forced marriages, a lack of adequate marriage preparation and Catholic education of children.
Cardinal Baldisseri discussed the various aspects facing families and evangelization — and the importance of giving them “the same ‘space’ for discussion” in the context of a preparatory document of an advisory nature sent to bishops around the world.
“This is what we have done, and in fact the preparatory document of the synod includes an 8-point questionnaire.”
The eight points in the questionnaire “deal broadly with the theme of family,” he said. “First, the beauty and values of the family, which is the union of a man and a woman willing to have children. The other kind of ‘unions’ are described as a social phenomenon, currently particularly strong, especially in the Western world. We should attentively look at this phenomenon for the Church’s pastoral purpose.”
“The issue of cohabitation, unmarried couples, same-sex marriages emerge,” he added. “There are also topics dealing with the knowledge, and the reception, of the teaching of the Church on the family; with natural law … with difficult family situations, dealing with separated couples, the divorced, and the divorced and remarried; and above all dealing with the children who are subjected to these situations, and their Christian education.”
(Read the rest there)
ncregister.com/daily-news/bishops-synod-head-october-meeting-about-more-than-divorce/
Cardinal Baldisseri emphasizes that a wide range of issues affecting the family will be discussed, not just the question of Communion for divorced-remarried Catholics, and that changes to Church doctrine are not envisioned.
by ANDREA GAGLIARDUCCI AND CARL BUNDERSON/CNA/EWTN NEWS 05/21/2014
VATICAN CITY — Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, has emphasized that the next synod will not be focused exclusively on the much-talked about issue of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics.
“I would like to remind you that the next assembly of the synod of bishops is titled ‘The pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.’ So the synod will deal with the family in its various aspects — not with a single issue,” the cardinal said in a May 20 email interview with CNA.
“In my view, a good service for people would be that of giving each issue regarding the family the same ‘space’ for discussion.”
The year leading up to the Oct. 5-19 synod on the family has been marked by media speculation that it will be dedicated to discovering a “pastoral solution” allowing for the admittance of persons who are divorced and civilly remarried, while their spouse is still living, to Communion, while also preserving Catholic teaching about the indissolubility of marriage.
**“Regarding the possibility for the synod of bishops of changing the doctrine of the Church,” Cardinal Baldisseri said, “I underscore that the First Vatican Council’s document Dei Filius affirmed that ‘understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding.’”
The cardinal then continued: “And I also remind you that John XXIII said in the inaugural speech of the Second Vatican Council that ‘authentic doctrine … should be studied and expounded through the methods of research and through the literary forms of modern thought. The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another.’”**
A Collegial Universal Church
While comments from a number of German bishops have sparked a media frenzy and calls for the Church to change its teachings on Communion for the divorced and remarried, the synod of bishops is intended to reflect the collegiality of the universal Church.
In parts of Africa, polygamy has been a concern for the Church, with the Kenyan president recently signing a law legalizing the practice, which was already part of the customary law of some peoples. Other concerns from across the globe include the practices of cohabitation and contraception, forced marriages, a lack of adequate marriage preparation and Catholic education of children.
Cardinal Baldisseri discussed the various aspects facing families and evangelization — and the importance of giving them “the same ‘space’ for discussion” in the context of a preparatory document of an advisory nature sent to bishops around the world.
“This is what we have done, and in fact the preparatory document of the synod includes an 8-point questionnaire.”
The eight points in the questionnaire “deal broadly with the theme of family,” he said. “First, the beauty and values of the family, which is the union of a man and a woman willing to have children. The other kind of ‘unions’ are described as a social phenomenon, currently particularly strong, especially in the Western world. We should attentively look at this phenomenon for the Church’s pastoral purpose.”
“The issue of cohabitation, unmarried couples, same-sex marriages emerge,” he added. “There are also topics dealing with the knowledge, and the reception, of the teaching of the Church on the family; with natural law … with difficult family situations, dealing with separated couples, the divorced, and the divorced and remarried; and above all dealing with the children who are subjected to these situations, and their Christian education.”
(Read the rest there)
ncregister.com/daily-news/bishops-synod-head-october-meeting-about-more-than-divorce/