The Church listens

Forty-six questions will open the second stage of the Synod process. The extraordinary Synod on the family, celebrated past October, was preceded by a Questionnaire annexed to the preparatory document. Now the process for the second step opens by promoting once again “a broad consultation on the family”. It is the specific feature of the Lineamenta of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that will take place October 4-25 on the theme: “The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary world”. At the centre of the Lineamenta figures the Relatio Synodi, that closed the first phase. “It is important to be guided by the pastoral approach initiated at the Extraordinary Synod which is grounded in Vatican II and the Magisterium of Pope Francis”: it is the invitation that precedes the questions for in-depth examination of the third part of the Relatio Synodi, which addresses themes that captured the attention of public opinion, namely, civil marriage, cohabitations, remarried divorcees, persons with homosexual tendencies. In order to appropriately address the challenges that these realities entail, “a pastoral guided by the art of accompaniment” is needed, as the Pope states in the “Evangelii Gaudium”. Local Churches as well as academic institutions, organizations and lay associations will send the results of this consultation to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops by 15 April 2015, so that they may be studied for the preparation of the Instrumentum laboris which will be published before the summer. Outside customary models. The questions are conceived as a reflection on how “to begin with the family” for “effective proclamation of the Gospel message”, state the Lineamenta, which points out that the path of renewal delineated by the Extraordinary Synod “is set within the wider ecclesial context”, as indicated in the “Evangelii Gaudium”. Namely, to start from the “existential peripheries” with a pastoral activity marked by “the culture of the encounter”, capable of “recognizing the Lord’s gratuitous work” of “confidently adopting the idea of a “field hospital”. “To what extent does the description of the family in the Relatio Synodi correspond to what is registered in the Church and in contemporary society?” the document asks. Attention to “those on the periphery”. “To what extent and by what means is the ordinary pastoral care of families addressed to those on the periphery?”: the question is contained in the first part of the Relatio. The purpose is to enhance “the desire to form a family” present also in “family situations which do not correspond to the Christian vision”. “How prevalent is natural marriage among the non-baptized, also in relation to the desire to form a family among the young?” The danger is “cultural relativism” and the “consequent rejection, on the part of many, of the model of family formed by a man and woman united in the marriage and open to life”. In order to react to today’s “cultural contradictions”, we should ask “how the Church chooses to be present ‘as Church’ and to draw near families in extreme situations”, “beyond proclaiming God’s Word and pointing out extreme situations” which are “the educational strategies that will prevent them”, and “what can be done to strengthen Catholic families, faithful to the bond”. Accompanying wounded families. “Without detracting from the evangelical ideal” it is necessary to accompany the “eventual stages of personal growth as these progressively occur need to be accompanied with mercy and patience”. N. 44 of “Evangelii Gaudium”, supplies the guidelines for the “attention” of the Church towards “wounded and fragile families” mentioned in the second part of the Relatio Synodi, in considering “a pastoral approach towards people who have contracted a civil marriage, who are divorced and remarried or simply living together”. “Aware of the obvious limitations and imperfections present in many different situations, the synod fathers assumed the positive outlook indicated by Pope Francis”, the document points out, thereby calling upon local Churches to find ways to “help understand nobody is excluded from God’s mercy and how to express this truth in the pastoral action of the Church towards families, especially the fragile and wounded ones”. Among the questions of the Lineamenta figures “how to make the procedure in cases of nullity more accessible, and, if possible, at no expense”. “With regard to the divorced and remarried, pastoral practice concerning the sacraments needs to be further studied, including assessment of the Orthodox practice and taking into account ‘the distinction between an objective sinful situation and extenuating circumstances'”, continues the text. “Pastoral attention towards persons with homosexual tendencies raises new challenges, also due to the ways in which they rights are proposed in society”, states the Lineamenta.