Posted on 05/27/2022 4:38:23 PM PDT by ebb tide
The following is from the church bulletin (page 4) of St. Joseph Church in Long Beach, California.
St. Joseph’s participation in the worldwide Synod is now completed, and we have provided the Archdiocese with summaries of the comments made during our parish’s listening sessions. I would like to thank all who attended the listening sessions, including the volunteers who moderated the sessions and recorded the comments. Over the next few weeks, we will be publishing the report we submitted to the Archdiocese. This week, we are publishing the comments from the first topic, Listening and Speaking.
Deacon Tom
Speaking and Listening
• We need to create an atmosphere whereby the LGBTQ (lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer) community feels welcomed and loved, and becomes more fully involved in the Church. The Church can learn how to be more supportive of women, LGBTQ and minorities. The Church teaching that homosexuality is “intrinsically disordered” and "objectively disordered" needs to be changed. There were more comments on this issue than any other in the Listening and Speaking category.
• The young people in our parish commented that the Church has ignored the LGBTQ community, and doesn’t accept gay people for who they are. The gay community does not feel as welcome because they can’t be married in the church.
• The Church does not value women as much as it could. There is a feminine voice. It would bring a deeper level of intimacy, hope and faith if women had more of a role. Patriarchal rules are no longer acceptable in today’s world and are hurting the Church. Women’s voices are not always respected and we lose their gifts and what they can bring to the community, e.g. preaching homilies, women as deacons and priests.
• Our young people commented that women have been excluded especially with leadership roles in the Mass, and asked “Can’t there be women priests?”
• Many people who have divorced go on to marry again, including a large number of Catholic men and women. Annulment is the only option offered by the Church, but does not always apply. Sadly, a divorced and remarried person is now driven away from the sacraments and, practically speaking, from the Church.
• Our young people stated that the Church has ignored and excluded people who are divorced who are not able to receive Communion.
• The Church is interested in people on the margins and is concerned with social justice issues. We should have greater collaboration with secular organizations, e.g., helping out and promoting low income housing and safety nets for the homeless.
• The current political climate has also affected the perception of division based on stands/sides on various issues, which has also added to those who feel unwelcome. We are hesitant to speak “with courage and charity” because of the great divisions in our society and the desire to not bring further separation or to harm the faith of those who are comfortable.
• Our young people commented that the Church has excluded people from other religions. We have excluded people of color through racism. We exclude and ignore people who don’t believe everything the Church teaches. We judge people when they are working out their faith and what we believe.
• We need more programs (such as summer programs) for middle school students/young teens and college programs (such as Newman Centers/Clubs) for 18-25 year olds to better understand, appreciate, and actively practice their faith. Rather than just honoring an obligation to please their parents, young Catholics need to be taught to love our God and be in communion with Him. The Church needs to nourish and focus on the youth to keep them engaged with the church. This could lead to more youth choosing consecrated religious life.
Summarize any points of view that varied from the majority of comments
• There are stories of children in school being pressured by LGBTQ peers to try out their lifestyle. How can we keep children safe from this type of pressure and but love and support the LGBTQ students?
• We would like guidance on how to not normalize the LBGTQ lifestyle or unknowingly encourage it in the church community, all the while loving them. How do we reconcile the bible teaching on homosexuality with the LBGTQ lifestyle, i.e., love the person but not the sin? How do we love them, but at the same time to let them know of the consequences of their actions. We can’t pretend that Jesus is ok with their actions. He calls us to repent and sin no more.
• Some of our young people stated that we have ignored our own Catholic school teachers, and we need to support them financially so that their salaries can compete with public school teacher salaries.
• We don’t seem to reach the people on the economic and social margins. We have inconsistent responses to the marginalized. While Catholic Charities and our parish’s social justice group are good responses, our Church is not seen as a place for spiritual healing for all—particularly those who have not followed the rules. It seems like the Church isn’t going after people that aren’t making good choices and helping provide them a place to change and develop new ways. Jesus walked and was open to being with sinners, and the Church may not be as open to reaching out and talking to those that are not making good decisions. The Church may not seem that welcoming to all.
MAY 22, 2022 Page 4
How and why would one support agressive pervert kids trying to corrupt other children?
Frankenchurch Sin-Nod Ping
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.