Thirteen cardinals express concern over new synod rules in letter to Pope [CH-UK]
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CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i...it_Bohumil_Petrik_CNA_CNA_10_13_14.jpgVatican City, Oct 12, 2015 / 05:49 am (CNA/EWTN News).- New York’s archbishop is listed among the signatories in a letter last week to Pope Francis over whether this year’s Synod on the Family lacked the “openness and genuine collegiality” needed to accomplish its purpose, it was revealed Monday.
In the letter dated Oct. 5, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the other prelates allegedly addressed the Pope with the aim of alerting him to concerns that new procedures imposed on this year’s gathering, in contrast to previous synods, could hinder the participants in their responsibilities.
The names of the thirteen prelates, along with the content of the letter, were published Oct. 12 by Sandro Magister. However, representatives of at least two of the prelates listed, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois and Cardinal Angelo Scola, have denied that the cardinals signed the document.
At an Oct. 12 press conference, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said he had “nothing to confirm about the document, as it was a confidential one.”
Offered in a “spirit of fidelity,” the letter addresses the drafting of the final document to be submitted to the Holy Father at the conclusion of the synod, and the disproportionate degree of attention given to doctrinal and theological debates which take away the need to reinforce the dignity of marriage and family.
As a result of these procedural changes, there is “concern that the new procedures are not true to the traditional spirit and purpose of a synod,” the letter reads.
“It is unclear why these procedural changes are necessary. A number of fathers feel the new process seems designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions.”
One of the primary tasks of the synod fathers is to create the final document based in part on the Instrumentum Laboris (the “preparatory document”), parts of which the letter says require “substantial reflection and reworking.”
“The new procedures guiding the synod seem to guarantee it excessive influence on the synod’s deliberations and on the final synodal document.”
The letter highlights the way in which these procedures inhibit the production of the final document, as opposed to previous synods.
“In the past, the process of offering propositions and voting on them served the valuable purpose of taking the measure of the synod fathers’ minds,” the letter reads.
“The absence of propositions and their related discussions and voting seems to discourage open debate and to confine discussion to small groups; thus it seems urgent to us that the crafting of propositions to be voted on by the entire synod should be restored.”
It also expresses concern that vote on the final document will come too late in the process to allow for “full review and serious adjustment of the text.”
“The new synodal procedures will be seen in some quarters as lacking openness and genuine collegiality,” the letter reads.
The letter also cites the the manner in which the drafting committee of the final document has been organized, saying members are appointed rather than elected.
“The lack of (name removed by moderator)ut by the synod fathers in the composition of the drafting committee has created considerable unease,” the letter adds.
“Members have been appointed, not elected, without consultation. Likewise, anyone drafting anything at the level of the small circles should be elected, not appointed.”
The letter also cites concern that excess attention given to doctrinal and theological debates over Communion for the divorced and remarried could compromise the task at hand – examining the pastoral care of the family – in a way that could have wider repercussions for the Church’s mission.
“Various fathers have expressed concern that a synod designed to address a vital pastoral matter – reinforcing the dignity of marriage and family – may become dominated by the theological/doctrinal issue of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried.”
“If so, this will inevitably raise even more fundamental issues about how the Church, going forward, should interpret and apply the Word of God, her doctrines and her disciplines to changes in culture.”
The signatories warned that the Church should take heed from the fate of other denominations which abandonment core Christian beliefs in the name of pastoral care.
“The collapse of liberal Protestant churches in the modern era, accelerated by their abandonment of key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation, warrants great caution in our own synodal discussions.”
This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
[IMG ]http://prayersforpriests.homestead.com/tp.gif[/IMG]
Full article…
In the letter dated Oct. 5, Cardinal Timothy Dolan and the other prelates allegedly addressed the Pope with the aim of alerting him to concerns that new procedures imposed on this year’s gathering, in contrast to previous synods, could hinder the participants in their responsibilities.
The names of the thirteen prelates, along with the content of the letter, were published Oct. 12 by Sandro Magister. However, representatives of at least two of the prelates listed, Cardinal André Vingt-Trois and Cardinal Angelo Scola, have denied that the cardinals signed the document.
