Changing teaching on marriage / family / human sexuality? Nonsense!

Yet again, we wake to the media telling us that the Catholic Church is close to foregoing its teaching on marriage / family / sexuality (e.g., New Yorker, A Bombshell Document at the Vatican Synod, 10/13/14).  Nonsense! 

Eleventh General Congregation: unofficial Summary of the Free Discussions in the Assembly

(From the Vatican web site:) 

The eleventh general Congregation began with the presentation, in the Assembly Hall, of the "Relatio post disceptationem", read by the General Rapporteur, Cardinal Péter Erdő.

Immediately after, there followed a period of free discussion among the Synod Fathers. In general, the "Relatio post disceptationem" was appreciated for its capacity to photograph well the interventions that have been offered during this last week, capturing the spirit of the Assembly and highlighting acceptance and welcome as the principle theme of the works. The document, it was said, reveals the Church’s love for the family faithful to Christ, but also her capacity to be close to humanity in every moment of life, to understand that, behind the pastoral challenges, there are many people who suffer. The Synod, it was emphasised, should have the watchful gaze of the shepherd who devotes his life to his sheep, without a priori judgement.

Furthermore, to allow this Report to bring together various points of view to provide a basis for the work of the Small Groups, certain additional reflections were suggested: for example, while the Church must welcome those in difficulty, it would be useful to speak more widely about those families who remain faithful to the teachings of the Gospel, thanking them and encouraging them for the witness they offer. From the Synod it emerged more clearly that indissoluble, happy marriage, faithful for ever, is beautiful, possible and present in society, therefore avoiding a near-exclusive focus on imperfect family situations.

Other reflections involved giving more emphasis to the theme of women, their protection and their importance for the transmission of life and faith; to include consideration of the figure of grandparents within the family unit; more specific reference to the family as a "domestic Church" and the parish as a "family of families", and to the Holy Family, an essential model for reference. In this respect, it was also suggested that the family and missionary role in proclaiming the Gospel in the world be further promoted.

It is necessary to clarify and explore more deeply the theme of "gradualness", that may give rise to confusion. With regard to access to the sacraments for divorced and remarried persons, for instance, it was said that it is difficult to accept exceptions unless in reality they become a common rule.

It was also noted that the word "sin" is almost absent from the Relatio. The prophetic tone of Jesus’ words was also mentioned, to avoid the risk of conformity to the mentality of today’s world.

In relation to homosexuals, moreover, the need for welcome was highlighted, but with the just produced, so that the impression of a positive evaluation of such a tendency on the part of the Church is not created. The same care was advised with regard to cohabitation.

Other insights regarded the need to emphasise the importance of the sacrament of Baptism, essential for fully understanding the sacramental nature of marriage and also its character as a "ministry" in the announcement of the Gospel.

With regard to procedures for the streamlining of cases of nullity, some questions were raised regarding the proposal to entrust greater competence to the diocesan bishop, which may prove to be too great a burden, while the need for deeper and more detailed reflection was indicated in relation to cases of polygamy – especially for those who convert and wish to partake in the sacraments – and the spread of pornography, especially on the internet, which poses a real risk to family unity. Finally, in relation to openness to life on the part of couples, it is necessary to face in more detail and more decisively not only abortion, but also that of surrogacy" (http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/10/14/0754/03039.html#Traduzione%20in%20lingua%20inglese).

Instrumentum Laboris

Instrumentum Laboris was the preparatory document for the current synod, "The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization."  Keeping with the tone of Pope Francis, Instrumentum Laboris stressed the compassionate mercy of God.  At the same time, it made clear that it stood unwaveringly with the the Church's constant teaching, citing the Bible, the Catechism, Humanae Vitae, and the Theology of the Body, among its sources.  It paid great attention to the well being of the entire family - particularly the well being of children - rather than narrowly focusing on adults.  It concluded that "the following three main areas ARE under discussion in the Church: how the Gospel of the Family can be preached in the present-day; how the Church’s pastoral care programme for the family might better respond to the new challenges today; how to assist parents in developing a mentality of openness to life and in upbringing their children."
 

Pope Francis and the Roman Rota

In Pope Francis' address to the Roman Roman Rota (the Vatican's Supreme Court, if you will) he was consistent with his predecessors and his own Lumen Fidei, Evangelii Gaudium, General Audience of 4/2/14, and Discourse to the Delegation of the International Catholic Office of Children.

Pope Benedict XVI and the Roman Rota

In Pope Benedict XVI's addresses to the Roman Rota, he noted that "pastoral sensitivity must be directed to avoiding matrimonial nullity when the couple seeks to marry and to striving to help the spouses solve their possible problems and find the path to reconciliation" (1/28/06) and warning that “the conviction that the pastoral good of the person in an irregular marital situation requires a sort of canonical regularization, independently of the validity or nullity of his/her marriage...has also spread in certain ecclesiastical milieus" (1/27/07).

Saint Pope John Paul II and the Roman Rota

Following in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII's Arcanum, Pope Pius XI's Casti Connubii, and Pope Paul VI's Humanae Vitae, Saint Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body proclaimed anew the truth about  marriage/ family/ human sexuality.  His solicitous concern for marriage/ family/ human sexuality was also evident in Familiaris Consortio and just about any talk or writing.  In his quarter century of addresses to the Roman Rota - particularly near the end of his earthly journey, he evidenced grave concern about possible misuse of marriage tribunals, focusing on a misguided "pastoral" perspective that would destabilize marriage and family.  He spoke, for example, of:

• a dangerous exaggeration of psychological difficulties, wrongly leading to a conclusion that a spouse had been incapable of marital consent;
• the danger of adding new requirements for marriage "that are foreign to tradition" (2/1/01);
• the need for "convalidating, where possible, marriages that are otherwise null" (1/28/02);
• how "professionals in the field of civil law should avoid being personally involved in anything that might imply a cooperation with divorce" (1/28/02); and
• the "presumption of its [marriage's] validity in case of doubt" (1/29/04).

JP II's concerns apparently triggered the Vatican's 2005 Dignitas Connubii, which says that "The dignity of marriage, which between the baptised 'is the image of and the participation in the covenant of love between Christ and the Church', demands that the Church with the greatest pastoral solicitude promote marriage and the family founded in marriage, and protect and  defend them with all the means available."