Six things you need to know about the Synod of Bishops' interim report

Vivificat - From Contemplation to Action ^ | 14 Oct ober 2014 | Teófilo de Jesús (@vivificat)

[Teófilo]

Brethren, Peace be with you in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Inaugural Mass of the Synod of Bishops in Rome

There's been a lot of misunderstanding regarding the interim report issued by the Synod of Bishops this last weekend. Much of the misunderstanding is due to a New York Times (NYT) article formerly titled Vatican Signals More Tolerance Toward Gays and Remarriage since renamed At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce - probably because they were so far off the mark in the first place. (George Weigel's take on the NYT article dispatches the MSM approach clearly and efficiently).

Brethren, these are things you need to know about the Synod's stance regarding same-sex activity and people suffering from same-sex attractions, over and against the views reported in the MSM:

1. The Bishops have not changed Catholic doctrine regarding the moral admissibility of same-sex activity, nor will they change it, nor can they change it. Any expectations formulated and fostered by the MSM that such a change is possible or forthcoming or even desirable are false. (If you want to know or want to remember the Church's unchangeable stance, read it here).

2. The issue is one of pastoral approach to people suffering  from same-sex attractions. You can call this a "change in tone" if you like, but I've said the same thing in writing 9 years ago and then again 5 years ago (here and here). I didn't invent my own conclusions from thin air, but from reading the official Catholic doctrine regarding homosexuality and chastity. If I did so, any person of good will can and must understand that all persons suffering from same-sex attractions must be treated with love and respect, and that avoiding all signs of unjust discrimination against them is our duty as faithful Catholics. The doctrine says what it means and means what it says.

3. There was no "Vatican backtracking" in the face of "conservative bishops" regarding this issue, as CNN reports. Check the Synod's working document against the official Catholic doctrine and you'll see they don't contradict each other. CNN, NYT, and other media simply failed to understand both Catholic doctrine and the Synod's working process with their reporting or worse, willfully distorted their reporting to support another agenda.

4. I'm all for "gradualism" - the Synod's "byword" - if by it we mean to say that discipleship and growth are a process, and that sinful patterns of life acquired by repeated action - we call those "bad habits" or "vices"- be they cohabitation, divorce, or same-sex activity, are not broken overnight barring a luminous miracle; and that prayer and sacramental help, as well as true friendship, mentoring, and companionship, are needed to guide others to the fullness of life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But with "gradualism" there's the temptation to compromise with mediocrity, to say "I've progressed enough, I'll stay here, I can't do no more" while the mentor, already identifying with the pilgrim, will tend to acquiesce. Many are those who hope to catch such a "break", the moral demands of the Gospel notwithstanding. If that's what "gradualism" means, we have the obligation as Catholics to reject it.

5. Righteous gradualism works. Just ask the people who work in the Courage Apostolate. Non-sexual friendship and long-term mutual companionship and support between people suffering from same-sex attraction is possible with God's grace. These men and women who have chosen to live according to the Gospel in the context of their same-sex attraction need our special support, love, and respect. All this is implicit in the official Catholic doctrine regarding homosexuality and chastity.

6. The interim report issued by the Synod of Bishops is just that, interim and therefore, temporary, malleable, and unfinished. It is more a summary of the bishops' views expressed the prior week. The document is just a milestone and reference point in a larger process.

Don't lose your peace before the distortions and misinformation pervading the MSM about the Synod. All is going the way it is supposed to go. The Holy Spirit is in the details. Let us continue to pray for the success of this first phase of the Synod of Bishops.

[Teófilo]

Blunders. Typos. Mine.

[Teófilo]

PING!

[Buckeye McFrog]

CNN misreporting something. THERE’S a first! /s

[ConservingFreedom]

CNN, NYT, and other media simply failed to understand both Catholic doctrine and the Synod's working process with their reporting or worse, willfully distorted their reporting to support another agenda.

Christian charity requires me to not rule out the former possibility - but the latter seems all too believable.

[SpirituTuo]

Thank you for posting this. It is good to have a breath of fresh air to dispel the panic.

[steve86]

Gets tiresome blaming on misreporting.

Vatican II happened and the Synod family liberalization can happen.

[steve86]

any person of good will can and must understand that all persons suffering from same-sex attractions must be treated with love and respect

No, the shouldn't when they have wholeheartedly and willfully given themselves over to Satan's agenda as the activists have.

[irishjuggler]

It is more a summary of the bishops' views expressed the prior week.