At an Oct. 12 press conference, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said he had “nothing to confirm about the document, as it was a confidential one.”
Offered in a “spirit of fidelity,” the letter addresses the drafting of the final document to be submitted to the Holy Father at the conclusion of the synod, and the disproportionate degree of attention given to doctrinal and theological debates which take away the need to reinforce the dignity of marriage and family.
As a result of these procedural changes, there is “concern that the new procedures are not true to the traditional spirit and purpose of a synod,” the letter reads.
“It is unclear why these procedural changes are necessary. A number of fathers feel the new process seems designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions.”
One of the primary tasks of the synod fathers is to create the final document based in part on the Instrumentum Laboris (the “preparatory document”), parts of which the letter says require “substantial reflection and reworking.”
“The new procedures guiding the synod seem to guarantee it excessive influence on the synod’s deliberations and on the final synodal document.”
The letter highlights the way in which these procedures inhibit the production of the final document, as opposed to previous synods.
“In the past, the process of offering propositions and voting on them served the valuable purpose of taking the measure of the synod fathers’ minds,” the letter reads.
“The absence of propositions and their related discussions and voting seems to discourage open debate and to confine discussion to small groups; thus it seems urgent to us that the crafting of propositions to be voted on by the entire synod should be restored.”
It also expresses concern that vote on the final document will come too late in the process to allow for “full review and serious adjustment of the text.”
“The new synodal procedures will be seen in some quarters as lacking openness and genuine collegiality,” the letter reads.
The letter also cites the the manner in which the drafting committee of the final document has been organized, saying members are appointed rather than elected.
“The lack of (name removed by moderator)ut by the synod fathers in the composition of the drafting committee has created considerable unease,” the letter adds.
“Members have been appointed, not elected, without consultation. Likewise, anyone drafting anything at the level of the small circles should be elected, not appointed.”
The letter also cites concern that excess attention given to doctrinal and theological debates over Communion for the divorced and remarried could compromise the task at hand – examining the pastoral care of the family – in a way that could have wider repercussions for the Church’s mission.
“Various fathers have expressed concern that a synod designed to address a vital pastoral matter – reinforcing the dignity of marriage and family – may become dominated by the theological/doctrinal issue of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried.”
“If so, this will inevitably raise even more fundamental issues about how the Church, going forward, should interpret and apply the Word of God, her doctrines and her disciplines to changes in culture.”
The signatories warned that the Church should take heed from the fate of other denominations which abandonment core Christian beliefs in the name of pastoral care.
“The collapse of liberal Protestant churches in the modern era, accelerated by their abandonment of key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation, warrants great caution in our own synodal discussions.”
This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
[IMG ]http://prayersforpriests.homestead.com/tp.gif[/IMG]
Full article…
B
BartholomewB
Guest
Sandro Magister seems to have been the first to break the news, earlier today:
chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351154?eng=y
His list of signatories, as it now stands, includes:
**> Robert Sarah, **the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, tipped by Magister in an earlier post as a leading papabile at a future conclave
**> Gerhard L. Müller, **the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
> George Pell, the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy
**> Timothy M. Dolan, **archbishop of New York
chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351154?eng=y
His list of signatories, as it now stands, includes:
**> Robert Sarah, **the Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship, tipped by Magister in an earlier post as a leading papabile at a future conclave
**> Gerhard L. Müller, **the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
> George Pell, the Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy
**> Timothy M. Dolan, **archbishop of New York
G
gilliam
Guest
The letter’s 13 signatories, according to Magister, are Cardinals Carlo Caffarra, Thomas Collins, Timothy Dolan, Willem Eijk, Péter Erdo, Gerhard Müller, Wilfrid Napier, George Pell, Mauro Piacenza, Robert Sarah, Angelo Scola, Jorge Urosa Savino, and André Vingt-Trois.
Warning: 1/3 of the cardinals have now denied signing.
Cardinal Piacenza has also denied signing alleged Magister letter
Cardinal André Vingt-Trois denies
Cardinal Erdo denies signing letter
The Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola’s spokesman issued a statement on his behalf, confirming that he had signed no such letter.
see: vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/sinodo-famiglia-43910/
This whole thing could be a hoax
Warning: 1/3 of the cardinals have now denied signing.
