The Press has been filled with stories about the synod on families being held in Rome. No surprise, as the first document released was rather dodgy on two matters: 1) admittance to Communion for civilly-divorced and re-married Catholics and 2) homosexual matters.
A little unpacking is required.
First, and most important: the document was written by an Italian Bishop who is known for his un-orthodox thinking on both those issues AND "other views" were (literally) suppressed by that author. As it turns out, those "other views" (the orthodox ones) are held by the vast majority of the Bishops who are there, and those "other views" have been released to The Press after a raucous shouting-match (!!) in the meeting room.
(If you're looking for citations, see here, here, and here.)
Secondly, a real side-show has erupted as a leading left-leaning German Cardinal gave an interview which was borderline-racist (to be kind.) (It's been noted in other venues that Lefties tend to castigate Conservatives for the Left's own flaws, and this Cardinal-Projector proves the case.)
Believe it: Ebola is not the only world news story!
Yes, it is great theater – except that the Synod was not convened to provide entertainment, but clarity - and the Relatio only provided more confusion.
ReplyDeleteRemarkably, in a venue where Pope Francis promised openness and freedom of expression, it has been marred by secrecy and manipulation by certain members – some directly appointed by the Pope himself. But then Pope Francis did urge people to ‘make a mess…’ (“Vaya lio!”).
He’s certainly succeeding with this Synod