Pope Francis

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http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/what-to-expect-from-this-years-synod-of-bishops-35141/

What to expect from this year's synod of bishops

Vatican City, Oct 2, 2015 / 10:57 am (CNA/EWTN News).- As the synod’s schedule and methodology were rolled out ahead of its launch this weekend, some novelties came along with it, such as no midterm report and a heightened emphasis on the small groups.

Set to take place Oct. 4-25, this year’s ordinary synod will reflect on the theme “Jesus Christ reveals the mystery and vocation of the family” and will gather 279 cardinals, bishops and representatives from all over the world.

Each day of the synod will be divided into morning and afternoon sessions, similar to last year. However, with a longer overall duration, the gathering will be divided into three parts, with each week dedicated to one of the three sections of the synod’s guiding document.

Released in June, the synod’s “Instrumentum Laboris” builds on the final report of last October’s extraordinary synod, and incorporates suggestions from Church entities like bishops’ conferences and even individuals who freely sent their opinions.

The first part, titled “Listening to the challenges of the family,” focuses mainly on themes surrounding last year’s synod, and will be the topic of the first five days of this year’s ordinary synod.
 

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Live streaming at 9:00 a.m. Rome time...3:00 a.m. EDT (and available for viewing later)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOuEPdeMuks
Opening of the Synod of Bishops on the Family - 2015.10.05
Scheduled for Oct 5, 2015
Starts at 9.00 am. Opening of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the Family, with reports by the Secretary General and by the Relator General. The work of the Synod begins today and will conclude on October 25

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http://www.news.va/en/news/synod-on-family-life-gets-underway-in-the-vatican

Synod on family life gets underway in the Vatican
2015-10-05 Vatican Radio

The first working day of the Synod of Bishops on the Family was due to start at 9am on Monday, but like every good host, Pope Francis was in the hall, well ahead of time, welcoming the bishops, priests, religious and lay people as they took their seats for the opening prayer.

In his greeting to the gathered assembly, the Pope recalled that a synod is not a parliament or senate, where people do deals and make compromises, but rather a journeying together of the people of God, guided by the Holy Spirit. He appealed for courage, humility and prayer, so that participants may not be intimidated by worldly temptations, but at the same time that they may not turn the Church into a “museum of memories”, unable or unwilling to respond to the challenges facing so many families today.

Synod secretary general Cardinal Baldisseri outlined the previous steps on this journey, from the much talked about consistory of cardinals back in 2014, right up to the World Meeting of Families that concluded in Philadelphia last weekend. In between we’ve had a year of reflections on family life from the Pope at his weekly general audiences and a new document making it simpler and cheaper to obtain annulments for those whose marriages can be declared invalid – both important parts of the puzzle for those trying to predict how this highly charged meeting will pan out.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-full-text-of-remarks-at-synod-opening

Pope Francis: full text of remarks at Synod opening
2015-10-05 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis addressed the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Monday morning - the morning of their first full day of sessions. Below, please find Vatican Radio's full English translation of the Holy Father's remarks.

Dear Beatitudes, Eminences, Excellencies, brothers and sisters,

The Church today takes up once again the dialogue begun with the announcement of the extraordinary Synod on the family, and certainly even long before that, to evaluate and reflect on the text of the Working Document (Lt. Instrumentum laboris), elaborated on the basis of the [Extraordinary Assembly’s] final report (Relatio Synodi) and the responses of the Bishops’ Conferences and from the other organizations with the right to contribute.

The Synod, as we know, is a journey undertaken together in the spirit of collegiality and synodality, on which participants bravely adopt parrhesia, pastoral zeal and doctrinal wisdom, frankness, and always keep before our eyes the good of the Church, of families and the suprema lex, the Salus animarum.

I should mention that the Synod is neither a convention, nor a parlor, nor a parliament or senate, where people make deals and reach compromises. The Synod is rather an Ecclesial expression, i.e., the  Church that journeys together to read reality with the eyes of faith and with the heart of God; it is the Church that interrogates herself with regard to her fidelity to the deposit of faith, which does not represent for the Church a museum to view, nor even something merely to safeguard, but is a living source from which the Church shall drink, to satisfy the thirst of, and illuminate, the deposit of life.
 