Cardinal Piacenza has also denied signing alleged Magister letter
Cardinal André Vingt-Trois denies
Cardinal Erdo denies signing letter
The Archbishop of Milan, Angelo Scola’s spokesman issued a statement on his behalf, confirming that he had signed no such letter.
see: vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/sinodo-famiglia-43910/
This whole thing could be a hoax
P
pnewton
Guest
I will lean toward the whole thing being an idea for a screen play some of the Cardinals were working on in their spare time, “The Shoes of the Fisherman Re-Tread”. I mean if we are going to be making stuff up to pass the time during private meetings, we might as well be more imaginative.
G
gilliam
Guest
Card Napier tells Crux he signed a letter, but not what Magister published. His was specifically on the makeup of 10-member writing group.
Looks like a bad report in the OP
Looks like a bad report in the OP
L
LongingSoul
Guest
It’s written by ‘Staff Reporter’. Someone didn’t want to put their name to it!!
A
_Abyssinia
Guest
Cardinal Pell: Many Synod Fathers Still Concerned About Drafting Committee Composition
Read more: ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-pell-many-synod-fathers-still-concerned-about-drafting-committee-c/#ixzz3oNYMXED4
Read more: ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-pell-many-synod-fathers-still-concerned-about-drafting-committee-c/#ixzz3oNYMXED4
Read more: ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/cardinal-pell-many-synod-fathers-still-concerned-about-drafting-committee-c/#ixzz3oNYWEmJ6
S
sarah_j
Guest
"Napier acknowledged signing a letter, but said its content was different from that presented in Magister’s report. The letter he signed, he said, was specifically about the 10-member commission preparing the final document. :
“I really would share” concerns about “the choice of the people that are writing up the final document,” Napier said, adding that he would actually challenge “Pope Francis’ right to choose that.”
Wuerl said past synods have “never” had an elected drafting committee, but Napier said that the current lineup may leave questions hanging.
“If we’re going to get a fair expression of what the synod is about, [such as] what the Church in Africa really would like to see happening,” he said, then different people should be chosen.
“We wouldn’t like to see the same kind of people on that committee who were there the last time, who caused us the grief that we had,” he said, referring to a controversial interim report in 2014 that seemed to embrace a progressive line on some debated questions.
Napier also said he’s worried that the preparatory document for the synod, known as the Instrumentum Laboris, will have too much influence on the final result rather than the actual content of the synod’s discussions.
“It’s almost like the Instrumentum Laboris is the base text, not what’s come out of the group’s discussions as concerns that need to be put forward as proposals for the final document to take to the pope,” he said.
cruxnow.com/church/2015/10/12/cardinals-clash-on-doubts-about-process-at-the-synod-of-bishops/
By Michael O’Loughlin, Inés San Martín, and John L. Allen Jr.
“I really would share” concerns about “the choice of the people that are writing up the final document,” Napier said, adding that he would actually challenge “Pope Francis’ right to choose that.”
Wuerl said past synods have “never” had an elected drafting committee, but Napier said that the current lineup may leave questions hanging.
“If we’re going to get a fair expression of what the synod is about, [such as] what the Church in Africa really would like to see happening,” he said, then different people should be chosen.
“We wouldn’t like to see the same kind of people on that committee who were there the last time, who caused us the grief that we had,” he said, referring to a controversial interim report in 2014 that seemed to embrace a progressive line on some debated questions.
Napier also said he’s worried that the preparatory document for the synod, known as the Instrumentum Laboris, will have too much influence on the final result rather than the actual content of the synod’s discussions.
“It’s almost like the Instrumentum Laboris is the base text, not what’s come out of the group’s discussions as concerns that need to be put forward as proposals for the final document to take to the pope,” he said.
cruxnow.com/church/2015/10/12/cardinals-clash-on-doubts-about-process-at-the-synod-of-bishops/
By Michael O’Loughlin, Inés San Martín, and John L. Allen Jr.
C
CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i...it_Bohumil_Petrik_CNA_CNA_10_13_14.jpgVatican City, Oct 12, 2015 / 01:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- The text of a letter allegedly written by 13 cardinals to Pope Francis is inaccurate, said Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican’s Secretariat for the Economy, adding that the contents of private documents should remain private.
