Vatican
City, 5 November 2013 (VIS) – In a press conference held in the
Holy See Press Office this morning, Cardinal Peter Erdo, archbishop
of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, Bishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, and
Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto, Italy, respectively relator
general, secretary general and special secretary of the Third
Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, presented the
preparatory document for the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of
the Synod of Bishops on the theme “The pastoral challenges for the
family in the context of evangelisation”, scheduled to be held in
the Vatican from 5 to 19 October 2014.
Bishop
Baldisseri explained that “the theme of this Synod … forms part
of a work itinerary in two phases: the first is the Extraordinary
General Assembly of 2014, which is intended to ascertain the status
quaestionis and gather testimonies and proposals from the bishops to
proclaim and credibly live the Gospel for the family; the second, the
Ordinary General Assembly scheduled for 2015, which has the aim of
finding working approaches for the pastoral of the human person and
the family”.
He
went on to mention that the process of preparing each Assembly
“begins with a consultation between the various entities to be
surveyed on the theme in question. In this case, however, the process
develops according to particular methods, both because the synodal
methodology is under general revision at present, and because it is
an Extraordinary Assembly”.
With
regard to methodological renewal, “the idea is that of transforming
the synodal Institution into a real and effective tool for communion,
through which the collegiality hoped for by the Vatican Council II is
expressed and achieved. Indeed, with this aim it is the Holy Father's
wish to strengthen also the activity of the General Secretariat of
the Synod of Bishops in order that it may adequately perform its
mission of promoting episcopal collegiality, cum Petro and sub Petro,
in the governance of the Universal Church. This leads not only to
changes to the synodal process of both a structural and
methodological nature, but also to the functional adaptation of the
General Secretariat, including of course the reconstitution of the
physical spaces of its seat”.
With
reference to the extraordinary nature of the next synodal Assembly,
“this type of synod responds to the need to deal with a subject
that, 'while also regarding the good of the Universal Church,
requires rapid definition'. It is evident that the social and
spiritual crisis of today's world has an impact on family life and
creates a situation of genuine pastoral urgency, which justifies the
convocation of an Extraordinary General Assembly”.
Cardinal
Erdo observed that in the preparatory document, “the family appears
as a reality that springs from the will of the Creator and that
constitutes a social reality. It is not, therefore, a mere invention
of human society or, much less, of some purely human power, but
rather a natural reality that has been elevated by Christ the Lord in
the context of divine grace. … The Document, just like the Church
herself, closely connects the issue of the family with that of
marriage”.
The
Cardinal summarised all the questions considered in the test, from
preparation for marriage and the evangelisation of couples and their
families, to de facto unions without religious or civil recognition,
to the situation of divorced and remarried Catholics and same-sex
couples, as well as the procedures for the annulment of marriage.
However, he affirmed that the entire questionnaire “is located
within a higher context: beyond the problems that exist, it opens the
horizons towards recognising the fact that the family is a true gift
from the Creator to humanity”.
Finally,
Archbishop Bruno Forte recalled that the approach for addressing the
challenges of contemporary family life should be that which Blessed
John XXIII noted in his diary shortly before the opening of Vatican
Council II: “All is to be seen in the light of pastoral ministry:
that is, in terms of souls to save and to edify”. He added, “It
is not, therefore, a matter of debating doctrinal questions, which
have in any case been clarified by the Magisterium recently … the
invitation deriving from this for all the Church is to listen to the
problems and expectations of many families today, manifesting her
closeness and credibly proposing God's mercy and the beauty of
responding to His call”.
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