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https://twitter.com/FatherRosica
Thomas Rosica Retweeted
 Holy See PressOffice ‏@HolySeePress  · 11h11 hours ago 
Speaking: Vingt-Trois, Erdö and Forte #Synod15


http://www.news.va/en/news/synod-on-the-family-press-briefing-day-1
Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 1
2015-10-05 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The first of the daily press conferences to report on the proceedings of the Synod of the Family took place at 1pm Rome time on Monday. The Synod began on Sunday with a Mass celebrated by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Basilica and the first session sat on Monday morning.
Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J., director of the Holy See Press Office, was accompanied by Cardinal Péter Erdö from Hungary - who is the synod rapporteur; Cardinal André Vingt-Trois from France - one of the president delegates; and Italian Archbishop Bruno Forte - who is special secretary to the Synod. In his remarks Fr. Lombardi said that each day there would be Synod Fathers present at the press conference as guests.

Fr. Lombardi explained the order of the morning’s session which began with prayer and the singing of the Veni Creator Spiritus. Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the synod, welcomed everyone before Pope Francis gave his opening address to the Synod Fathers. After the morning coffee break, Cardinal Péter Erdö gave the introductory address entitled “The Vocation of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World.”

Cardinal Vingt-Trois said that his first impression of the Synod was that there is “a wide diversity of participants, geographically, which includes members form the Latin and Oriental Churches but all are hinged around the Pope.” He said that the Holy Father had reiterated what he had said before; he wants to tackle issues in an “open-minded way through prayer, meditation and dialogue.”

Cardinal Erdö explained that his introductory address had followed the structure of Instrumentum Laboris. “I tried to systematise all the data which was received from the Church around the world, including families and individuals who wrote to us, following the themes already in Instrumentum Laboris.”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-god-wants-his-ministers-to-be-mercifu

Pope Francis: God wants his ministers to be merciful
2015-10-06 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has warned against having a hard heart that is closed to God’s mercy.

Speaking on Tuesday morning during Mass at the Casa Santa Marta before joining the Synod Fathers gathered in the Vatican Synod Hall, the Pope urged the faithful not to put one’s own convictions or a list of commandments before the Lord's mercy.

Drawing inspiration from the first reading of the Book of Jonah, the Pope pointed out that Jonah is initially resistant to God's will, but eventually learns that he must obey the Lord.

Remarking on the fact that the city of Nineveh converts thanks to Jonah’s preaching, Pope Francis said “it really was a miracle, because in this case he abandons his stubbornness, his rigidity,  to obey the will of God, and he did what the Lord commanded him."

And afterwards, the Pope said, after the conversion of Nineveh, Jonah “who was not a man who was docile to the Spirit of God, was angry". The Pope said he even rebuked the Lord.

So, Pope Francis observed, the story of Jonah and Nineveh unfolds in three chapters:  the first "is Jonah’s resistance to the mission the Lord entrusts him with"; the second "is his obedience” and the ensuing miracle; in the third chapter, "there is resistance to God’s mercy".
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/card-alencherry-pastors-called-to-prophetic-role

Card. Alencherry: pastors called to prophetic role
2015-10-06 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) The third General Congregation of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops opened on Tuesday morning with the celebration of Terce (mid-morning prayer).

The homily for the Liturgy was delivered by Cardinal George Alencherry of Ernakulam-Angamaly, Major Archbishop and President of the Synod of the Syro-Malabar Church.

In his homily, Cardinal Alencherry reminded the Synod Fathers that “the pastors of the Church in the present times are called to take upon their lives a prophetic role of suffering and kenosis.”

Below please find the full text of Cardinal George Alencherry’s homily during Terce at the third General Congregation of the Synod of Bishops:
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/keeping-doors-open-at-the-synod-on-the-family

Keeping doors open at the Synod on the Family
2015-10-06 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) On Tuesday afternoon, participants at the Synod of Bishops on the family move into small language group discussions, following on from one and a half days of presentations at the General Congregations. Philippa Hitchen takes a look at some of the key issues that have emerged during this first phase of the three week encounter....

There’s no easy way to summarize the 72 interventions by Synod participants that took place over the past 24 hours. But I think it is possible, in broad brushstrokes, to distinguish two ways in which these Church leaders are reflecting on the challenges facing families today.

The first is a philosophical approach, starting with Scripture and doctrine to formulate solutions to perceived problems of secular culture threatening Catholic beliefs and traditions. If we open the door to that secular mentality, one bishop warned dramatically, then the wolves will come in.

A second approach, put forward by other bishops, is to start from the profound changes taking place in society and ask how the Church can use Scripture and tradition to remain relevant to peoples’ lives today. Not living in fear of a hostile and godless culture, but rather engaging with it, to offer the Good News of the Gospel to anyone and everyone searching for meaning in their lives
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/synod-on-the-family-press-briefing-day-2

Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 2
2015-10-06 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Fr. Federico Lombardi, S.J. opened the daily press conference by explaining what had happened in the morning session. He said that the general secretary of the Synod, Cardinal Baldisseri, had explained “certain processes of the methodology” and its new elements. Lombardi said that Pope Francis also thought it was important for him to make a contribution and so he too said a few words.

