There has been a certain amount of consultation in preparation
for the forthcoming Synod. No doubt much
has been learned from the way this consultation has been conducted. It is quite likely that some of the more difficult
and urgent issues have been identified with a view to a more detailed
examination of them next year. In the
meantime a much wider and more satisfactory consultation will hopefully take
place and the Synod in 2015 will involve many more married people. The period from now to October 2015 is very
short to prepare for such an important worldwide Catholic event but perhaps it
was felt that to postpone it for more than a year might appear to be
foot-dragging.
Some justifiable criticism has been levelled at the
form of the questionnaire sent out earlier this year. A number of Dioceses – including our own –
made an effort to make it more user-friendly than it would have otherwise have
been. For all its failings it was a
courageous and valuable initiative and it did reflect a willingness on the part
of the Church authorities to listen to the views and concerns of individuals
and families.
Arising from this questionnaire there was a plea to
avoid abstract language and the use of official documents in communicating with
people. Parents spoke of the
difficulties they have in encouraging their children to grow in the faith and
in keeping them engaged. They sometimes
feel at a loss as to how to explore questions of faith raised by their
children. Could parishes use the bodies
of expertise within the Diocese to better advantage to help families grow in
the faith? It would seem that families
would appreciate more help in exploring ways to pray together and share faith
at home. Maybe simple home based rituals
could be encouraged as a means of expressing gratitude for all God’s gifts in
daily life. Families come in all kinds
of shapes and sizes. This has always
been the case but it is perhaps more pronounced today. The Church’s teaching on many sensitive
aspects of family life is often not experienced as realistic or compassionate.
The work of this Synod in 2014 and 2015 will have
major significance for pastoral practice and for the theology of marriage and
the family. In a document introducing
the Synod it quotes from the recent encyclical of Pope Francis. ‘The Joy of the
Gospel’: ‘The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always
wide open,... where there is a place for everyone with all their problems’.
(Par 47) Catholics across the world will
hope that everyone involved in the Synod will be inspired by these words of
Pope Francis. Elsewhere in the same
encyclical (Par 51) he says: ‘The Eucharist, though it is the fullness of
sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and
nourishment for the weak. These
convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with
prudence and boldness.’ The reason why
Pope Francis has summoned this Synod on the family is to create an opportunity
for such prudence and boldness to be expressed so that the doors of the
Father’s house may be clearly seen to be wide open. The teaching Church is still learning how
immense God’s love and understanding is and how eager he is to draw us ever
closer to himself. He does not erect
barriers. The Synod will be seeking to
discover how some of the barriers erected over the centuries can be removed.
