Synod document an 'unbiased summary' Spanish cardinal says

Joshua J. McElwee
National Catholic Reporter
October 15, 2014


A Spanish cardinal has defended the landmark document released Monday by the Synod of Bishops on the family, saying it was an "unbiased summary" of the prelates' discussions to that point.

The document, said Barcelona Cardinal Lluís Martínez Sistach, is a collection of what was said in some 300 talks during the first week of the Oct. 5-19 meeting.

"It is far from being complete, but it is an unbiased summary," Martínez said Wednesday at a Vatican press conference.

The cardinal's comments come as some prelates have begun to criticize the document. On Tuesday, South African Cardinal Wilfrid Napier said its message of openness to modern society has put the prelates in "a position that is virtually irredeemable."

Answering a question Wednesday about how he sees the reaction of some Catholics who disagree with points in the synod document, Martínez said repeatedly that the document was not a final decree but a "working document" that the synod members are still revising.

"It is not a final document, I insist on this," he said. But, he continued: "We must all convert ourselves, and conversion is a painful experience. All the faithful must continue to follow the will of God through conversion."

Monday's document, which calls for the church to listen more and to apply mercy much more widely, was released as a summary of the synod's discussions so far and is known officially as a relatio post disceptationem.

The document was created after the some 190 prelates attending the synod meet last week in general assemblies. This week, the prelates are meeting in small working groups, divided by different languages, to revise Monday's document. Those revisions are to be presented to the whole synod Thursday, in view of drafting a final document for the synod for submission to Pope Francis by Sunday.

Unlike previous synods, the Vatican is not releasing the texts of the speeches made by the prelates in their general assemblies. Instead of releasing texts, the Vatican is providing daily briefings with three spokesmen attending the synod and summarizing events: official Vatican spokesman Jesuit Fr. Federico Lombardi, in Italian; Chicago archdiocesan Fr. Manuel Dorantes, in Spanish; and Basilian Fr. Thomas Rosica, in English.

Joining the spokesmen Wednesday were Martínez, U.S. Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, and Italian Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella.

Kurtz, who is the head of the archdiocese of Louisville, Ky., and is attending the synod as the U.S. bishops' president, said his small group mainly wanted to make three adjustments to Monday's document.

That group, Kurtz said, wants to add passages to "highlight the importance of the witness of sacrificial love"; to "make sure that all of our words are truly welcoming and come truly from the heart"; and "to locate clearly our pastoral avenues ... as being located within the beauty of sacred Scripture and church teaching."

Kurtz also said that he and his group wanted to call attention to what the document called a "missionary conversion."

That conversion, Kurtz said, means to "go to where people are and accompany them, and I think that's what Pope Francis is saying so strongly to us."

But Kurtz also downplayed the importance of Monday's document a bit, saying he was looking to see what the final document, to be voted on by the synod on Saturday, would say.

"I think the document that will have the force of support among the delegates is actually the one that will, I hope, be approved on Saturday," he said. "That's the document that I will take very seriously."

Asked if certain groups lobbying the synod were having undue influence on the prelates' discussions, Martínez said Wednesday that they "seek to listen to the Lord and not the interests of particular groups."

"It is true we have different opinions, but this diversity may shed light on the needs of the church today," said Martínez, who was one of 26 prelates personally appointed by Francis to participate in the synod.

"I do not believe that we have had a certain influence in particular," he continued.

Approximately 190 prelates are at the synod and are able to vote in the discussions. Some 60 others, mainly non-prelates, have been selected in other roles and are able to contribute to discussions but not to vote.

The synod's final document is expected to be released to the public and to be used as the blueprint of sorts for the next synod, to be held in 2015.

Four things needed to move beyond the (St. Paul - Minneapolis Archdiocese) 'crisis'

Jennifer Haselberger
October 14, 2014

Unusually for me, I have agreed to interviews with WCCO TV and radio this afternoon. This has forced me to spend more time ruminating on the provisions of the Doe 1 settlement, and what it means in terms of resolving the crisis in the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. I want to state at the outset that I really would like to see this crisis come to an end. I have no interest in becoming entrenched in a position of binary opposition to the Archbishop or the Archdiocese. At the same time, I must admit that I felt much more hopeful about the settlement and its impact prior to the press conference yesterday afternoon. I continue to believe that the provisions of the settlement will have a tremendous impact, but I see that impact as being limited to two key areas: support for victims and investigations of alleged criminal conduct. The rest of the provisions are, by and large, little more than a restatement of previous promises, and I don't think we should be patting the Archdiocese on the back for agreeing not to have priests in ministry who have abused minors.