“The Holy Father thought it important to say that what we are doing here must be seen as a continuation of last year,” Lombardi said. Pope Francis said that the group work, which the Synod Fathers begins on Tuesday afternoon, is going to be very important. The Pope reminded the Fathers that “Catholic doctrine on marriage was not called into question in the previous sitting of the Synod” and that “the Synod is not about one single issue – Eucharist for the divorced and remarried – but many issues and we must take them all into account.”

Fr. Lombardi listed different themes which arose in the contributions made during the session. He highlighted a number of them which included the passing on of the faith inter-generationally, migration, domestic violence, war, poverty, and polygamy.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-audience-family-spirit-a-constitut

Pope Francis at Audience: 'family spirit' a constitution for Church
2015-10-07 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis held his weekly General Audience on Wednesday in St. Peter’s Square – the first of three Wednesday Audiences scheduled to take place during the course of the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, dedicated to reflecting on the family in the life of the Church and of society.

“During this period,” explained Pope Francis, “the catecheses will be reflections inspired by some aspects of the relationship – which we may certainly define as indissoluble – between the Church and the family, with a view to the common good of the whole Christian community.”

Pope Francis went on to say that family life, like the life of the Church, is a pilgrimage: he explained that, when families journey along the way of the Lord, they offer a fundamental witness to God’s love, and they deserve the full commitment and support of the Church.

The Holy Father also considered that the family is at once the domestic Church and the school of virtue in which we learn what it means – practically and with a view to our ultimate purpose and calling as creatures made for God – to be social. It was a point emphasized in the English-language summary read after the main catechesis in Italian. “In the family we learn of the bonds which unite us, of fidelity, sincerity, trust, cooperation and respect, even when difficulties abound,” said Pope Francis.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-at-weekly-general-audience-english-su

Pope Francis at weekly General Audience: English summary
2015-10-07 Vatican Radio

 
Below, please find the official English-language summary of the Holy Father’s prepared remarks

***********************
During the Synod of Bishops, I would like to reflect on some aspects of the profound relationship between the Church and the family, with a view to the common good of society.  When families journey along the way of the Lord, they offer a fundamental witness to God’s love, and they deserve the full commitment and support of the Church.  In the family we learn of the bonds which unite us, of fidelity, sincerity, trust, cooperation and respect, even when difficulties abound.  Indeed it is in family life that the most vulnerable of society are cared for.  And yet, political and economic life today does not always support the family, and seems to have lost the ability to incorporate the virtues of family life into the common life of society.  Here the Church is called to exercise her mission by first examining to what extent she is living as the family of God.  Like Saint Peter, the Church is called to be a fisher of men, and so too needs a new type of net.  Families are this net.  They free us from the sea of loneliness and indifference, so that we can all experience the freedom of being children of God.  May the Church go out into the deep, confident that the catch will be great.  And may the Synod Fathers, inspired by the Holy Spirit, encourage the Church to cast out her net with confidence and faith in the Word of God.

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http://www.news.va/en/news/synod-on-the-family-press-briefing-day-3

Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 3
2015-10-07 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) At the press briefing today the Holy See Press Office announced that the Synod Fathers had elected chairpersons and moderators for their “circuli minores” (small groups). The thirteen groups were determined by language. The groups began to work on Wednesday morning on the first part of  Instrumentum Laboris which outlines the context in which contemporary family life is lived.

Jesuit Father and director of the Holy See Press Office, Federico Lombardi, was joined by Archbishops Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, Laurent Ulrich of Lille, and Salvador Piñeiro García-Calderón of Ayacucho o Huamanga of Peru. Fr. Lombardi invites some of the Synod Fathers as guests to the daily briefings.

García-Calderón said the Fathers had exchanged views and opinions among themselves in his Spanish-speaking group. He said the work happened in a “fraternal atmosphere” and that the bishops “think the same on many issues.”

Archbishop Charles Chaput gave some reflections on the recent World Congress of Families in Philadelphia. He said that he was unsure of the impact the Congress would have on the Synod but that he does know it “had an impact on the Holy Father and a big impact on me.” He said that the people who had come to Philadelphia, although chosen by their respective dioceses, celebrated “what the Church understands about family life.” The Arcbishop said there were roars of approval when people heard what the Church traditionally taught at the Congress. “We must affirm the ninety-nine when we go looking for the one,” he said.
 

