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October 24, 2015, Saturday — Three Less Unanimous Paragraphs (with Vote Total

“While insisting on God’s love for homosexual persons and the obligation to respect their dignity, the report also insisted homosexual unions could not be recognized as marriages and denounced as ‘totally unacceptable’ governments or international organizations making recognition of ‘marriage’ between persons of the same gender a condition for financial assistance.” —American Vaticanist Cindy Wooden, of Catholic News Service, in one of the first reports on the Synod document

The text of the final Synod document has been published in Italian at this link: Link.)

As soon as the text is out on English, I will send a note with a link to it.

The three paragraphs which received the lowest vote totals were Paragraphs 84, 85, and 86.

These paragraphs, on “Discernment and Integration,” deal with “the baptized who are divorced and civilly remarried.”

Paragraph 84 received 187 “yes” votes and 72 “no” votes.

Paragraph 85 received 178 “yes” votes and 80 “no” votes. (Since 177 votes were needed for a two-thirds majority, this also passed, but it was close; though in this particular case, 173 votes were enough for a two-thirds majority of the 258 votes that were cast, as seven Fathers abstained; this paragraph received the lowest percentage of votes given to any paragraph.)

Paragraph 86 received 190 “yes” votes and 64 “no” votes.

Here are the paragraphs in question, in my own English translation (the official English translation is not yet available).

The Three Less Unanimous Paragraphs

Discernment and integration

84. The baptized who are divorced and civilly remarried need to be more integrated in the Christian communities in the different ways possible, avoiding any occasion of scandal.

The logic of integration is the key to their pastoral accompaniment, in order that they know not only that they belong to the Body of Christ which is the Church, but can have a joyful and fruitful experience of it.

They are baptized, they are brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit pours out into them gifts and charisms for the good of all. Their participation can be expressed in different ecclesial services: it is therefore necessary to discern which of the various forms of exclusion currently practiced in the liturgical, pastoral, educational and institutional realms can be overcome.

They not only should not feel themselves excommunicated, but can live and mature as living members of the Church, feeling her to be a mother who welcomes them always, who takes care of them with affection and who encourages them in the path of life and of the Gospel.

This integration is also needed for the care and Christian education of their children, who must be considered the most important.

For the Christian community, taking care of these people is not a weakening of their faith and testimony about the indissolubility of marriage: rather, the Church expresses in this very care her charity.

85. St. John Paul II offered a comprehensive criterion, which remains the basis for the evaluation of these situations: “Pastors must know that, for the sake of truth, they are obliged to discern situations carefully. There is indeed a difference between those who have sincerely tried to save their first marriage and have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage. Finally, there are those who have contracted a second marriage for the sake of the children, and are sometimes subjectively certain in conscience that their previous marriage, irreparably broken, had never been valid” (FC, 84).

It is therefore the duty of priests to accompany the people concerned on the way of discernment according to the teaching of the Church and the guidelines of the Bishop. In this process, it will be useful to make an examination of conscience, by means of moments of reflection and penance.

The divorced and remarried should ask themselves how they have behaved towards their children when the conjugal union has entered into crisis; if there have been attempts at reconciliation; what is the situation of the partner who has been abandoned; what effect has the new relationship on the rest of the family and on the community of the faithful; what example it offers to young people who are preparing for marriage. A sincere reflection can strengthen trust in the mercy of God that is not denied to anyone.

Moreover, one can not deny that in some circumstances “imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or nullified” (CCC, 1735) due to various conditions. Accordingly, the judgment of an objective situation should not lead to a judgment on the “subjective culpability” (Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts, Declaration of June 24, 2000, 2a).

Under certain circumstances people find it very difficult to act otherwise than they do. Therefore, while maintaining a general rule, it must be recognized that the responsibility with respect to certain actions or decisions is not the same in all cases. Pastoral discernment, while taking account of a properly formed conscience of the people, must take these situations into consideration. The consequences of acts taken are not necessarily the same in all cases.