In order for me to believe that we are truly entering 'a new era', I think that four things still need to occur. What follows is my attempt to outline these four things, as well as to explain my reasons for believing they are necessary. I hope to also have the opportunity to discuss these items with WCCO this afternoon.

Item #1: Leadership Change in the Archdiocese

The first and most critical 'action item' if you will, is leadership change in the Archdiocese. Obviously, this has to begin with Archbishop Nienstedt. Whether he chooses to resign or some process is begun to determine his fitness for ministry is not for me to say. What I think is clear is that he lacks many of the characteristics to be any sort of a leader, much less a good leader. This is not just a comment on his handling of allegations of sexual abuse. Many besides me have raised issues about his style of management, his ability to relate to people, and his administration in general. Yet, in calling for a change in leadership, I do not mean to stop there. Bishop Piche should be granted medical retirement. Bishop Cozzens, if his episcopal ministry is to be salvaged, should be transferred to another Archdiocese where he can serve as an auxiliary under a bishop capable of mentoring him in authentic and effective pastoral leadership. The rest of the upper levels of Archdiocesan staff also have to go. I observed yesterday's press conference from the back of the room, and so my view was different than those of you who saw it unfold through the lens of a camera. From my vantage point what was obvious was that while the faces in front of the camera were by and large new, the faces of those beyond camera range were all too familiar. There will not be any true change in the Archdiocese until all the faces are new. If someone was in a directive position in the years leading up to or during 2013, and stood by while the Archdiocese was assuring the public that there were no accused priests in active ministry, that it was complying with the Charter, and that there had been only one credible accusation since 2005, he or she needs to go. Perhaps that will happen as part of a reorganization plan arising from a Chapter 11 filing, but previous Archdiocesan reorgs have rarely led to the right departures. I think we will only see this change when there is a change at the very top.

Item #2: More Clergy Must be Removed from Ministry

I will not be satisfied that the Archdiocese is doing all it can to protect children and vulnerable adults until additional men are removed from ministry. A quick perusal of my Doe 1 affidavit should my demonstrate grounds for concern. At the press conference yesterday Tim O'Mallley seemed to indicate further removals were coming, but I doubt that these will entirely conform to the list that I have in my head of those whose ministry is a threat to the wellbeing of the faithful. Further removals will single that the Archdiocese is finally moving beyond a mentality of putting the interests of the priests above the interests of the people.

Item #3: The Archdiocese Must Authorize Greene and Espel to Release the Full Report on their Investigation into the Conduct of Archbishop Nienstedt.

Frankly, I am not interested in the conclusions that may be disclosed from the Archdiocese. What needs to be released is the work done by the attorneys at Greene and Espel. I state this not from prurient interest- I think I have a fairly clear idea, based on conversations with others, about what is in their report- but rather because if the Catholic Church is going to get beyond the sexual abuse crisis, we need to ensure that our seminaries are adequately screening and forming men for service to the Church. I am alarmed by how many reports I have heard of inappropriate conduct by the Archbishop towards seminarians under his care. If there has been a system in place for rewarding men for submitting or overlooking such behavior, the Church needs to address it rather than let it perpetuate. Consider this: the most recent version of the Program for Priestly Formation, the normative guide to seminary formation in the United States, was drafted under the Chairmanship of Archbishop Nienstedt. This should be a grave cause for concern.

Item #4: The Archdiocese Must Demonstrate that it is Providing for the Care and Support of the Victims of Father Wehmeyer

Nothing was said yesterday about the young men who were the victims of Curtis Wehmeyer. The Archdiocese needs to accept its responsibility for the harm that was done to them. The way to demonstrate this is to provide assurance that those boys are receiving what they need- right now, at this moment. The Archdiocese has tended towards 'scorched earth' tactics in litigation, which often rely on attempts to starve plaintiffs into submission. We need assurances that this is not currently taking place.

Landmark settlement closes suit against St. Paul - Minneapolis archdiocese

Jean Hopfensperger and Chiao Xiong
Star Tribune
October 13, 2014

The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis will be required to overhaul its reporting of clergy sex abuse, how reports are investigated and how it responds to abuse victims under the terms of a historic legal settlement detailed Monday.

The deal, announced at an emotional news conference that brought church officials and sex abuse victims together for the first time on a public platform, followed a tumultuous year of scandal for the Catholic church in Minnesota.

