At the Vatican, a Shift in Tone Toward Gays and Divorce
VATICAN
CITY — In a marked shift in tone likely to be discussed in parishes
around the world, an assembly of Roman Catholic bishops convened by Pope Francis at the Vatican
released a preliminary document on Monday calling for the church to
welcome and accept gay people, unmarried couples and those who have
divorced, as well as the children of these less traditional families.
The
bishops’ report, issued midway through a landmark two-week meeting,
does not change church doctrine or teaching, and will now be subjected
to fierce debate and revision at the assembly.
But
it is the first signal that the institutional church may follow the
direction Francis has set in the first 18 months of his papacy, away
from condemnation of unconventional family situations and toward
understanding, openness and mercy.
Previous synods have produced little, but some participants in this one have likened it to the historic Second Vatican
Council convened just over 50 years ago, which produced monumental
changes in church liturgy, relations with other faiths and the
conception of the roles of priests and laypeople.
The 12-page report,
written by a committee picked by Francis, says that without abandoning
church teaching on the sacrament of marriage, pastors should recognize
that there are “positive aspects of civil unions and cohabitation.” That
is a striking departure from traditional Catholic preaching that such
couples are “living in sin.”
The
report also says that gay people have “gifts and qualities to offer to
the Christian community,” and that some gay couples provide each other
“mutual aid to the point of sacrifice” and “precious support in the life
of the partners.”
The
document was read aloud to the nearly 200 bishops, priests and lay
people gathered at the synod, as the assembly is called. The reading was
followed by responses and objections from 41 bishops in the synod hall,
a portent of disputes to come.
The
synod has pitted those bishops who are in accord with Francis’s vision
against those who insist that the church is at risk of betraying its
definitive doctrines on marriage and homosexuality.
Archbishop
Bruno Forte, the synod’s special secretary, said in a news conference
afterward that while the church does not condone gay unions or gay
marriage, it must “respect the dignity of every person.”
“The fundamental idea is the centrality of the person independently of sexual orientation,” he said.
The
report will now be discussed and modified in the next week by working
groups of bishops who will scrutinize each section, and then a final
report will be issued after the synod to be disseminated and discussed
worldwide over the next year. There will be a second synod in Rome next
October, but in the end, after all the consultation and debate, it is Pope Francis who will ultimately set the course.
Cardinal
Luis Antonio G. Tagle of Manila told the news conference that some of
the bishops felt the “spirit” of Vatican II in this synod. He said the
report was a marker against which the bishops could “see what needs to
be deepened, what needs to be clarified, and what other things should be
raised, which we have not yet raised.
“So the drama continues.”
One
of the most contentious issues before the synod is whether to give the
sacrament of communion to Catholics who divorced and remarried without
having their first marriage annulled by the church, which is often a
lengthy and expensive process. The church teaches that marriage is
indissoluble.
The
document acknowledged that the bishops were split on the question of
communion, and left it open to further debate. But it called for the
church to treat divorced Catholics and those who have remarried with
respect, “avoiding any language or behavior that might make them feel
discriminated against.”
Some
conservative bishops who oppose any change have been outspoken.
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke, an American now serving in the Vatican, said
in an interview that will be published Tuesday in the Italian daily
newspaper Il Foglio
that “worrying tendencies” were emerging from the synod because they
“are supporting the possibility of adopting a practice that deviates
from the truth of the faith.”
Many
conservatives have complained that because the media has been excluded
from the synod sessions, the synod discussions are being spun by the
Vatican spokesmen charged with summarizing the proceedings in daily news
conferences.
“A large number of bishops do not accept the ideas of openness, but few know that,” Cardinal Burke told Il Foglio.
The
“progressives” at the synod, who want change in the church, “are in
positions of strength, put there by Pope Francis,” said Sandro Magister,
a Vatican expert with the Italian newsmagazine L’espresso, in an interview on Monday. “The pope is not impartial.”
News
of the preliminary document was played down in the Italian news media,
and some Vatican officials cautioned that it was not conclusive. The
Rev. Federico Lombardi, a Vatican spokesman, said in an interview with
The New York Times: “It should not be overvalued as a document of
reference. It’s merely a working paper.”
Yet
the document was greeted with instant enthusiasm by gay rights groups
and advocates of church reform who have been hoping the synod would
produce substantive change.
Francis
DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, an advocacy group
for gay Catholics, said, “These recognitions are total reversals of
earlier church statements which labeled such an orientation as
‘objectively disordered’ and which viewed gay and lesbian people in
faith communities as problems and suspect persons.”
In
the United States, many parishes quietly welcome gay couples, in the
church’s own “don’t ask, don’t tell” approach. But there have been
reports of gay couples denied communion; gay parishioners evicted from
choirs and parish councils; gay teachers and professors dismissed from
schools; and gay children refused admittance to parochial schools.
Some analysts said that the synod’s document would influence pastors, even as it was debated over the next year.
The
Rev. James Martin, editor at large of America, the Jesuit magazine,
said that “even though this is an interim document, it represents a
revolution in the way the church speaks about our gay and lesbian
brothers and sisters.”
However, the document reflects what appears to be a definite consensus among most bishops against same-sex marriage.
The
document also criticizes pressure by the United Nations and some
Western nations to compel countries in Africa and elsewhere to rescind
laws that restrict the rights of gay people, in exchange for financial
aid. It says it is unacceptable “that international bodies make
financial aid dependent on the introduction of regulations inspired by
gender ideology.”
But
this was a rare departure into politics. Over all, the preliminary
document sets a pastoral tone that echoes Francis’ words. It says the
church must address “real world problems,” care for “wounded families”
and understand that irregular situations like divorce are often imposed,
not chosen.
Elisabetta Povoledo reported from Vatican City, and Laurie Goodstein from Northampton, Mass.
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