VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE   
   YEAR XXII - # 176   
   DATE 13-10-2014   
      
   Summary:   
   - Relatio post disceptationem: listen to the family and discuss pastoral   
   perspectives, with a gaze fixed on Christ   
   - The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the   
   contemporary world: theme of the next Synod   
   - Consistory for the canonisation of the Blesseds Joseph Vaz and Maria   
   Cristina of the Immaculate Conception   
   - Mass of thanks for the new Canadian saints   
   - Angelus: respond to the Lord's invitation with witness to charity   
   - Genoa in the Pope's prayers   
   - Synod Fathers to draw up the Relatio Synodi   
   - Tenth General Congregation: Fraternal Delegates   
   - Declaration from the director of the Holy See Press Office   
   - Audiences   
   - Other Pontifical Acts   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Relatio post disceptationem: listen to the family and discuss pastoral   
   perspectives, with a gaze fixed on Christ   
    Vatican City, 13 October 2014 (VIS) - The "post-discussion report" of the   
   Extraordinary Synod on the family was presented this morning by the General   
   Rapporteur of the Assembly, Cardinal Peter Erdo. It summarises the Synod   
   Fathers' main reflections that have emerged during the General Congregations   
   during recent days, and forms the basis of the final documents of the Synod.   
    The Report sets out three main guidelines: listening to the socio-cultural   
   context in which families live today; discussing the pastoral perspectives to   
   be taken, and above all, looking to Christ and to His Gospel of the family.   
    The family, therefore, is "decisive and valuable", the "source of joys and   
   trials, of deep affections and relations, at times wounded", a "school of   
   humanity", and must first be listened to in its "complexity". Exasperated   
   individualism, the "great test" of solitude, the "narcissistic affectivity"   
   linked to the "fragility" of sentiments, the "nightmare" of precariousness in   
   the workplace, along with war, terrorism and migrations increasingly cause   
   deterioration in family situations. It is here, according to the Relatio, that   
   the Church must give "hope and meaning" to the life of modern humanity,   
   ensuring that "the doctrine of faith" is better known, but proposing it "with   
   mercy".   
    Turning our gaze to Christ "reaffirms the indissoluble union between a man   
   and a woman", but also allows us to "interpret the nuptial covenant in terms   
   of continuity and novelty". The principle, explains Cardinal Erdo, must be   
   that of "gradualness" for couples in failed marriages, with an "inclusive   
   perspective" for the "imperfect forms" of nuptial reality: "Realizing the   
   need, therefore, for spiritual discernment with regard to cohabitation, civil   
   marriages and divorced and remarried persons, it is the task of the Church to   
   recognise those seeds of the Word that have spread beyond its visible and   
   sacramental boundaries. ... The Church turns respectfully to those who   
   participate in her life in an incomplete and imperfect way, appreciating the   
   positive values they contain rather than their limitations and shortcomings".   
    There is a need, therefore, for a "new dimension of family pastoral" able to   
   nurture seeds in the process of maturation, such as civil marriages   
   characterised by stability, deep affection, and responsibility in relation to   
   offspring, and which may lead to a sacramental bond. Frequently cohabitation   
   or de facto unions are not dictated by a rejection of Christian values, but   
   rather by practical needs, such as waiting for a stable job. The Church, a   
   true "House of the Father", a "torch carried among the people", continued the   
   Cardinal, must accompany "her most fragile sons and daughters, marked by   
   wounded and lost love, with attention and care", restoring trust and hope to   
   them.   
    In the third part, the "post-discussion Report" goes on to face the "most   
   urgent pastoral issues", the implementation of which is entrusted to the   
   individual local Churches, always in communion with the Pope. First, the   
   "proclamation of the Gospel of the family" is "not to condemn, but to cure   
   human fragility". This proclamation also involves the faithful: "Evangelising   
   is the shared responsibility of all God's people, each according to his or her   
   own ministry and charism. Without the joyous testimony of spouses and   
   families, the announcement, even if correct, risks being misunderstood or   
   submerged by the ocean of words that is a characteristic of our society.   
   Catholic families are themselves called upon to be the active subjects of all   
   the pastoral of the family".   
    The Gospel of the family is "joy", underlined Cardinal Erdo, and therefore   
   requires "a missionary conversion" so as not to stop at a proclamation that is   
   "merely theoretical and has nothing to do with people's real problems". At the   
   same time, it is also necessary to act in relation to language: "Conversion   
   has, above all, to be that of language so that this might prove to be   
   effectively meaningful. ... This is not merely about presenting a set of   
   regulations but about putting forward values, responding to those who find   
   themselves in need today even in the most secularised countries".   
    Adequate preparation for Christian marriage is also essential, as this is not   
   merely a cultural tradition or a social obligation, but rather a "vocational   
   decision". Without "complicating the cycles of formation", the aim should be   
   that of exploring the issue in depth, not limiting the issue merely to   
   "general orientations" but instead renewing also "the formation of presbyters   
   and other pastoral operators" on the matter, with the involvement of families   
   themselves, whose witness is to be privileged. The accompaniment of the Church   
   is also suggested following marriage, a "vital and delicate" period in which   
   couples mature their understanding of the sacrament, its meaning and the   
   challenges that it poses.   
    In the same way, the Church, continues the Report, must encourage and support   
   laypersons occupied with culture, politics and in society, to ensure that   
   those factors that impede authentic family life, leading to discrimination,   
   poverty, exclusion and violence, are denounced.   
    Moving on to the issue of separated couples, divorced persons, including   
   those subsequently remarried, Cardinal Erdo underlined that "it is not wise to   
   think of single solutions or those inspired by a logic of ‘all or nothing'";   
   dialogue must therefore continue in the local Churches, "with respect and   
   love" for every wounded family, thinking of those who have unjustly suffered   
   abandonment by their spouse, avoiding discriminatory attitudes and protecting   
   children: "It is indispensable to assume in a faithful and constructive way   
   the consequences of separation or divorce on the children; they must not   
   become an 'object' to be fought over and the most suitable means need to be   
   sought so that they can get over the trauma of family break-up and grow up in   
   the most serene way possible".   
    With regard to the streamlining of procedures for the recognition of   
   matrimonial nullity, the General Rapporteur of the Synod reported the   
   proposals made by the Assembly: to abandon the need for the double conforming   
   sentence, to establish an administrative channel at diocesan level, and the   
   introduction of a summary process in the case of clear nullity, and the   
   possibility of "giving weight to the faith of those about to be married in   
   terms of the validity of the sacrament of marriage". The Cardinal emphasised   
   that this all requires suitably prepared clergy and laypersons and a greater   
   responsibility on the part of local bishops.   
    With regard to access to the sacrament of the Eucharist for divorced and   
   remarried persons, the Report lists the main suggestions that emerged from the   
   Synod: maintaining the current discipline; allowing greater openness in   
   particular cases, that may not be resolved without further injustice or   
   suffering; or rather, opting for a "penitential" approach: partaking of the   
   sacraments might occur were it preceded by a penitential path - under the   
   responsibility of the diocesan bishop -, and with a clear undertaking in   
   favour of the children. This would not be a general possibility, but the fruit   
   of a discernment applied on a case-by-case basis, according to a law of   
   gradualness, that takes into consideration the distinction between state of   
   sin, state of grace and the attenuating circumstances.   
    The question of "spiritual communion", for which a greater theological   
   examination was called for, remains open; again, further reflection was   
   required on mixed marriages and "serious problems" linked to the different   
   nuptial discipline of Orthodox Churches.   
    With regard to homosexuals, it was underlined that they have "gifts and   
   qualities to offer the Christian community": the Church must therefore be, for   
   them, a "welcoming home". The Church affirms that same-sex unions are not "on   
   the same footing" as marriage between a man and a woman and stated that it was   
   unacceptable for international bodies to place pressure on pastors to make   
   financial aid dependent on the introduction of regulations inspired by gender   
   ideology. However, "without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual   
   unions it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the   
   point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners.   
   Furthermore, the Church pays special attention to the children who live with   
   couples of the same sex, emphasising that the needs and rights of the little   
   ones must always be given priority".   
    In the final part, the Report returns to the theme of Pope Paul VI's   
   Encyclical "Humanae Vitae", and focuses on the question of openness to life,   
   defining it as an "instrinsic requirement of conjugal love". This gives rise   
   to the need for a "realistic language" able to explain "the beauty and truth"   
   of opening oneself to the gift of a child, also thanks to "appropriate   
   teaching regarding natural methods of fertility control" and a "harmonious and   
   aware" communication between spouses, in all its dimensions. Furthermore, the   
   challenge of education is central, in which the Church has a valuable role of   
   support for families, to support them in their choices and their   
   responsibilities.   
    Finally, Cardinal Erdo underlines that the synodal dialogue took place "in   
   great freedom and with a spirit of reciprocal listening", and recalls that the   
   reflections proposed so far do not represent decisions that have already been   
   taken: indeed, the itinerary will continue with the Ordinary General Synod,   
   again on the theme of the family, to be held in October 2015.   
    The full text of the Relatio post disceptationem may be consulted at:   
      
