Archbishop slams synod critics

Dr Martin rebukes synod confusion claims

Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has rebuked those who he says accuse Pope Francis of causing confusion in the Church as a result of the recent synod on the family.

Dr Martin said he was “quite surprised at the remarks of some commentators within Church circles about the recent Synod of Bishops, often making accusations of confusion where such confusion did not exist and so actually fomenting confusion”.

Dr Martin’s remarks appear to be a thinly-veiled broadside at prominent theologian Fr Vincent Twomey who said it was “gravely irresponsible on the part of the synod to cause further confusion in a pastoral situation that, in the absence of little authentic instruction on the part of bishops and priests over the past 40 years, is causing havoc in people’s lives”.

However, the archbishop said he believed that “a longing for certainties may spring from personal uncertainty rather than strong faith.

“A strong – and indeed orthodox faith – is never afraid of discussion,” he said.

Confusion

Speaking at the Mass to mark the refurbishment of of a church at the DIT Grangegorman campus, the archbishop said “some say that the synod and perhaps even the Pope sowed seeds of confusion.

“They fail to see how Pope Francis shows that his concern for people who suffer is far from being a sign of dogmatic relativism, but rather is a sign of pastoral patience,” Archbishop Martin said.

Vatican-based Cardinal Raymond Burke also accused the synod of causing “tremendous confusion”. He warned that it “could even induce the faithful into error with regard to the teaching about marriage and other teachings.”

Archbishop Martin said that “a Church which becomes a comfort zone for the likeminded ceases to be truly the Church of Jesus Christ”.

During his intervention at the synod in Rome, Dr Martin said that many people “would hardly recognise their own experience in the way we present the ideals of married life.

“Indeed many in genuine humility would probably feel that they are living a life which is distant from the ideal of marriage as presented by Church teaching,” he said.