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the centerpiece of the settlement is a 17-point “child protection plan.” It requires the archdiocese to report any child abuse claim to law enforcement and refrain from conducting its own investigation until law enforcement finishes its own. It also prevents the archdiocese from assigning accused priests to active ministry.

“We’ve forged a new way and that new way is an action plan that not only protects kids in the future but honors the pain and sorrow and the grief of survivors in the past,” victims’ attorney Jeff Anderson said at the news conference in downtown St. Paul.

Archbishop John Nienstedt was in Kenya, but issued a written statement. “Today we take a significant step closer to achieving the goals we set nearly a year ago to protect children, to help survivors heal, and to restore trust with our clergy and faithful,” wrote Nienstedt. “I am grateful to all those on both sides of the courtroom aisle who have worked so diligently to bring about this agreement.”

The settlement also includes a process for making public the names and church files of priests accused of abuse that are currently sealed, something that the archdiocese had long opposed.

The news conference came hours after Ramsey District Judge John Van de North filed an order for dismissal of the case in the wake of the settlement.

The lawsuit had forced the archdiocese to publicly reveal the names of clergy accused of child sex abuse as well as church documents revealing how it handled the cases.

‘Era of cooperation’

Joining Anderson and attorney Mike Finnegan at the microphone were Vicar General Charles Lachowitzer, Auxiliary Bishop Andrew Cozzens, the archdiocese’s point person on abuse Tim O’Malley and two survivors of sexual abuse.

Al Michaud, who had been abused as a boy in Edina in the 1970s, told the packed news conference that he hoped the plan would allow victims to step forward without being “shamed, judged or dismissed.”

He encouraged other victims to come forward, saying “this is a new era of cooperation.

“Today is a day that I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I’d see,” said Michaud.

The most emotional moment occurred when about 20 survivors of clergy sex abuse, now grown men, walked to the front of the room to meet Cozzens and Lachowitzer. As the church leaders looked each in the eye and shook hands or embraced, eyes often welled with tears.

“Sixteen years!” whispered one man, of how long he’d been waiting for such an act of contrition.

Case against Adamson

The lawsuit that led to this unprecedented moment of unity represented one of the most significant challenges to the archdiocese in decades. It was filed on behalf of a man, identified as “John Doe 1,” who said he was abused by the former priest Tom Adamson at a St. Paul Park church in the 1970s.

Adamson had been accused of molesting boys in the Winona Diocese before being transferred to the archdiocese.

The lawsuit accused the church of negligence in supervising and retaining Adamson, as well as creating a “public nuisance” by moving sex offenders without notifying parishioners and others in their new assignments.

“John Doe 1” did not make a public appearance Monday. However, a letter he wrote to Lachowitzer was released, in which he credited the vicar general with moving the “clergy abuse mountain.” Doe met with diocese officials recently.

“I knew one day there might be an apology to me from a member of clergy, but I believed this would be meaningless,” he wrote. “ You should know that the sincerity I felt on Wednesday afternoon from yourself, Charlie Rogers, and Tim O’Malley surprised me and gave me great hope for the future. Thank you.”

The financial impact of this case, and others pending, on the archdiocese is unclear. Lachowitzer said that the church will be examining its options, including bankruptcy, for addressing the lawsuits.

“But we need to look at what is best for resolution and restitution,” he said.

Anderson said it was the first time in more than 30 years of filing lawsuits against the Catholic Church across the country that he has entered into a child protection agreement with the church.

He expects the new spirit of cooperation to extend to other lawsuits filed over the past year against the church.

A trial had been scheduled for Nov. 3 in the case was the first filed under the Minnesota Child Victims Act, which allowed older child abuse cases to be heard in civil court. It gave victims three years to file suit for sexual abuse that occurred in the past.

In recent months the archdiocese has assembled a new team to address allegations of abuse. Michael Campion, former state commissioner of public safety, will join that team next week, O’Malley said.

Haselberger responds

Jennifer Haselberger, a former canon lawyer at the archdiocese who became a whistleblower on the church’s handling of clergy abuse, called the settlement “a tremendous victory for those concerned with the safety and well-being of children and vulnerable adults.”

But Haselberger had reservations about archdiocese follow-through.

“This isn’t the first time the church has promised to follow protocol on child protection,” said Haselberger, noting the archdiocese had not followed the protocols forged by U.S. bishops in 2002.