No, it's not. A few bishops have already disputed that the 'relatio' in any way accurately summarized the views expressed by the majority of participants at the synod previous week. The document is agitprop from a few liberal bishops within the Vatican. And this agitprop has already accomplished its desired goal (i.e., sent a loud and clear message to the world that the Church is caving on issues of sexual morality).

[Brian Kopp DPM]

All is going the way it is supposed to go. The Holy Spirit is in the details.

Sorry my friend, but ...

See you tonight. If you'll still break bread with us hysterical types ;-)

[Amendment10]

So is there a possibility that the Pope did not say the following as alleged by the Catholic News Service?

"God's laws are meant to lead all people to Christ and his glory, and if they do not, then they are obsolete, Pope Francis said in a morning homily." --FR: If laws don't lead people to Jesus, they are obsolete, pope says

Was the Pope possibly talking about church "laws" in a context different from the condemnation of same-sex sexual relationships by the Holy Bible?

[Alex Murphy]

• 1. The Bishops have not changed Catholic doctrine regarding the moral admissibility of same-sex activity, nor will they change it, nor can they change it.
  
• 2. The issue is one of pastoral approach to people suffering from same-sex attractions.
• 3. There was no "Vatican backtracking" in the face of "conservative bishops" regarding this issue, as CNN reports. Check the Synod's working document against the official Catholic doctrine and you'll see they don't contradict each other.
• 4. I'm all for "gradualism" - the Synod's "byword" - if by it we mean to say that discipleship and growth are a process...
• 5. Righteous gradualism works.
• 6. The interim report issued by the Synod of Bishops is just that, interim and therefore, temporary, malleable, and unfinished.

Y'all need to get together and get your stories straight.

[Ouchthatonehurt]

“Gets tiresome blaming on misreporting.

Vatican II happened and the Synod family liberalization can happen.”

Agree. This is doctrinal change with a wink and a nod.

[Teófilo]

No, the shouldn't when they have wholeheartedly and willfully given themselves over to Satan's agenda as the activists have.

This is the crux of the matter, right? We declare them "lost" and we go on congratulating ourselves as to how holy and pure we are in comparison. That's your solution? Sorry, I disagree.

~Theo

[Teófilo]

...And this agitprop has already accomplished its desired goal (i.e., sent a loud and clear message to the world that the Church is caving on issues of sexual morality).

The bishops will not cave in, period. Once we understand that simple fact we can put this working document in its appropriate context. I assure you that next year this working draft would have been all but forgotten.

~Theo

[Teófilo]

The Pope did say what he said, as he also once said he was a loyal and faithful son of the Church. I take it all he says in light of that simple statement of where he stands.

~Theo

[Teófilo]

“I believe in One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church...”

The Church is an object of faith. I repeat, the Holy Spirit is in the details. As he once spoke through Leo, he now speaks through Francis.

See ya’ tonight.

~Theo

[Teófilo]

If I were in charge of communications in the Vatican, I would run things very differently. As it is, I call’em the way I see’em. :-)

~Theo

[Mrs. Don-o]

You're wrong about that, Steve86, Sinners especially need love and respect: not loving and respecting their wretched repulsive sin, of course, but loving and respecting what Jesus saw when He said, "I would die for that person."

Just reading a bit of St. Catherine of Siena -- I can take just a bit at a time, because, good heavens, that woman is about 198 proof --- but she wrote that Jesus told her that "the greater the misery of a soul, the greater its right to My mercy."

I think of that.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"And this agitprop has already accomplished its desired goal...

It accomplishes its desired goal by this method: by getting us to repeat, multiply, and amplify its malignant distortions, gruesomely mixed with bitterness and cynicism.

Right after a person says "The Church is caving on matters of sexual morality," Satan is ready to spring forward with the next clause: "Curse God and die!"

[irishjuggler]

Well, it's very difficult to un-blow the horn. The message, like the pontiff's infamous 'who am I to judge?' remark, has already gone out. It really doesn't matter very much that this isn't what most of the bishops want. And it doesn't really matter what happens next year. The message has already been sent that the Church has raised the white flag. The Church will no longer actively oppose the homosexual agenda, contraception, divorce, fornication, etc. The Church will now tolerate all of those behaviors in the name of mercy.

That's not to say that the Church couldn't reverse course. Of course, it could. Pope Francis could stand up tomorrow and set the record straight. He could tell the world in no uncertain terms that the Church still believes what it has always believed. But he won't. This is the course he wants. He's made it very clear that he believes that the way forward for the Church is to be attuned to 'signs of the times' and compromise with the world.