Pastor's Pen - November 1, 2015

What is a Synod? It is an assembly of representative Bishops from around the world who assist the Holy Father with counsel on important questions facing the Church.)

In October, 2014 the Holy Father called an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on the topic of
 Family. Subsequent to that gathering, Pope Francis called an Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to continue the dialogue on “family”. So for three weeks, October 4- 25, 2015, Pope Francis and 270 representative Bishops from all parts of the world have met in Rome as a “Synod” to listen to & learn from not only each other, but also the laity of the Church (married couples, single men and single women, and many others) and share a message of mission on the importance of serving families. (In order to have as many people as possible give input, a questionnaire also went out from the Holy Father a number of months ago asking Catholics to share their concerns, experiences and wisdom about “family.” Our parishioners were asked at the time to look at the Pope’s questionnaire on the internet and to send in their responses by e mail. Some of you did!) The synod participants shared the faith and concerns of the world’s Catholics about “family,” and they wrapped up this part of the synod last weekend.

At the conclusion of the Synod, the Bishops voted on a number of issues relating to family, some of which you have seen in the media over the past week. Later, an “action” document will be coming from the ofice of our Holy Father covering a wide range of topics related to Family. The Church’s teachings will be highlighted  and a message will be shared on how to concretely and pastorally live and apply those teachings to ‘where people are at.’ If the Holy Father and the Bishops maybe didn’t know the struggles of families before, they definitely do now, because of the experience of the Synod. Their intent is neither to scold people nor to demand impersonal allegiance to the teachings of the Church, but rather to meet families where they are at. If people are expecting the teachings of the Church to change, they will be disappointed, but there is still the concrete application of justice and mercy that have to be applied and used in our understanding of family issues. Stay tuned! May all the different experiences of family in our homes and in society be guided by the grace of the Lord!
Fr. Ralph 201