“This settlement is a heartbreaking acknowledgment of how far the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has strayed from its mission,” she said. “It should never take action from the civil courts to compel a Catholic diocese to act in the public good.”

Bishop John Quinn of the Diocese of Winona issued a statement saying the diocese was “committed to a series of child protection protocols which will further help to ensure the safety of all of God’s children.”

Those provisions were not the same as those agreed to by the archdiocese. The Winona Diocese was referring to its current child protection policies, which are reaffirmed under the agreement, said Quinn.

All had something to lose

Charles Reid, a professor of civil and canon law at the University of St. Thomas, said he was initially surprised at the settlement because the archdiocese attorneys and Anderson did not have a positive working relationship that would spur mediation.

On the other hand, a settlement makes sense, he said.

“This would be a high-profile trial, and everybody had something to lose,” said Reid. “The archdiocese could face a potentially larger settlement, more intrusive rules governing transparency, less public trust.”

Anderson, meanwhile, could have lost the case. Or his 17-point plan could have faced allegations that it infringed upon religious expression.

“He sidesteps all the risks,” said Reid, “and gets the results he wants.”

But the deal does not include a comprehensive financial settlement, said Reid, and the archdiocese has left open the option of declaring bankruptcy.

“That’s something to remain alert to,” Reid said.

Synod releases document with new tone, calling for mercy, listening

Joshua J. McElwee
National Catholic Reporter
October 13, 2014

Taking a decidedly different tone than many church statements in recent years, the worldwide meeting of Catholic bishops on family issues has released a document calling for the church to listen more, to respect people in their various struggles, and to apply mercy much more widely.

Summarizing the work of the continuing meeting, known as a synod, the document acknowledges bluntly that the strict application of church doctrine is no longer enough to support people in their quest for God.

"It is necessary to accept people in their concrete being, to know how to support their search, to encourage the wish for God and the will to feel fully part of the Church, also on the part of those who have experienced failure or find themselves in the most diverse situations," states the document, released Monday morning.

"This requires that the doctrine of the faith, the basic content of which should be made increasingly better known, be proposed alongside with mercy," it continues.

The document, known as a relatio post disceptationem, is a summary of the discussions held at the synod so far, which is meeting from Oct. 5-19. It was read Monday morning to the some 190 prelates attending the synod by Hungarian Cardinal Peter Erdo, who is serving as the synod's relator, or secretary.

Among the many changes in tone in the document are how it addresses Catholics who are divorced and remarried, how it addresses gay people, how it addresses contemporary culture -- and, more widely, how it asks for a church that is always open.

At one point, it quotes Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium ("The Joy of the Gospel"), stating: "The Church is called on to be 'the house of the Father, with doors always wide open ... where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems' and to move towards those who feel the need to take up again their path of faith."

The synod, one of two called by Francis on family issues for 2014 and 2015, has attracted wide expectation that it might change aspects of the church's family practices, particularly the prohibition against taking Communion for people who have been divorced and remarried without first obtaining an annulment of their first unions.

But beyond that expectation, Monday's document also appears to reflect a move among the prelates from legal exactness in adherence to church teaching to graduality, a theological notion that people can grow in their holiness or in their adherence to church teaching over time.

Devoting a whole subsection of the 12-page document to the subject, it states: "Jesus looked upon the women and the men he met with love and tenderness, accompanying their steps with patience and mercy, in proclaiming the demands of the Kingdom of God."

"In considering the principle of gradualness in the divine salvific plan, one asks what possibilities are given to married couples who experience the failure of their marriage, or rather how it is possible to offer them Christ's help through the ministry of the Church," the document continues later.

Answering that question, it turns to the Second Vatican Council document Lumen Gentium, saying that document provides a "hermeneutic key" when it states that "many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of [the church's] visible structure."

"The doctrine of levels of communion, formulated by Vatican Council II, confirms the vision of a structured way of participating in the Mysterium Ecclesiae by baptized persons," the document continues.

"Realizing the need, therefore, for spiritual discernment with regard to cohabitation, civil marriages and divorced and remarried persons, it is the task of the Church to recognize those seeds of the Word that have spread beyond its visible and sacramental boundaries," it continues.

The document also calls for the church to have a conversion in the way it teaches about the family, referencing Jesus' parable in the Gospel of Matthew of a sower who drops his seed in both rocky and fertile ground.

"In the light of the parable of the sower, our task is to cooperate in the sowing: the rest is God's work," it states.

It also states that church must not be theoretical and must address real-world problems.