“The list of signatories is wrong, and so is the content,” Cardinal Pell told CNA Oct. 12.
“I don’t know what they did, exactly. Perhaps they attributed incorrect signatures to a wrong text,” he continued, as to how the errors could have been inserted into the text. “I am not the head of any lobby, I am just a messenger.”
The cardinal’s comments come in response to a report that he was among the signatories of an Oct. 5 letter to Pope Francis over whether this year’s Synod on the Family lacked the “openness and genuine collegiality” needed to accomplish its purpose.
In the letter, 13 prelates allegedly addressed the Pope with the aim of alerting him to concerns that new procedures imposed on this year’s gathering, in contrast to previous synods, could hinder the participants in their responsibilities.
The names of the 13 prelates, along with the contents of the letter, were published Oct. 12 by Sandro Magister.
However, representatives of at least four of the prelates listed – Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Cardinal Angelo Scola, Cardinal Péter Erdõ, and Cardinal Mauro Piacenza – have denied that they signed the document.
In an Oct. 12 statement, a spokesperson for Cardinal Pell said that while there is strong agreement on most issues within the synod, “there is some disagreement because minority elements want to change the Church’s teachings on the proper dispositions necessary for the reception of Communion.”
“Obviously there is no possibility of change on this doctrine,” it said.
“A private letter should remain private,” the statement continued, adding, “The Cardinal is aware that concerns remain among many of the Synod Fathers about the composition of the drafting committee of the final relatio and about the process by which it will be presented to the Synod fathers and voted upon.”
Asked about the letter at an Oct. 12 press conference, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said he had “nothing to confirm about the document, as it was a confidential one.”
Offered in a “spirit of fidelity,” the letter released by Magister addresses the drafting of the final document to be submitted to the Holy Father at the conclusion of the synod, and the disproportionate degree of attention given to doctrinal and theological debates which take away the need to reinforce the dignity of marriage and family.
As a result of these procedural changes, there is “concern that the new procedures are not true to the traditional spirit and purpose of a synod,” the letter reads.
“It is unclear why these procedural changes are necessary. A number of fathers feel the new process seems designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions.”
One of the primary tasks of the synod fathers is to create the final document based in part on the Instrumentum Laboris (the “preparatory document”), parts of which the letter says require “substantial reflection and reworking.”
“The new procedures guiding the synod seem to guarantee it excessive influence on the synod’s deliberations and on the final synodal document.”
The letter highlights several ways in which signatories believe these procedures inhibit the production of the final document, as opposed to previous synods.
It voices concern over the absence of propositions, along with discussion and voting on them; the late timing of the vote on the final document, such that there will not be time for “full review and serious adjustment of the text”; the fact that members of the drafting committee for the final document were appointed rather than elected; and what is described as a disproportionate focus on the issue of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried.
This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/W-fParw7RyI
Full article…
“The list of signatories is wrong, and so is the content,” Cardinal Pell told CNA Oct. 12.
“I don’t know what they did, exactly. Perhaps they attributed incorrect signatures to a wrong text,” he continued, as to how the errors could have been inserted into the text. “I am not the head of any lobby, I am just a messenger.”
The cardinal’s comments come in response to a report that he was among the signatories of an Oct. 5 letter to Pope Francis over whether this year’s Synod on the Family lacked the “openness and genuine collegiality” needed to accomplish its purpose.
In the letter, 13 prelates allegedly addressed the Pope with the aim of alerting him to concerns that new procedures imposed on this year’s gathering, in contrast to previous synods, could hinder the participants in their responsibilities.
The names of the 13 prelates, along with the contents of the letter, were published Oct. 12 by Sandro Magister.
However, representatives of at least four of the prelates listed – Cardinal André Vingt-Trois, Cardinal Angelo Scola, Cardinal Péter Erdõ, and Cardinal Mauro Piacenza – have denied that they signed the document.
In an Oct. 12 statement, a spokesperson for Cardinal Pell said that while there is strong agreement on most issues within the synod, “there is some disagreement because minority elements want to change the Church’s teachings on the proper dispositions necessary for the reception of Communion.”
“Obviously there is no possibility of change on this doctrine,” it said.
