Closing synod, pope says church must practice mercy not condemnation

Pope Francis closed the Synod on the Family with a ringing call for the church to practice mercy toward struggling and broken families, and to avoid using church doctrine as “stones to be hurled at others.”

In a final address to the more than 300 synod participants, the pope also noted that the discussion during the three-week-long assembly was open but not always charitable. At times, he said, the synod had to rise above “conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints.”

The pope’s address came shortly after a vote on a final document that backed away from some controversial pastoral proposals, but left the door open for further development of certain questions, including that of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics.

It was a remarkable speech, one that left no doubt about Francis’ priorities. Rather than touch on specific proposals, the pope gave a broader vision of what, in his view, the synod had highlighted.

“The church’s first duty is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim God’s mercy, to call to conversion, and to lead all men and women to salvation in the Lord,” he said.

The synod, he said, was not about finding exhaustive solutions for all the problems and uncertainties facing families today, but studying them carefully and fearlessly “without burying our heads in the sand.” He reaffirmed the church’s teaching of marriage as a permanent union between a man and a woman, calling the family the “fundamental basis of society and human life.”

The pope then said what the synod was about, emphasizing the listening and dialogue of bishops form diverse social and religious situations:

“It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family.”

“It was about bearing witness to everyone that, for the church, the Gospel continues to be a vital source of eternal newness, against all those who would ‘indoctrinate’ it in dead stones to be hurled at others.”

“It was also about laying bare the closed hearts which frequently hide even behind the church’s teachings or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families.”

The pope said the true defenders of doctrine “are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit; not ideas but people; not formulae but the gratuitousness of God’s love and forgiveness. This is in no way to detract from the importance of formulae, laws and divine commandments, but rather to exalt the greatness of the true God, who does not treat us according to our merits or even according to our works but solely according to the boundless generosity of his Mercy.”

The pope emphasized that, apart from defined dogmas, it is difficult to make uniform policies for every church community on every continent, because of the diversity of pastoral situations. What is normal for a bishop on one continent can be “considered strange and almost scandalous” for a bishop from another, he said.

At that point in his speech, the pope clearly pointed the way to greater appreciation and freedom for local innovation and adaptations, sometimes called inculturation of the faith, which he said “does not weaken true values” and their ability to transform cultures.

The pope also spoke about the need to update the church’s language when it evangelizes, saying the beauty of Christianity is “at times encrusted in a language which is archaic or simply incomprehensible.” That was a key theme of the synod deliberations.

He said the church is committed to defending the family against “all ideological and individualistic assaults.” But he said that should be done without “demonizing others.”

The collegiality paradox facing Pope Francis

The Synod of Bishops on the Family has highlighted what I call the “paradox of collegiality” for Pope Francis.

The pope clearly wants to share his governing authority with bishops, giving them a bigger voice in decision-making in Rome and more latitude in their home dioceses. He also wants them on board as he shifts the church’s missionary approach to a more “merciful” and invitational style, less focused on doctrinal rules.

But the pope is working with a global episcopate largely put in place by his two predecessors, whose emphasis on doctrinal identity-building was very much reflected in their choice of bishops.

In the Pope John Paul II era, I was told that candidates for bishop nominations were routinely vetted regarding their views on a series of hot-button pastoral and doctrinal issues, including such things as birth control, dissent from the Magisterium, priestly celibacy, women’s ordination and the role of laity, to name a few.

It was a “litmus test” approach aimed at ensuring orthodoxy at the highest levels of the church. The Catholic Church is diverse, of course, and so are its bishops. But over a 35-year period, this policy made for a more conservative hierarchy.

The Synod on the Family has shown what happens when such a cautious and doctrinally-focused episcopate encounters a pope’s agenda for change. Many of today’s bishops are afraid that “mercy” without doctrinal backbone is a very slippery slope, especially when it comes to issues like divorce, cohabitation, gay relationships and birth control.

In a sense, I think the synod’s two sessions have been a place where these bishops can register reservations not only about specific pastoral proposals, but also about the entire “who am I to judge” approach of Pope Francis.

Pope Francis has been appointing bishops since his election in 2013, of course, and his choices appear to reflect his pastoral outlook. So how long does it take before he can really “shape” the world’s episcopate?

A long time.

In his 31 months in office, Francis has appointed 456 bishops, according to the Vatican’s statistics office. That is about 9 percent of the total number of bishops, and about 13 percent of the active (non-retired) bishops in the world.

Extrapolating those numbers, it will take the pope another seven or eight years before he will have named more than half the active bishops. I’m sure the pope realizes that, for quite some time, he will have to work with an episcopate that may at times act as a check on his innovative pastoral proposals.

Papal nominations of cardinals are important for different reasons, including an eventual conclave that can preserve a pope’s legacy and carry it forward or shift directions.