"What is required is a missionary conversion: it is necessary not to stop at an announcement that is merely theoretical and has nothing to do with people's real problems," states the document.

Addressing "wounded families" -- specifically, couples that are separated, divorced, or divorced and remarried -- the document says, "what rang out clearly in the Synod was the necessity for courageous pastoral choices."

"The Synodal Fathers ... felt the urgent need for new pastoral paths, that begin with the effective reality of familial fragilities, recognizing that they, more often than not, are more 'endured' than freely chosen," states the document.

The document then calls on the Catholic church around the world to continue the synod's discussion on finding those "new pastoral paths" before the beginning of the 2015 synod.

"The dialog and meeting that took place in the Synod will have to continue in the local Churches, involving their various components, in such a way that the perspectives that have been drawn up might find their full maturation in the work of the next Ordinary General Assembly," it states.

In particular, the document asks the church to listen to those "wounded families."

"Each damaged family first of all should be listened to with respect and love, becoming companions on the journey as Christ did with the disciples of the road to Emmaus," it states. "What needs to be respected above all is the suffering of those who have endured separation and divorce unjustly."

Addressing specifically those who have divorced and remarried without obtaining annulments, the document states that their situation "demands a careful discernment and an accompaniment full of respect, avoiding any language or behavior that might make them feel discriminated against."

"For the Christian community looking after them is not a weakening of its faith and its testimony to the indissolubility of marriage, but rather it expresses precisely its charity in its caring," it states.

Showing disagreement among the synod members about allowing such people to take communion, the document continues: "As regards the possibility of partaking of the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist, some argued in favor of the present regulations because of their theological foundation, others were in favor of a greater opening on very precise conditions when dealing with situations that cannot be resolved without creating new injustices and suffering."

"For some, partaking of the sacraments might occur were it preceded by a penitential path -- under the responsibility of the diocesan bishop -- and with a clear undertaking in favor of the children," states the document.

"This would not be a general possibility, but the fruit of a discernment applied on a case-by-case basis, according to a law of gradualness, that takes into consideration the distinction between state of sin, state of grace and the attenuating circumstances," it continues.

Regarding changes to the church's annulment process, the document states that "various fathers underlined the necessity" to reform that process, which is used to determine whether a marriage was valid or not -- and, subsequently, if the parties could then be able to marry others inside the church.

Giving several options for how the process could be reformed, the document cites specifically that such reform "requires an increase in the responsibilities of the diocesan bishop, who in his diocese might charge a specially trained priest who would be able to offer the parties advice on the validity of their marriage."

The document also recognizes that marriages outside of the church and cohabitation are simply realities in many parts of the world that church cannot change.

"A new dimension of today's family pastoral consists of accepting the reality of civil marriage and also cohabitation, taking into account the due differences," it states.

"Indeed, when a union reaches a notable level of stability through a public bond, is characterized by deep affection, responsibility with regard to offspring, and capacity to withstand tests, it may be seen as a germ to be accompanied in development towards the sacrament of marriage," it continues.

"Imitating Jesus' merciful gaze, the Church must accompany her most fragile sons and daughters, marked by wounded and lost love, with attention and care, restoring trust and hope to them like the light of a beacon in a port, or a torch carried among the people to light the way for those who are lost or find themselves in the midst of the storm," states the document.

Continuing on the theme, it states again: "All these situations have to be dealt with in a constructive manner, seeking to transform them into opportunities to walk towards the fullness of marriage and the family in the light of the Gospel."

"They need to be welcomed and accompanied with patience and delicacy," it states.

The document also seems to frankly change the church's tone toward gay people: While it re-emphasizes church teaching against same-sex marriage, it also asks blunt questions of the wider church.

"Homosexuals have gifts and qualities to offer to the Christian community: are we capable of welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities?" it asks.

"Often they wish to encounter a Church that offers them a welcoming home," it continues. "Are our communities capable of providing that, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?"

Yet the document clearly reaffirms church teaching banning same-sex marriage.

"The Church furthermore affirms that unions between people of the same sex cannot be considered on the same footing as matrimony between man and woman," it states. "Nor is it acceptable that pressure be brought to bear on pastors or that international bodies make financial aid dependent on the introduction of regulations inspired by gender ideology."

Indirectly addressing Catholics' use of contraception, widely banned in Pope Paul VI's 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, the document states: "Being open to life is an intrinsic requirement of married love."

