Key cardinal at the family synod: Nothing’s going to change

[gilliam]

ROME — A Hungarian cardinal set to play a key role in the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family suggested Thursday that no change will result from the summit, either on Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics or on broader matters such as contraception.

Cardinal Péter Erdő said that talk of revisions on those fronts is the result of “a pressure with no foundation to change Church teaching.”

Erdő was the relator — more or less the chairman — of last October’s synod, and will reprise his role this year. It’s an influential post, among other things giving him the chance to shape the synod’s final document.

Erdő said on Thursday in comments to reporters in Rome that the tough questions surrounding the family are being confronted “with love and sensibility,” but also with “responsibility toward the unity of the Church.”

Erdo called the synod a place for an honest discussion over the difficulties families face, and said that legal and theological efforts are being made to find answers.

He warned, however, that “all the possible solutions will be rooted in the faith.”

cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/08/key-cardinal-at-the-family-synod-nothings-going-to-change/

 

[FollowChrist34]

ROME — A Hungarian cardinal set to play a key role in the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family suggested Thursday that no change will result from the summit, either on Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics or on broader matters such as contraception.

Cardinal Péter Erdő said that talk of revisions on those fronts is the result of “a pressure with no foundation to change Church teaching.”

Erdő was the relator — more or less the chairman — of last October’s synod, and will reprise his role this year. It’s an influential post, among other things giving him the chance to shape the synod’s final document.

Erdő said on Thursday in comments to reporters in Rome that the tough questions surrounding the family are being confronted “with love and sensibility,” but also with “responsibility toward the unity of the Church.”

Erdo called the synod a place for an honest discussion over the difficulties families face, and said that legal and theological efforts are being made to find answers.

He warned, however, that “all the possible solutions will be rooted in the faith.”

cruxnow.com/church/2015/05/08/key-cardinal-at-the-family-synod-nothings-going-to-change/

:yup:

 

[SuperLuigi]

Stick to natural law; don’t worry about what other people think

We’ve been fighting that battle for almost 2000 years. Those who stand against the Church today are not fundamentally any different than anyone else before them nor will they be from those in the future who oppose the Church.

 

[Johann_du_Toit]

His eminence simply said what a lot of Catholics (myself included) believed all along.

 

[_Abyssinia]

 

[Tigg]

How encouraging to hear his words that a bishop’s work must be grounded in church teaching and must respect tradition. Goes along with Cardinal Caffarra who is quoted as saying:

“Christian doctrine is not a theory about reality, but rather revealed truth. . . .Thus there is no distinction to be established between doctrine and pastoral practice. We are not saved in Jesus Christ by a theory; rather we participate in the grace, in the life of God. We should live in the new reality, accepting the Cross, and the concrete difficulties that go with it, throughout our life.”

 

[kozlosap]

So, why is The Synod even going to continue? Those that are afraid of real dialogue that is set in the year 2015 scare me.

 

[Magdalenaa]

I always knew this. First of all, a Synod can’t change any doctrine. In fact doctrine can’t change and it won’t. Doctrine can only develop and even a synod has no authority to declare new doctrine.

 

[KCT]

Vatican II didn’t change teachings; why would anyone expect a synod to do so?

 

[centerbe]

So, why is The Synod even going to continue? Those that are afraid of real dialogue that is set in the year 2015 scare me.

Exactly my thoughts! If the outcome is decided, then don’t bother with the exercise.

 

[Tigg]

Exactly my thoughts! If the outcome is decided, then don’t bother with the exercise.

A more interesting question to me is why the issue of giving communion to the divorced/remarried, which has been rejected by the Magisterium on four previous occasions, is still an issue. I think perhaps the answer is that the exercise must be done (again and again if necessary) in order to clarify and continually reaffirm the teaching amidst the increasing clamor of the cultural revolution. I certainly don’t assume the outcome, despite the fact that one by one the cardinals are writing books and theological assessments and speaking in favor of upholding unchangeable Tradition. That there will be a huge debate in the synod, I believe will definitely happen, but ultimately (and perhaps in a way none of us can foresee at the present time) it will be for the greater glory of God and the triumph of the faith.

 

[LongingSoul]

So, why is The Synod even going to continue? Those that are afraid of real dialogue that is set in the year 2015 scare me.

That is because the sacred deposit of faith is a living tradition and it is not conducive to our faith to lock it in an airtight box and never actually interact with it in our everyday lives. Pope Francis, being the Pope and a very holy and Christlike leader, knows the power of grace to heal the spiritually sick by bringing them the living traditions with the fearless faith of a humble and generous servant. He has been much harsher on those in the Church who are determined to keep the doors and windows locked and dark and out of reach, than those who long for the crumbs off the banquet table.

So what Pope Francis is doing, is actually the Churchs job. Bringing the living traditions to the people of every age in both their common and unique problems of life and faith.

 

[Brendan]

So, why is The Synod even going to continue? Those that are afraid of real dialogue that is set in the year 2015 scare me.

It is BECAUSE there are those who are afraid of real dialogue. Those people who continue to believe that it is the CHURCH that needs to change it’s moral teachings, instead of changing their personal lives.

Those are the people that are afraid of real dialogue, as it exposes their need for repentance and conversion.

 

[LongingSoul]

It is BECAUSE there are those who are afraid of real dialogue. Those people who continue to believe that it is the CHURCH that needs to change it’s moral teachings, instead of changing their personal lives.

Those are the people that are afraid of real dialogue, as it exposes their need for repentance and conversion.

You’re assuming way too much of your own attitude into Pope Francis intentions. He has never said anything remotely as condemnatory of people as you are saying.

 

[TMC]

So, why is The Synod even going to continue? Those that are afraid of real dialogue that is set in the year 2015 scare me.