86. The process of accompaniment and discernment orients these faithful to an examination of conscience regarding their situation before God. The interview with the priest, in the internal forum (“foro interno“), contributes to the formation of a correct judgment on what hinders the possibility of a fuller participation in the life of the Church and on the steps that can foster it and make it grow. Given that in the law itself there is no graduality (cf. FC 34), this discernment will never be able to prescind from the needs of the truth and the charity of the Gospel proposed by the Church. In order for this to happen, the necessary conditions of humility, confidence, and love for the Church and its teaching, must be guaranteed, in the sincere search for God’s will and the desire to achieve a more perfect answer to it.

Here are the vote totals for all of the 94 paragraphs:

Synod Fathers present: 265

Two thirds of 265 = 177.

So 177 votes were needed to give any paragraph a two-thirds majority.

The abstensions (often four or five or more Fathers did not vote either “yes” or “no,”) are not listed.

Paragraph

Yes

No

1

260

0

2

257

0

3

255

1

4

256

2

5

256

3

6

249

9

7

248

9

8

245

9

9

254

4

10

253

7

11

256

1

12

253

5

13

255

5

14

256

5

15

255

5

16

254

8

17

259

1

18

258

1

19

255

5

20

257

3

21

256

4

22

252

4

23

253

4

24

255

5

25

242

15

26

256

2

27

251

9

28

257

4

29

249

8

30

250

7

31

253

7

32

249

6

33

246

12

34

245

11

35

259

2

36

256

3

37

252

6

38

251

5

39

255

3

40

255

6

41

253

7

42

257

2

43

254

6

44

247

11

45

249

6

46

254

5

47

246

11

48

253

6

49

253

5

50

252

6

51

250

11

52

252

5

53

244

15

54

236

21

55

243

14

56

248

10

57

257

2

58

247

14

59

258

3

60

259

1

61

254

7

62

259

0

63

237

21

64

247

11

65

252

7

66

258

0

67

259

0

68

253

3

69

236

21

70

213

47

71

218

42

72

229

29

73

236

24

74

223

36

75

205

52

76

221

37

77

247

11

78

250

8

79

246

14

80

253

6

81

253

7

82

244

16

83

248

12

84

187

72

85

178

80

86

190

64

87

255

3

88

252

4

89

257

2

90

255

5

91

248

12

92

256

4

93

255

2

94

253

5

Overview by Cindy Wooden of Catholic News Service, the News Service of the US Bishops’ Conference

“Synod Report Urges “Accompaniment” Tailored to Family Situations

Posted on October 24, 2015

By Cindy Wooden, Catholic News Service (link)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — While not specifically mentioning the controversial proposal of a path toward full reconciliation and Communion for the divorced and civilly remarried, members of the Synod of Bishops on the family handed Pope Francis a report emphasizing an obligation to recognize that not all Catholics in such a situation bear the same amount of blame.

The 94-paragraph report approved Oct. 24, the last working day of the three-week synod, highlighted the role of pastors in helping couples understand church teaching, grow in faith and take responsibility for sharing the Gospel. It also emphasized how “pastoral accompaniment” involves discerning, on a case-by-case basis, the moral culpability of people not fully living up to the Catholic ideal.

Bishops and other full members of the synod voted separately on each paragraph and the Vatican published those votes. The paragraph dealing specifically with leading divorced and remarried Catholics on a path of discernment passed with only one vote beyond the necessary two-thirds.

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna told reporters Oct. 24 that the key word in the document’s discussion of ministry to divorced and civilly remarried people is “‘discernment.’ I invite you all to remember there is no black or white, no simple yes or no.” The situation of each couple “must be discerned,” which is what was called for by St. John Paul II in his 1981 exhortation on the family, he said.

The cardinal told Vatican Insider, a news site, that although St. John Paul called for discernment in those cases, “he didn’t mention all that comes after discernment.” The synod’s final report, he said, proposes priests help divorced and remarried couples undergoing conversion and repentance so that they recognize whether or not they are worthy to receive the Eucharist. Such an examination of conscience, he said, is required of every Catholic each time they prepare to approach the altar.