"What is required is a realistic language that is able to start from listening to people and acknowledging the beauty and truth of an unconditional opening to life as that which human life requires to be lived to its fullest," the document continues.

"It is on this base that we can rest an appropriate teaching regarding natural methods, which allow the living in a harmonious and aware way of the communication between spouses, in all its dimensions, along with generative responsibility," it states.

"In this light, we should go back to the message of the encyclical Humanae Vitae of Paul VI, which underlines the need to respect the dignity of the person in the moral evaluation of the methods of birth control," the document continues.

Restating the timeline of the two synods called by Francis for 2014 and 2015, the document concludes that it is meant to be used as a tool in preparing for the 2015 synod.

"The reflections put forward, the fruit of the Synodal dialog that took place in great freedom and a spirit of reciprocal listening, are intended to raise questions and indicate perspectives that will have to be matured and made clearer by the reflection of the local Churches in the year that separates us from the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of bishops planned for October 2015," it states.

"These are not decisions that have been made nor simply points of view," the document continues.

"All the same the collegial path of the bishops and the involvement of all God's people under the guidance of the Holy Spirit will lead us to find roads of truth and mercy for all," it concludes. "This is the wish that from the beginning of our work Pope Francis has extended to us, inviting us to the courage of the faith and the humble and honest welcome of the truth in charity."

Monday's document was released after a week of meetings by the prelates, which saw speeches given by them on the subject in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall.

Approximately 190 prelates are at the synod and are able to vote in the discussions. Some 60 others, mainly non-prelates, have been selected in other roles and are able to contribute to discussions but not to vote.

Following the week of meetings, Monday's document was to be prepared by Erdo; Archishop Bruno Forte, the synod's special secretary; and Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, head of the Vatican's office for the synod of bishops. But, in a sign that Francis perhaps took a personal role in the document, the pontiff late Friday assigned six other synod members to the document's drafting committee.

Through the rest of this week the synod members are to meet in small groups, divided by language, to discuss and edit Monday's document in view of creating a final document for the synod for submission to Francis.

That final document is expected to be released to the public and to be used as the blue-print of sorts for the 2015 synod.

Among the added bishops added to the drafting of Monday's document are several known to have close connection to the pontiff. The added bishops:

Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, president of the Vatican's Pontifical Council for Culture;
Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl;
Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, rector of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina;
Archbishop Carlos Aguiar Retes of Mexico, president of the Latin American bishops' conference;
South Korean Archbishop Peter Kang U-Il; and,
Fr. Adolfo Nicolás, superior general of the Jesuit order.

Austrian, German cardinals stress need for new look at teachings on marriage, family

Christa Pongratz-Lippett
National Catholic Reporter
October 10, 2014

Both Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna and Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich are campaigning for a new look at marriage and the family at the ongoing synod in Rome. They are both known to support Cardinal Walter Kasper's merciful The Gospel of the Family, in which Kasper outlines a possible way of allowing some divorced and remarried people to receive the sacraments. Small wonder, therefore, that they are both being interviewed at length during the synod.

When Jesuit Fr. Bernd Hagenkord, head of the German section of Vatican Radio and one of the few journalists allowed to attend synod sessions, asked Schönborn on Thursday to explain what exactly was meant by "graduality" -- an aspect of tradition that recognizes that moral decision-making develops over time and that has repeatedly been mentioned at the synod -- Schönborn said while it is clear that one cannot change divine daw, it is at the same time essential to point out that few people manage to keep it 100 percent of the time.

"The Ten Commandments are not at our disposal, we cannot change them. But what we actually experience in our own lives is that we only keep them partially and not 100 percent," he said. "If one applies this to marriage and the family, then of course the full realization is sacramental church marriage, which is indissoluble and open for children. But we also know that many people only reach this full realisation of marriage gradually."

On the Austrian bishops' ad limina visit in January, Schönborn said, Pope Francis had asked the bishops whether, like in Argentina, many young couples first cohabited in Austria.

"The pope didn't say that cohabitation was OK," Schönborn said. "He merely said that that was the situation in Argentina. And he went on to say that when a child was on the way, the couple often began think, 'Perhaps we should marry after all, possibly in a registry office.' And some couples then went a step further and said, 'We want a church marriage.' We must accompany these couples, step by step, in this gradualness so that they can discover what the full form of the sacrament [of marriage] is, the pope told us."

Does that mean that there are positive elements in nonsacramental marriages or relationships? Hagenkord asked.

