The Vatican presented the Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the Synod on the Family. It gathers the results of a questionnaire sent out last November to Catholics around the world. It is a pastoral document, not doctrinal. Ideas remain unchanged, however, the way in which people in those delicate situations are approched will be different.
The Church intends to fearlessly address all that affects the family today.
MSGR. BRUNO FORTE
Special Secretary of the Synod
'The character of this text is the adherence to the reality in all of its variety and complexity and, therefore, I would say that it is a rigorous text and an honest text in not closing its eyes in front of a problem, no matter how unsettling or uncomfortable it may seem.â?
It confronts issues such as the situations of divorced couples who have remarried, civil unions, homosexuals, marriage preparations and the situation of single mothers.
CARD. PETER ERDí?
Relator General of the Synod of the Family
'It is an important social problem and a pastoral problem. The mothers are not divorced people but instead people who have not married and who have to educate their children alone. That is where the expression 'do not abandon people in case of necessity' has the most significance. It is a challenge for society and, in a particular way, for the Church.â?
To respond to these challenging situations, the document proposes to treat these people with mercy.
CARD. LORENZO BALDISSERI
Secretary General of the Synod
'A pastoral ministry capable of offering the mercy that God gives to all without measure is what's needed. Therefore, it is about 'proposing, not imposing; accompanying, not pressuring; inviting, not expelling; to worry about and to never dissappoint.â?
This in-depth look into the issues of the family are not directed solely to the synodal fathers. The families also have much to say on their problems, their longings and their hopes.
PINA DE SIMONE
Mother
'It is not an abstract discourse. It is a clear text, both in its structure as in its language. It is not only for those working on it, not even for believers. It can be for everyone. It is a text in which life can be found reflected. It is a text from which emanates a word of hope.â?
The first phase of the Synod of the Family will begin on October 5, 2014. The Vatican launched an invitation to all Catholics to unite on September 28th to a day of prayer for the fruits of the Synod, a date of vital importance for the future of the family.
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