Let’s see what really happens. The Church has a long history of changing without “changing.” For example, others have commented on this thread that Vatican II changed no doctrine. Technically true, based on the way VII rolled out its changes. But most Catholics perceived real change after that council. We can hope that the Synod has the same result, and that the Spirit’s nudge in the direction of progress is realized (regardless of whether any “change” is admitted post-hoc).

 

[Brendan]

You’re assuming way too much of your own attitude into Pope Francis intentions. He has never said anything remotely as condemnatory of people as you are saying.

Really? Quite a number of his General Audiences have been about the need for conversion and repentance.

And he also noted that the Church will not change any teachings on matters of faith and morals, so if there is real dialogue that will happen, it would, by defintion, involve the changing of the views of those who disagree with the teachings of the Church.

 

[OraLabora]

Exactly my thoughts! If the outcome is decided, then don’t bother with the exercise.

Although I agree that dialogue on this issue should not be shut down, they Synod is about much more than divorce and remarriage (and more than about same-sex unions).

There are plenty of other challenges faced by families, not the least an issue recently in the news in my country: the right to give one’s children a Catholic education. There are also unique issues particular to some regions like Africa. So there’s much more to the Synod than the few lightning-rod issues that the media focus on.

I do believe that divorce and remarriage is a very important issue in the West. It does merit the open, recrimination-free debate that the Holy Father asked for, something a few participants seem to want to derail, which is unfortunate.

 

[Tigg]

Let’s see what really happens. The Church has a long history of changing without “changing.” For example, others have commented on this thread that Vatican II changed no doctrine. Technically true, based on the way VII rolled out its changes. But most Catholics perceived real change after that council.

I can almost agree with this. It has been generally acknowledged that there were discrepancies in the views of the Council Fathers and didn’t even JP II in Ecclesia Dei, call for a deeper study so that that which was not always “well understood" could be better explained. But make no mistake about it - that many of the changes that happened were accomplished, not by V2 documents, but on the whim of others who organized and promoted their own personal preferences.

We can hope that the Synod has the same result, and that the Spirit’s nudge in the direction of progress is realized (regardless of whether any “change” is admitted post-hoc).

How do you know the Spirit is nudging in the “direction of progress?” Just exactly what has the Catholic Church been lacking for the past two millennia? What **defect **has been within Her that mankind cannot understand the prize to which She points and for which man was created? What insufficiency is contained within the Deposit of Faith and what spiritual **necessity **has not been written and recorded within the lives of the saints who have walked the walk and shared the sacred knowledge of life?

It is fallen mankind that wants the “progress” in order to transcend God’s written and inviolable law. It is mankind that digresses and erroneously places more importance on emotional experience than reason and the faith to which he is called to live. It is only a corrupted culture that is finding the immanence of God irrelevant and the teaching of Christ just too hard to follow. It is not change, but the* preservation *of that which God has already revealed that is the Living Tradition, just as relevant to this age and particular time as it was when revealed and meant to be followed regardless the transgressions of man.

 

[TMC]

I can almost agree with this. It has been generally acknowledged that there were discrepancies in the views of the Council Fathers and didn’t even JP II in Ecclesia Dei, call for a deeper study so that that which was not always “well understood" could be better explained. But make no mistake about it - that many of the changes that happened were accomplished, not by V2 documents, but on the whim of others who organized and promoted their own personal preferences.

How do you know the Spirit is nudging in the “direction of progress?” Just exactly what has the Catholic Church been lacking for the past two millennia? What **defect **has been within Her that mankind cannot understand the prize to which She points and for which man was created? What insufficiency is contained within the Deposit of Faith and what spiritual **necessity **has not been written and recorded within the lives of the saints who have walked the walk and shared the sacred knowledge of life?

It is fallen mankind that wants the “progress” in order to transcend God’s written and inviolable law. It is mankind that digresses and erroneously places more importance on emotional experience than reason and the faith to which he is called to live. It is only a corrupted culture that is finding the immanence of God irrelevant and the teaching of Christ just too hard to follow. It is not change, but the* preservation *of that which God has already revealed that is the Living Tradition, just as relevant to this age and particular time as it was when revealed and meant to be followed regardless the transgressions of man.

Of course none of us can say that we know the Divine with clarity, but it is my belief that the Spirit is moving the Church on certain issues, including those being discussed at the Synod. Obviously, many agree with me, and many disagree.

As to what the Church has lacked through the millennia, surely it is not seriously disputed that the Church is an imperfect institution? The Church has made many mistakes through the centuries, and is constantly in the process of trying to grow deeper in understanding. Indeed, as you point out, it is not the Faith or Truth that is lacking, but human fault in not truly grasping that Truth. Christ told us the Spirit would continue to guide us toward the Truth, including truths that the Church was not ready to hear in His time. That is what has happened for 2,000 years, and is happening now. Thus, the Church has grown in understanding on many issues. I think the Church is moving toward a better understanding of many family-related issues. I see the Spirit behind that movement, and I hope and pray the Synod will listen to the Spirit, despite the difficulties and challenges of doing so.

 

[PTL]

When we talk about truth, the important thing to keep in mind is that truth has to be absolute. In other words, truth can never change no matter how time changes. If truth could change, then it has never been the truth. For example, “Thou shall not murder”, that should be absolute and never change. Even if the society becomes barbarian and people kill each other, this truth could not be changed. No one can say since people kill people left and right, the truth of “thou shall not murder” should be evolved.

The same is for the adultery. One shall not commit adultery. Just because people divorce right and left and remarry another person, the truth of “thou shall not commit adultery cannot be modified.

The Holy Spirit will never lead people away from God’s truth. Men who want to promote their own agenda manipulate the truth in the name of the Holy Spirit.