“A private letter should remain private,” the statement continued, adding, “The Cardinal is aware that concerns remain among many of the Synod Fathers about the composition of the drafting committee of the final relatio and about the process by which it will be presented to the Synod fathers and voted upon.”
Asked about the letter at an Oct. 12 press conference, Vatican spokesman Fr. Federico Lombardi said he had “nothing to confirm about the document, as it was a confidential one.”
Offered in a “spirit of fidelity,” the letter released by Magister addresses the drafting of the final document to be submitted to the Holy Father at the conclusion of the synod, and the disproportionate degree of attention given to doctrinal and theological debates which take away the need to reinforce the dignity of marriage and family.
As a result of these procedural changes, there is “concern that the new procedures are not true to the traditional spirit and purpose of a synod,” the letter reads.
“It is unclear why these procedural changes are necessary. A number of fathers feel the new process seems designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions.”
One of the primary tasks of the synod fathers is to create the final document based in part on the Instrumentum Laboris (the “preparatory document”), parts of which the letter says require “substantial reflection and reworking.”
“The new procedures guiding the synod seem to guarantee it excessive influence on the synod’s deliberations and on the final synodal document.”
The letter highlights several ways in which signatories believe these procedures inhibit the production of the final document, as opposed to previous synods.
It voices concern over the absence of propositions, along with discussion and voting on them; the late timing of the vote on the final document, such that there will not be time for “full review and serious adjustment of the text”; the fact that members of the drafting committee for the final document were appointed rather than elected; and what is described as a disproportionate focus on the issue of Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried.
This year’s Synod on the Family, which runs from Oct. 4-25, is the second and larger of two such gatherings to take place in the course of a year. Like its 2014 precursor, the focus of the 2015 Synod of Bishops will be the family, this time with the theme: “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and the modern world.”
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/W-fParw7RyI
Full article…
T
TMC
Guest
No mystery what is occurring here. Someone is leaking information to a friendly news source, likely in an attempt to influence the outcome of the Synod (and/or the reaction to it). Whether the information is entirely accurate seems to be in question, but the purpose of the leak is fairly obvious.
I didn’t know we had them.
A
_Abyssinia
Guest
americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/thirteen-cardinals-including-di-nardo-and-dolan-challenged-popes-decisions-synod
I’m not 100% sure it’s ok for us to be spreading this information though?
R
Robert_Bay
Guest
I am closing this thread because the original news story is being repeated and it has been shown to be in error
C
CWN_News
Guest
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, told the Milan-based newspaper Corriere della Sera that he would neither confirm nor deny signing a letter to Pope Francis expressing concerns about the methodology of the Synod of Bishops and the content of its working document.
“This is a new Vatileaks,” he said, referring to the leaking of Vatican documents in 2012. “The Pope’s private documents are the private property of the Pope and of no one else.”
Cardinal Müller also deplored as “offensive and criminal” the characterization that Pope Francis is surrounded by “wolves” in the Curia who oppose him.
More…
“This is a new Vatileaks,” he said, referring to the leaking of Vatican documents in 2012. “The Pope’s private documents are the private property of the Pope and of no one else.”
Cardinal Müller also deplored as “offensive and criminal” the characterization that Pope Francis is surrounded by “wolves” in the Curia who oppose him.
More…
C
CNA_News
Guest
http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/i...it_Bohumil_Petrik_CNA_CNA_11_19_14.jpgVatican City, Oct 13, 2015 / 11:48 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Gerhard Müller spoke with an Italian daily on Tuesday about the synod and about a letter allegedly sent to Pope Francis from a number of cardinals abouts its process, calling the leak of a private document scandalous.
feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/catholicnewsagency/dailynews?d=yIl2AUoC8zA
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/K6KylNblzPA
Full article…
Code:
“I'm not saying whether I signed or not. The scandal is that it makes public a private letter of the Pope,” the prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [told *Corriere della Sera*](http://roma.corriere.it/notizie/politica/15_ottobre_13/cardinale-muller-episodio-grave-nuovo-vatileaks-chi-ha-diffuso-testo-vuole-dividerci-8e93ae58-716a-11e5-b015-f1d3b8f071aa.shtml) Oct. 13. “This is a new Vatileaks: the Pope’s private documents are private property of the Pope and no one else. No one can publish it, I do not know how that could happen.”
