Half a million people sign petition urging Francis to reinforce Church teaching on marriage at synod

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More than 500,000 people, including five cardinals, have signed a petition asking Pope Francis to reinforce Church teaching on marriage and the family at the synod of bishops in October.
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The petition, launched by Catholic student association TFP Student Action and backed by 25 pro-family groups around the world, was posted on the organisation’s site in late January.
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It has since been signed by five cardinals, 117 bishops and hundreds of civil leaders, in addition to the thousands of university students it was aimed at.
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catholicherald.co.uk/news/2015/08/25/half-a-million-people-sign-petition-urging-francis-to-reinforce-church-teaching-on-marriage-at-synod/
 
Are these the same people who keep telling us that the Church in not a democracy?
 
Tim_D said:
Are these the same people who keep telling us that the Church in not a democracy?
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This isn’t a matter of Democracy, it’s a matter of faithful Catholics asking the Pope to public reaffirm Church Teaching. They’re not trying to change anything, simply asking for a more firm statement that -cannot- be ignored by the press like so much else our Holy Father has said on the subject has been.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
This isn’t a matter of Democracy, it’s a matter of faithful Catholics asking the Pope to public reaffirm Church Teaching. They’re not trying to change anything, simply asking for a more firm statement that -cannot- be ignored by the press like so much else our Holy Father has said on the subject has been.
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I was simply noting the irony that when people call for a change in the Church, they are told the Church is not a democracy. Now the same people are signing a petition "asking the Pope to publicly reaffirm Church teaching" when such things are usually the practice in democracies. Heads you win, tails I lose…
 
Tim_D said:
Are these the same people who keep telling us that the Church in not a democracy?
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I don’t believe that any of the signatories is expected that Canon law would be enacted on the authority of the laity. That would be a hallmark principle of democracy, would it not, that the authority rests in the voters.

On the other hand, the laity DO have a Canonical duty to make known their spiritual needs
Can. 212 §1. Conscious of their own responsibility, the Christian faithful are bound to follow with Christian obedience those things which the sacred pastors, inasmuch as they represent Christ, declare as teachers of the faith or establish as rulers of the Church.
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§2. The Christian faithful are free to make known to the pastors of the Church their needs, especially spiritual ones, and their desires.
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§3. According to the knowledge, competence, and prestige which they possess, they have the right and even at times the duty to manifest to the sacred pastors their opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church and to make their opinion known to the rest of the Christian faithful, without prejudice to the integrity of faith and morals, with reverence toward their pastors, and attentive to common advantage and the dignity of persons.
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So I would view the distinction as being one making a request to those with authority and one operating on the presumption that the ‘voters’ have the authority.

In this petition, I see the former, not the latter.

Do you disagree?
 
ProdglArchitect said:
This isn’t a matter of Democracy, it’s a matter of faithful Catholics asking the Pope to public reaffirm Church Teaching. They’re not trying to change anything, simply asking for a more firm statement that -cannot- be ignored by the press like so much else our Holy Father has said on the subject has been.
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I think that the Pope would be keeping to Church teaching (not always followed) that we should show mercy, love and fellowship to our fellow catholics.
 
Tim_D said:
I was simply noting the irony that when people call for a change in the Church, they are told the Church is not a democracy. Now the same people are signing a petition "asking the Pope to publicly reaffirm Church teaching" when such things are usually the practice in democracies. Heads you win, tails I lose…
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I share your sense of irony in this. If there wasn’t some sense that something could change - and thus be potentially influenced by the petition, the petition wouldn’t have been launched.
 
500,000 of 1.2 billion Catholics doesn’t sound much does it?
 
smead2942 said:
It’s about TIME. Though I’m not sure he will. The Holy Father has surrounded himself with heretics like Cupich, Kasper, Marx, etc, and one should never underestimate the power of peer pressure.
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Pretty bold statement… Not to mention absurd

Reported to moderator for call Cardinals heretics.
 
simpleas said:
500,000 of 1.2 billion Catholics doesn’t sound much does it?
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How many of those billion evem know about the synod–or even what a synod is? For that matter, how many Catholics even know what the Church teaches about marriage and family? Half-million is a pretty strong number when you consider that of the billion Catholics out there only a small proportion are significantly engaged with their faith.
 
Tim_D said:
I was simply noting the irony that when people call for a change in the Church, they are told the Church is not a democracy. Now the same people are signing a petition "asking the Pope to publicly reaffirm Church teaching" when such things are usually the practice in democracies. Heads you win, tails I lose…
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You don’t see a meaningful difference between clamoring for a change of Church teaching and asking for an affirmation of that teaching?
 
Colorad007 said:
How many of those billion evem know about the synod–or even what a synod is? For that matter, how many Catholics even know what the Church teaches about marriage and family? Half-million is a pretty strong number when you consider that of the billion Catholics out there only a small proportion are significantly engaged with their faith.
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Your comment begs the question about how many of the 500k are simply following suit? As previous post noted, peer pressure is tough.

500 remains statistically insignificant.
 
godisgood77 said:
Your comment begs the question about how many of the 500k are simply following suit? As previous post noted, peer pressure is tough.

500 remains statistically insignificant.
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You really believe that significant number of the “statisrically insignificant” petitioners were somehow pressured into signing the petition?

And half-million is hardly a small number, even if it is not statistically overwhelming.
 
Tim_D said:
I think that you are taking this a bit too seriously.
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Well, actually, I was merely responding to your odd assertion that the petition was perhaps incongruous with an opposition to democratization in the Church. It isn’t, clearly.

But, yeah, it is newsworthy. Anytime over 100 bishops, several cardinals, and numerous lay political and religious leaders sign a petition to the pope, it is newsworthy on a forum dedicated to Catholic news.
 
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