Posted on 11/01/2013 5:23:19 AM PDT by GIdget2004
The Vatican is taking the unusual step of conducting a worldwide survey on how parishes deal with sensitive issues such as birth control, divorce and gay marriage, seeking input ahead of a major meeting on the family that Pope Francis plans next year.
The poll was sent in mid-October to every national conference of bishops with a request from the Vatican coordinator, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, to "share it immediately as widely as possible to deaneries and parishes so that input from local sources can be received."
The survey reflects the pope's pledges to move away from what he called a "Vatican-centric" approach toward one where local church leaders are more involved in decision-making.
Among the questions are whether gay marriage is recognized in their country and how priests minister to same-sex couples, including how churches can respond when gays seek a religious education or Holy Communion for their children. The poll also asks "how is God's mercy proclaimed" to separated, divorced and remarried couples. Additional information is sought on the pastoral care of men and women who live together outside of marriage. The survey also asks parishes whether they believe married men and women tend to follow church teaching barring the use of artificial contraception.
The National Catholic Reporter, an independent news organization, was first to report Thursday that the survey will be conducted, and it posted a copy online.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
A SURVEY?
God did not take a SURVEY, He just told us what would bless our lives if we lived by the boundries He set for us!!
END OF STORY! Give them the BOUNDRIES, Let God take care of the rest!!
If he’s looking to relax the church’s stance on any of these issues we may be coming to the point where the pope is no longer Catholic.
I miss Pope Benedict.
I’ve said it before. Francis makes me very nervous.
“I miss Pope Benedict”.
Me too.
This pope makes me uneasy.
Wonder if the results will be published?
I think this is just to get a realistic - rather than anecdotal - account of what the average Catholic thinks. Most newspaper polls show that Catholics think exactly like the society around them, and in fact are even more liberal on some things (such as “gay marriage”) and also have abortions at a higher rate than the general population.
Can this be trusted? Remember that the newspapers have a vested interest in trying to portray Catholics as being on board with all the positions held by the press itself, and in addition, their “surveys” take in Catholics who are self defined as such and are not necessarily even people who ever go to Mass or have any contact with the Church. They were probably just born into a family from an historically Catholic ethnic group, such as the Irish, and may have been baptized...but sometimes not even that. Yet they come up in press surveys of Catholic opinion.
I think the Pope just wants to know for himself how bad the situation is.
WHY would the Pope be concerned with what people are thinking or doing if he wasn't prepared to adjust to conform to their mores ?
I sure hope so. I am not Catholic but am aware that the Catholic church is one of the great defenders of morality in this country and the world. If they go liberal on us the only thing left for us to do is to pray for Jesus's speedy return to reset this whole mess.
WHY would the Pope be concerned with what people are thinking or doing if he wasn’t prepared to adjust to conform to their mores ?
Uh... What?
A survey?
I’m not Catholic, but this is how the ELCA started to go nutter.
I think you have it right.
My parish has never discussed birth control, divorce or gay marriage. But I’ve been to parishes that discuss these issues every week.
I know that Freepers are used to polls being used by politicians to adjust their way of thinking, but less public polls, like those we have at work, are used to focus on where training is needed.
Polls are still a very useful tool despite how they are abused by the MSM and the government.
Parishes deal with those topics by expressly adhering to Church teaching.
And those who do otherwise are certainly never going to admit that in answer to this survey.
What about a edict stating: It’s in the BOOK, that’s the way it will be. Yes and no, never maybe.
Wonder if the results will be believed?
Perhaps he/they wishes to design an educational (I wrote outreach, but realized that was incorrect) program targeting areas of serious misunderstanding.
I can hope, at least.
More likely as an effort to increase evangelization efforts.
Dan has already provided all kinds of stats from less biased sources.
The RCC polling Catholics? They think they’re going to get a straight answer when they claim the Church holds their people’s eternal destiny in their hands?
I think he wants to know realistically what the pastors are teaching and what the people believe (those who bother to go to church and thus can be considered practicing Catholics).
This will give him and the group meeting to discuss the family some firm facts as a starting point.
That’s what I think, too. The Pope is doctrinally very sound but he’s aware that somehow, we’re not getting the message out.
Don’t forget that this surveys the clergy, too, and they’re the ones who have dropped the ball.
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