As Pope Francis said at the beginning of the synod, Church doctrine on the meaning of marriage as a lifelong bond between one man and one woman open to having children was not up for debate. The final report strongly affirmed that teaching as God’s plan for humanity, as a blessing for the church and a benefit to society.

While insisting on God’s love for homosexual persons and the obligation to respect their dignity, the report also insisted homosexual unions could not be recognized as marriages and denounced as “totally unacceptable” governments or international organizations making recognition of “‘marriage’ between persons of the same gender” a condition for financial assistance.

The report also spoke specifically of: the changing role of women in families, the Church and society; single people and their contributions to the family and the Church; the heroic witness of parents who love and care for children with disabilities; the family as a sanctuary protecting the sacredness of human life from conception to natural death; and the particular strain on family life caused by poverty and by migration.

The Catholic Church recognizes a “natural” value in marriage corresponding to the good of the husband and wife, their unity, fidelity and desire for children.

But the sacrament of marriage adds another dimension, the report said. “The irrevocable fidelity of God to his covenant is the foundation of the indissolubility of marriage. The complete and profound love of the spouses is not based only on their human capabilities: God sustains this covenant with the strength of his Spirit.”

But human beings are subject to sin and failure, which is why synod members recommend the need for “accompaniment” by family members, pastors and other couples. “Being close to the family as a traveling companion means, for the Church, assuming wisely differentiated attitudes: sometimes it is necessary to stay by their side and listen in silence; other times it must indicate the path to follow; and at still other times, it is opportune to follow, support and encourage.”

A draft of the report was presented to synod members Oct. 22, and 51 bishops spoke the next morning about changes they would like to see in the final draft. Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, told reporters that several bishops mentioned specifically a need to improve the text’s references to “the relationship between conscience and the moral law.”

The text refers to conscience in sections dealing with procreation and with marital situations the church considers irregular, particularly the situation of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

First, though, synod members promised greater efforts to be with couples in crisis and praised divorced Catholics who, “even in difficult situations, do not undertake a new union, remaining faithful to the sacramental bond.” Such Catholics, they noted, can and should “find in the Eucharist the nourishment that sustains them.”

Those who have remarried without an annulment of their sacramental marriage must be welcomed and included in the parish community in every way possible, the report said. “They are baptized, they are brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit gives them gifts and charisms for the good of all.”

Quoting from St. John Paul’s exhortation on the family, the report insists that pastors, “for the sake of truth,” are called to careful discernment when assisting and counseling people who divorced and remarried. They must distinguish, for instance, between those who “have been unjustly abandoned, and those who through their own grave fault have destroyed a canonically valid marriage,” in the words of St. John Paul.

Priests must “accompany interested people on the path of discernment in accordance with the teaching of the church and the guidance of the bishop,” the report said.

While the report makes no explicit mention of absolution and the return to Communion, it seems to leave some possibility for such a solution by quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s affirmation that “imputability and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified” because of different conditions.

Just as the degree of guilt will differ, the report said, “also the consequences of the acts are not necessarily the same in all cases.”

In several places the text praises the teaching of Humanae Vitae, the document of Blessed Paul VI on married love and the transmission of life. “Conjugal love between a man and a woman and the transmission of life are ordered one to the other,” the report said.

“Responsible parenthood presupposes the formation of the conscience, which is ‘the most secret core and sanctuary of a man. There he is alone with God, whose voice echoes in his depths,’” said the report, quoting from the Second Vatican Council’s Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. “The more spouses try to listen to God and his commandments in their consciences, the freer their decision will be” from external pressures, the report said.

What is the glory of God?

“The glory of God is man alive; but the life of man is the vision of God.” —St. Irenaeus of Lyons, in the territory of France, in his great work Against All Heresies, written c. 180 A.D.

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