"I can look at an imperfect situation from two sides, and both sides are justified. I can look at what is missing, and I can see what is already there," Schönborn replied. When couples live together in a stable, faithful relationship, one could say that is not a sacramental marriage, that there is something missing, but one could also say that it is a beginning, that there is already something there, Schönborn said. Pope Francis had encouraged the Austrian bishops to look at what was already there and to accompany it "towards something more complete and more perfect."

He also said it is important to consider a couple's personal circumstances. In Austria, for instance, unmarried couples are better off tax-wise than married couples, as single mothers receive extra support from the state. Getting married, therefore, means sacrificing the extra money, Schönborn said. Previously in Austria and still in many countries even today, very poor people cannot get married for financial reasons, he said, then recalled the case of Blessed Franz Jägerstätter, whose mother had been a maidservant.

"Franz was born illegitimately [in Upper Austria in 1907]," Schönborn said. "His parents hadn't enough money to get married. Later, when he was a little older, his mother was exceedingly lucky that a farmer was prepared to marry her and adopt young Franz."

The main thing is to accompany such relationships nonjudgmentally and with understanding and encouragement, Schönborn said.

Schönborn said Thursday on Austrian television that he is sure the church under Pope Francis, who speaks so often about mercy and forgiveness, will find a new way of dealing with failure. Schönborn said it is clear that the church must reach out to those whose marriages have failed: No one must feel that their membership of the Catholic church ended because they failed, he underlined.

Marx, meanwhile, has emphasized that the church's teaching is not a "static construct." It is essential to develop it further, he told the online German publication katholisch.de on Tuesday. While the synod does not aim to change church teaching, "we cannot say we won't touch teaching and only consider pastoral matters," he said. "The church must rework Christian teaching on the family together with today's Christians and have a new look at the magisterium."

Marx, who is also a member of Pope Francis' Council of Cardinals, said he hopes the entire church will engage in a broad discussion on marriage and the family, but he cautioned against glorifying what some people see as the good old days.

"That undertone that there used to be such a thing as an ideal marriage and an ideal family in times gone by should be avoided," he said.

The church must also take a differentiated view of homosexuality, Marx said.

"One simply cannot say that a faithful homosexual relationship that has held for decades is nothing," he said, as that is too "forceful" a standpoint.

"We just mustn't lump things together and measure everything with the same yardstick, but must differentiate and take a closer look, which doesn't mean that I endorse homosexuality as a whole," he added.

Nov. 18 appeal hearing for Msgr. Lynn

Philadelphia Inquirer
October 9, 2014


The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Thursday set Nov. 18 to hear oral argument on the Philadelphia District Attorney’s petition to reinstate the child endangerment conviction of Msgr. William J. Lynn, the first Roman Catholic Church official charged in the clergy child sex-abuse scandal.

The high court will hear the appeal in Harrisburg in the court’s main courtroom in the Capitol.

At issue before the state’s highest court is the contested key legal theory underpinning the landmark 2012 prosecution of Lynn, 63, who as the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s former secretary for clergy was the official responsible for investigating and recommending punishment for priests accused of sexual and other misconduct.

In July 2012, after a 13-week trial and 12 days of deliberations, a Common Pleas Court judge sentenced Lynn to three to six years in prison. He immediately went into custody.

The jury found that Lynn allowed the Rev. Edward V. Avery, who had a history of sexually abusing children, to live in a Northeast rectory where he later assaulted a 10-year-old altar boy. Avery pleaded guilty in the 1999 attack and is serving up to five years in state prison.

But last Dec. 26, a three-judge Superior Court panel reversed Lynn’s conviction. Lynn was released from prison Jan. 2 after the Archdiocese of Philadelphia posted the required 10 percent of his $250,000 bail. He lives in the rectory of St. William, a parish in Lawncrest, on electronically monitored house arrest.

The Superior Court panel agreed with Lynn’s attorneys that his conviction could not be affirmed under the original child-endangerment law or the amended version enacted in 2007. Lynn’s lawyers argued that the pre-2007 version required direct personal supervision of a child while Lynn was just a “supervisor of a supervisor.”

But the post-2007 law, which enabled prosecution of church officials for crimes committed by priests they supervised, cannot be retroactively applied to Lynn, who left the clergy secretary post in 2004 after 12 years.

The District Attorney’s Office has argued that the Superior Court wrongly interpreted the original child-endangerment statute to mean “direct supervision.”