   http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblic   
   /2014/10/13/0751/03037.html   
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    The vocation and the mission of the family in the Church and in the   
   contemporary world: theme of the next Synod   
    Vatican City, 13 October 2014 (VIS) - During the General Congregation of the   
   Synod, held this morning, it was announced that Pope Francis has convoked the   
   14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, on the theme "The   
   vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemporary   
   world", which will be held in the Vatican from 4 to 25 October 2015.   
      
   ___________________________________________________________   
      
    Consistory for the canonisation of the Blesseds Joseph Vaz and Maria Cristina   
   of the Immaculate Conception   
    Vatican City, 13 October 2014 (VIS) - On Monday, 20 October, in the New Synod   
   Hall, the Holy Father Francis will preside at a celebration of Terce and the   
   Ordinary Public Consistory for the canonisation of the Blesseds Joseph Vaz,   
   Indian priest of the Oratorians of St. Philip Neri, founder of the Oratory of   
   the Holy Cross of Miracles in Goa, India, and missionary in Ceylon (Sri Lanka)   
   and Kanara, India, and Maria Cristina of the Immaculate Conception, Italian   
   foundress of the Congregation of the Oblation Sisters of the Blessed   
   Sacrament. The Pope also informed the members of the College of Cardinals on   
   the current situation faced by Christians in the Middle Eaast, and the   
   Church's commitment to peace in the region.   
      
   --- MPost/386 v1.21   
    * Origin: Sursum Corda! BBS=Huntsville AL=bbs.sursum-corda.com (1:396/45)