“The intention of those who willed its publication is to sow strife, to create tensions. I think that's clear.”
The text of [a letter](http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/cardinal-dolan-reportedly-among-concerned-bishops-who-wrote-pope-about-synod-34145/), and a list of 13 cardinal signatories, were [published by Vaticanista Sandro Magister](http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1351154?eng=y) the day before. Several of the prelates listed have denied having signed the document, and others have contested the text published by Magister.
Cardinal Müller is among the list of signatories published by Magister, as well as an alternate version [ magazine*America*](http://americamagazine.org/content/dispatches/thirteen-cardinals-including-di-nardo-and-dolan-challenged-popes-decisions-synod).
After discussing the letter with *Corriere della Sera*, the cardinal turned to larger issues of the synod, and Francis' papacy.
He took umbrage at “those who sustain that in the Roman Curia there is opposition to the Pope. Those who say and write that there are wolves, that Francis is surrounded by wolves. This is an offensive expression, and criminal. I am not a wolf against the Pope.”
“I know who is the Pope and what is meant by his primacy a thousand times better than those who say these things. As prefect of the Congregation, I am the first collaborator of the Holy Father; not only myself but all those who are part of it. I will let no one put in doubt my obedience and my service to the Pope and the Church.”
Pope Francis had cautioned last week against a 'hermeneutic of conspiracy' surrounding the synod, and Cardinal Müller reflected that the 'conspiracy' would be “To say we are friends of the Pope, and they are the enemy!”
“I do not know anyone here who is against the Pope,” he affirmed.
Acknowledging that there has been concern expressed over the synod's regulations, he said it “always discusses how to improve procedures, everyone has the freedom to say their opinion on this: the regulations are a human, not a divine law!”
Cardinal Müller spoke positively about the use of small groups for discussion at the synod, saying that “everyone has the freedom to express themselves more fully,” and that “in the [synod] hall there are only three minutes for each intervention, and a synthesis of all aspects cannot be done.”
“There was tension between doctrine and pastoral approach,” the cardinal said, “but it is the task of the synod to see these two aspects together. Every Catholic bishop, in his person, is a teacher of the faith and also shepherd of the flock.”
Regarding the link between doctrine and mercy, Cardinal Müller said, “Orthodoxy must be realized in pastoral care, and there is not a healthy pastoral care without doctrine: that is the teaching of Jesus, not an academic doctrine of theologians.”
He added that the debates should not be characterized as between “liberals” who are approved by the masses, and unpopular “conservatives” who defend the doctrine revealed by Christ.
“It is not as if one [bishop] is of the Ten Commandments, and another is of mercy. And the Gospel requires also the conversion of our lives. The door is narrow.”
Cardinal Müller then turned to the divorced-and-remarried.
“Persons are suffering because their marriage is broken, not because they cannot receive Communion. For us the center of the Eucharist is the consecration: each Christian has the obligation to attend Mass, but not to receive Communion. Concentrating only on this one point resolves nothing.”
He added that “a general rule” in this regard “is not possible.”
“Marriage is a sacrament, and the Church has not authority over a sacrament.”http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/catholicnewsagency/dailynews/~4/K6KylNblzPA
Full article…
L
LongingSoul
Guest
Honestly that Sandro Magister who leaked this letter from some unknown inside source, (probably a typist or a janitor since it was a draft copy)… needs to be booted from the Vatican press circle permanently. He was the one who leaked the draft copy of the Encyclical on the environment prior to it’s official release and was suspended indefinitely and publically chastised for it. 
G
gilliam
Guest
Cardinal Dolan On Famous Letter From The 13 Cardinals To Pope Francis
soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/cardinal-dolan-on-famous-letter-from-the-13-cardinals-to-pope-francis?in=siriusxm-news-issues/sets/catholic-channel-on-siriusxm
soundcloud.com/siriusxm-news-issues/cardinal-dolan-on-famous-letter-from-the-13-cardinals-to-pope-francis?in=siriusxm-news-issues/sets/catholic-channel-on-siriusxm
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