Synod is split on issue of divorce

Iacopo Scaramuzzi
Vatican Insider
October 9, 2014


The Extraordinary Synod on the Family is tackling the issue of remarried divorcees head on. The Synod Fathers have been dealing with the issue – which had emerged occasionally in previous discussions – since yesterday afternoon as they work their way through the Instrumentum Laboris, the Synod’s working document. “Participation peaked” during this very “passionate” debate, with the Synod split down the middle, between those in favour of allowing remarried divorcees to take communion in certain cases and others against. Both sides, however, are faithful to Jesus’ teaching on mercy and support the indissolubility of marriage. It is not yet time to take official counts, we don’t count who is “for” and who “against” at the Synod, Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi said.

Two main lines of argument emerged during the daily press briefing. One “insists on what the Gospel says about marriage: if a first marriage is valid, a remarried divorcee cannot be admitted to the sacraments, as there needs to be coherence between doctrine and faithfulness to the word of the Lord. The other line of reasoning recalls that “Jesus sees human experiences with a merciful eye” and “takes into account” the “differences” in each “specific case”, which would make access to the Eucharist possible in some cases. Nevertheless, “even those who are most concerned about the preservation of the doctrine, are far from shut off to the suffering of people facing difficult situations.” Likewise, those who are open to allowing access to communion “do not in any way deny the indissolubility of marriage.”

This open attitude is reflected in the summaries of the debates that took place yesterday afternoon and this morning. The Holy See published these today, as usual without specifying which Synod Father presented which issue. During yesterday’s debate “a strong emphasis was placed on the importance of respecting remarried divorcees because they often find themselves in uncomfortable situations and subjected to social injustice; they suffer in silence and in many cases, attempt to gradually go back to becoming full participants in Church life. So pastoral care must not be repressive but full of mercy.” During yesterday evening’s open debate, the Synod’s participants said “it is important to carefully avoid making any moral judgment and speaking of a ‘permanent state of sin’.” Instead, an effort should be made to understand that not being admitted to the sacrament of the Eucharist does not completely rule out the possibility of Christ’s grace but is rather linked to the objective reality of a previous indissoluble sacramental bond. Hence, emphasis has often been given to the importance of spiritual communion. However, it should also be underlined that these proposals are not problem-free. There is no ‘easy’ solution to this issue.” Today “the reflections on the issue of access to the Eucharist for remarried divorcees continued.” The Synod’s participants stressed once again that marriage is indissoluble, stating that “each case needs to be considered individually.” They also reminded remarried divorcees that “just because they do not have access to the Eucharist does not in any way mean that they are not members of the Church community.”

Fr. Lombardi said it is not possible at the moment to speak of a majority or minority vote, “we don’t count who is “for” and “against” during the Synod” and “taking counts based on participants’ speeches is absolutely out of the question” because the Church is on a knowledge-sharing journey and “everyone is listening with interest and respect.” The debates that have taken place between yesterday and today have been “great, very intense and passionate.” Synod Fathers have not only been addressing the presidents but also the Synod Fathers directly, said Fr. Rosica, the English-language spokesman for the Synod.

During the news briefing, the President of the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Cardinal Francesco Coccopalmerio, explained that there are three possibilities being discussed by the commission Francis set up in August – and headed by Mgr. Pio Vito Pinto – “with the purpose of simplifying and speeding up marriage annulment procedures”. These are: to eliminate the current requirement for two judiciaries to approve the annulment, the need for a “collegial judge” and finally, the “administrative procedure”, in other words the annulment approved directly by a local bishop in cases where a marriage is definitely null, the bishop knows the two individuals concerned, personally, and knows them to be trustworthy. But this does not mean the Catholic Church plans on introducing divorce as an option. During the discussions, there was an emphasis on the importance of “respecting and not discriminating against gay people”. Cardinal Coccopalmerio stressed that the Church does not accept same-sex marriage or the blessing of such unions, but it respects them. Regarding remarried divorcees, Coccopalmerio said “we must adopt the Pope’s line of thinking: to protect the doctrine but to look at each person’s situation, their needs and suffering individually” and “offer solutions to real people who are faced with serious situations that require an urgent response.”

Cardinal André Vingt-Trois opened this morning’s session by reiterating the Catholic Church’s doctrine on contraception in a secularized world. Among the many themes addressed during today’s discussions, were: paternal responsibility, “the seriousness of a crime like abortion”, violence in the family, polygamy, improved preparation for marriage, pastoral care for children and the significant way in which the family has evolved since the last Synod held in 1980, on the theme “The Christian Family”.