Pope Francis has already named 31 of the current 118 voting members (those under age 80) of the College of Cardinals, or 26 percent. However, because of an unusual age pattern in the college, it will likely take him another four or five years before he will have named a majority of the voting-age cardinals, i.e., more than 60 of the 120 voting-age cardinals allowed under current rules.

For those reasons, a relatively long pontificate for Francis may be important not only in building consensus on immediate issues, but also in long-term effects. As one bishop recently remarked, when he wishes Pope Francis a long life of “100 years” in the traditional Roman toast, he really means it.

German bishops may point way forward as synod draws to close

It’s increasingly clear that the German bishops are leading the way forward from the Synod on the Family, with proposals worthy of reflection and development by Pope Francis.

Unlike most of the synod’s 13 language groups, the German-speaking participants have approached their task with a fairly clear sense of mission: find a consensus, where possible, and indicate some potential new directions.

With only three days to go in this second synod assembly, reading through many of the group reports might lead one to despair of any real agreement on the tougher questions being raised: Communion for divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, pastoral policies for cohabitating couples, language (less condemnatory vs. denunciation of sin), and outreach to homosexuals.

The reports indicated a widespread split in positions on these questions – and not much more than that. From the outside, at least, it seems like this synod was a three-week round of infighting and restatement of positions, but with very little openness to reflection and change.

The Germans, however, managed to deliver two reports that were remarkable in having the unanimous agreement of the entire group. That is significant, because it includes Cardinal Walter Kasper, who has strongly pushed for a way to welcome divorced and remarried Catholics back to the sacraments, and Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the head of the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation and one of the strongest critics of that proposal.

They apparently pulled this off not just by negotiating, but by some deeper theological reflection – something that appears to be lacking in other groups.

Speaking at today’s Vatican press briefing, Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich underlined the group’s unanimity and said the Germans were well aware that the eyes of other synod participants were on them. The thinking was that if the Germans, with their diverse views, could come together, “maybe it would be a good sign for the others,” he said.

Marx told reporters that there was, of course, much fundamental agreement in their group, as well as in the synod hall and in society at large, about the value of marriage.

“Most of the people agree with the center of the doctrine of the church: that one man and one woman will want to be together forever, they say yes and they mean yes, they found a family and they want children. That is the great majority of the people I know,” the cardinal said.

“But they want to hear from the church, what will happen when we fail? Will you stay with us when we fail? And we have to say, yes, we will stay with you when you fail,” he said.

In the case of Catholics who divorce and remarry civilly without an annulment, Cardinal Marx said the German group proposed a pastoral solution that could allow a return to the sacraments after a process in which pastors guide an individual toward a decision of conscience.

This process of reflection in conscience, sometimes referred to as the “internal forum,” would be personal and private, but would follow certain criteria, perhaps under guidelines established by Rome, Marx said.

An individual who had divorced and civilly remarried, for example, would be asked to reflect on his or her responsibilities to a first spouse and family, reconciliation with those who have been hurt, relationships with children and reputation in the church community.

“Then you can find a way (to see) if and when it might be possible to make a full reconciliation,” he said. (It should be noted that debate over such use of the “internal forum,” for this and other difficult pastoral situations, has been simmering in the church for more than 40 years.)

Cardinal Marx noted that the German group’s discussion of these issues went beyond just “stating an opinion.” Theologians like Saint Thomas Aquinas were often quoted. “And when Cardinal Kasper and Cardinal Mueller and Cardinal (Cristophe) Schonborn are talking about Saint Thomas, that is very interesting!” he said.

As for those who have warned that any move toward allowing divorced Catholics to receive Communion would represent an attack on church doctrine, Cardinal Marx said it was important to remember that doctrine exists on many levels, and that it develops over the centuries.

“The doctrine of the church is not a closed shop, but a living tradition,” he said. This is clearly seen in the writings of different popes about marriage, or the development of doctrine in various church councils. “We don’t change the truth, but we find the greater truth,” he said.

The German group report began with an unusual statement criticizing unnamed synod participants for language that was not in line with the spirit of the synod. Asked about this, Cardinal Marx said referred to statements reportedly made by Australian George Pell in an interview with a French newspaper, in which Cardinal Pell spoke of a synod battle between “Kasperians” and “Ratzingerians.”

Marx said: “We thought that is not acceptable language and not useful for the synod to speak in this way.”

Several of the other language groups reported mixed views on the issues listed above. Most of the reports fell into a “some said … while others said” category. On the question of Communion for divorced and remarried, more than one group asked for further reflection by a commission named by Pope Francis, which at this point seems a likely outcome.

The impression left after reading through the reports is that synod participants will be glad to go home. In recent days, many of the participants have sounded like passengers on a white-knuckle flight that is preparing for a tricky landing – perhaps hoping that the pope is in the pilot’s seat.