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http://vaticaninsider.lastampa.it/en/the-vatican/detail/articolo/sinodo-famiglia-43818/

10/ 7/2015
Synod on Family: An exchange between different languages and cultures

 
In the morning, the Holy See Press Office published the list of moderators and rapporteurs chosen by each of the 13 circuli minores which have been split into the following languages: Italicus (Italian), Gallicus (French), Anglicus (English), Hibericus (Spanish and Portuguese) and Germanicus (German). The figures elected as moderators in the three Italian-speaking groups are: Cardinals Angelo Bagnasco, President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference and Archbishop of Genova, Francesco Montenegro, Archbishop of Agrigento and Edoardo Menichelli, Archbishop of Ancona. The rapporteurs are: Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, Mgr. Franco Giulio Brambilla and Fr. Manuel Arroba Conde. The moderators chosen for the English-speaking groups are: Cardinals George Pell, Prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy, Vincent Gerard Nichols, Thomas Christopher Collins and Mgr. Eamon Martin. The rapporteurs are: Joseph Kurtz, Mgr. Diarmuid Martin (Archbishop of Dublin), Mgr. Mark Benedict Coleridge and Mgr. Charles Joseph Chaput (Archbishop of Philadelphia). The moderators of the three French-speaking groups are: Cardinals Robert Sarah, Gerard Cyprien Lacroix and Mgr. Maurice Piat. The rapporteurs chosen, are: Mgr. Laurent Ulrich, Mgr. Paul-André Durocher and the Jesuit Francois-Xavier Dumortier. Cardinals Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga and Francisco Robles Ortega have been chosen as moderators of the two Spanish-speaking groups and José Luis Lacunza Maestrojuan has been appointed rapporteur. Finally, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn has been chosen as the moderator of the German group and the Bishop of Berlin, Heiner Koch, is the group’s rapporteur.
 

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October 7, 2015 Tweets
https://twitter.com/roccopalmo

Rocco Palmo ‏@roccopalmo  · 6h  6 hours ago 
For the record, #Synod15's first comprehensive snapshot comes Friday as 13 small groups issue 1st of 3 weekly reports; texts will be public

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-why-do-good-things-happen-to-bad-peop

Pope Francis: why do good things happen to bad people?
2015-10-08 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) God does not abandon the righteous, while those who sow evil are like strangers, whose names heaven remembers not. This is the lesson Pope Francis drew from the readings of the day at Mass Thursday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

A courageous young mother with a husband and three children – and a tumor – “one of the ugly ones” – that keeps her nailed to her bed. “Why?” An elderly woman, prayerfully pious in her heart, whose son was murdered by the Mafia.

Why do good things happen to bad people?

Pope Francis on Thursday used this perennial query of the heart that loves good and desires to know God’s plan, as the way into the mystery of iniquity and its relation to God’s providence, justice and mercy. Drawing on the reading from the prophet, Malachi, in which the Lord rebukes the people, saying, “You have defied me in word, says the LORD, yet you ask, ‘What have we spoken against you?’ You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God, and what do we profit by keeping his command, and going about in penitential dress in awe of the LORD of hosts? Rather must we call the proud blessed; for indeed evildoers prosper, and even tempt God with impunity,’” Pope Francis said:

“How many times do we see this reality in bad people, in people who do evil, and seem to do well in life: they are happy, they have everything they want, they want for nothing. Why Lord? This is one of the many questions we have. Why does this brazen evildoer who cares nothing for God nor for neighbor, who is an unjust person – even mean – and things go well in his whole life, he has everything he wants, while we, who want to do good, have so many problems?”
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/synod-on-the-family-press-briefing-day-4

Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 4
2015-10-08 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio) On Thursday Oct. 8 at the daily press briefing for the Synod of the Family, three prelates spoke about issues from Africa and the Middle East. They said that the Synod is universal and that Africa and the West shared similar problems.

Archbishop Charles Palmer-Buckley of Accra, Ghana, said that the world needs to be patient with Africa when it comes to dealing with issues like homosexuality. “Give countries time to deal with issues from our own cultural perspectives,” he said. He added that the dignity and rights of all God’s son and daughters need to be upheld.

The Synod Fathers continued to work in groups on Thursday. Archbishop Edoardo Menchelli from Ancona-Osimo, Italy, told the briefing that there was an “open fraternal discussion” in his group and that there were divergent views emerging amongst the Fathers. The bishops, he said, were discussing the first part of Instrumentum Laboris on the current situation of the family from a wide perspective.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/pope-francis-discern-and-watch-even-in-good-times

Pope Francis: discern and watch, even in good times
2015-10-09 Vatican Radio

(Vatican Radio)  The Christian must discern all things, even when everything is going well.  That was at the heart of Pope Francis’ homily at Mass on Friday morning in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta in the Vatican.

At his Friday morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis focused his remarks on the necessity of discernment of situations, whether it seems to come from God or from the evil one “who always seeks to deceive, to make us choose the wrong path”.

In Friday’s Gospel reading, Jesus drives out a demon, doing good to the man once afflicted, but some from the crowd of witnesses accuse him of being in league with Beelzebul.

“There was another group,” the Holy Father said, “that did not appreciate him and sought to interpret Jesus’ words and actions in a different way, against Jesus. Some, for envy, others for doctrinal rigidity, others because they were afraid that the Romans would come and massacre them; for many reasons they sought to distance Jesus’ authority from the people, even with slander as in this case.”
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/09/pope_francis_appeals_for_peace_in_middle_east,_africa/1177924

Pope Francis: appeals for peace in Middle East, Africa
09/10/2015 10:45

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis made a prayerful appeal for reconciliation and peace in the Middle East and Africa on Friday, at the opening of the morning session of the Synod assembly in the Vatican. The appeal came as the Holy Father addressed the Fathers and other participants in the XIV Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on Friday morning, at the start of their second round of meetings in General Congregation.

Below, please find Vatican Radio’s English translation of the Holy Father’s remarks

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Dear Synod Fathers, dear brothers and sisters,

In resuming this morning the work of the General Congregation, I invite you to dedicate the prayer of the Third Hour to the intention of reconciliation and peace in the Middle East. We are painfully struck and we follow with great concern what is happening in Syria, in Iraq, in Jerusalem and the West Bank, where we see an escalation of violence that involves innocent civilians and continues to fuel a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions. War brings destruction and multiplies the sufferings of peoples. Hope and progress come only from choices for peace. Let us unite, therefore, in an intense and confident prayer to the Lord, a prayer that intends to be an expression of solidarity at once with [our] brother Patriarchs and Bishops from those regions, who are present here [at the Synod Assembly], as well as with their priests and faithful, and to everyone who lives there.
 

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http://www.news.va/en/news/circuli-minori-families-are-not-alien-to-us

Circuli Minori – families are not alien to us

Vatican City, 9 October 2015 (VIS) – This morning, during the fourth General Congregation, the various Circuli Minori – thirteen in total – presented the results of their reflections on the first part of the Instrumentum Laboris examining the mission of the family in the Church and the contemporary world.

In general the rapporteurs from the various groups, which were divided according to language (English, French,Spanish, German and Italian) considered that it was necessary to offer, as Archbishop Mark Coleridge of Brisbane, Australia, writes, “a less negative reading of history, culture and the situation of the family at this time. True, there are negative forces at work at this time in history and in the various cultures of the world; but that is far from the full story. If it were the full story, all the Church could do would be to condemn. There are also forces which are positive, even luminous, and these need to be identified since they may well be the signs of God in history”.

“The Church does not inhabit a world out of time, as Vatican Council II, 'the Council of history', recognised”, notes the prelate. “Nor does the Church inhabit a world outside human cultures; the Church shapes cultures and cultures shape the Church. In considering marriage and the family here and now, we were conscious of the need to address the facts of history and the realities of cultures – with both the eyes of faith and the heart of God. That is what it has meant for us to read the signs of the times”.
 

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http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/10/09/synod_on_the_family_press_briefing_day_5/1178073

Synod on the Family: Press Briefing Day 5
09/10/2015 15:29

(Vatican Radio) Fr. Federico Lombardi, SJ, director of the Holy See Press Office, brought three prelates as guests on Friday to the daily media briefing on the progress of the Synod on the Family taking place at Vatican City. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle of Manilla, Philippines and Archbishops Joseph E. of Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, and Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid, Spain, were present.

Cardinal Tagle told the Friday press briefing that he was impressed by what he heard in the small group work at the Synod on the Family. He said that there was a "freedom and openness" to the diverse contexts and situations that families find themselves in across the world. He said that the sharp criticism by one of the small groups, which called the document "chaotic" and said that the "Holy Father and people of God deserve something better," was to be expected as this was a working document.

Fr. Lombardi said that Pope Francis had made an important intervention before morning prayer asking for prayers especially for the Middle East. After morning prayer the bishops working groups reported on their discussions over the last two days on the first section of Instrumentum Laboris. Once the reports were completed the Fathers began to look at part two of the working document.

Archbishop Kurtz said that he found it very helpful to work in small groups early in the Synod. He said that this enabled delegates to engage early. Kurtz said many Fathers were concerned that the final document should reflect the concrens of the whole church and nnot be too "western". Kurtz said that migration had emerged as a strong theme and that the Fathers saw the need to call on governments to be welcoming and generous to migrants.