Cathal Barry
The Pope’s imminent document will speak to couples and families struggling to cope with the pressures of society, writes Cathal Barry
Just when you thought the buzz from last year’s family synod was petering out, it’s set to come back with a bang.
The debate around Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics is set to erupt yet again with the imminent publication of the Pope’s exhortation on the family.
The exhortation has long been expected following on from the key meeting of bishops in Rome last October.
Pope Francis has said that the document will be out “before” the end of March and Our Sunday Visitor has reported that the signature date — although not necessarily the date of its release — will be the solemnity of St Joseph on March 19, which will mark the third anniversary of the Pope’s inauguration Mass.
It is understood that the exhortation has been drafted, as was Evangelii Gaudium, by the Pope’s lead ghost-writer, theologian Archbishop Victor Fernández and could well be called The Joy of the Family, echoing his earlier apostolic exhortation The Joy of the Gospel.
Although participants at the synod are quick to point out that Communion for remarried divorcees was not the meeting’s substantive issue, it was the one that caused the most division and drew significant media attention as a result.
Sensitivie
Therefore, it will be the chapter, section, paragraph or indeed sentence, dealing with that particularly sensitive issue that the public will be most eager to read.
A recent intervention by the Pope during his return flight from Mexico provides an insight into what interested parties might expect the document to say regarding divorced and remarried couples.
“All doors are open, but we cannot say that these people can take Communion,” Pope Francis said.
The remarks, according to papal biographer Austen Ivereigh, suggest that the Pope’s teaching will focus on ways of integrating those who remarried without an annulment, while upholding the Church’s rule that they cannot receive Communion.
More interesting still, however, is how Pope Francis will manage the call for a so called internal forum “discernment pathway” as a potential route back to the sacrament.
Bishops participating at the synod left the wording of that particular proposal deliberately open for Pope Francis to decide.
Pope Francis’ remarks on the papal plane, according to Dr Ivereigh, suggest that he has “ruled out” the possibility of Communion at the end of an Orthodox-style process for recognizing second civil marriages, such as that mooted in early 2014 by Cardinal Walter Kasper, based on the Orthodox tradition.
The same remarks, Mr Ivereigh insisted, suggest that Pope Francis “views the pastoral objective of integrating a divorced-and-remarried couple as being undermined, rather than enabled, by allowing them eventually to receive Communion”.
“Integration into the Church does not mean allowing people to take Communion,” the Pope said on board the papal plane, citing with disapproval the example of divorced and remarried couples “who go to church once or twice a year and say, ‘I want to receive Communion’, as if it were some prize”.
Francis told reporters that such responses would not achieve the objective of “integration” but leave the wound unhealed.
Aside from discussing the controversial issue of Communion for remarried and divorced Catholics, the synod asked the Church to help people in practical ways to get married and to stay married, and called for special outreach to those who have suffered the collapse of marriage and family, helping to heal and integrate them in the life of the Church.
The synod’s final report consists of 94 paragraphs that address countless challenges facing families today. It also expresses much hope and faith in families and promotes a spirit of encouragement and accompaniment among the pastors of the Church.
The Pope in his exhortation will undoubtedly speak to couples and families struggling to cope with the pressures piled on them by society today. He will offer too an outstretched hand wounded families offering the Church’s support and consolation at all times.
More importantly still, this document will continue the Church’s shift in tone and approach under this papacy, ensuring compassion and mercy is prioritised in all cases.
While the forthcoming exhortation from the Pope will be an official teaching document, it is important to remember that the synod was never really going to change Church teaching.
Rather, it was an attempt to capture different viewpoints. It was an exercise in listening and learning in an atmosphere of discernment and mutual respect.
There was debate and disagreement, of course, but the fact that every section of the final report was approved by a majority of at least two-thirds proved that consensus can be met after open and honest deliberations.
Speaking on the final day of the synod, Pope Francis outlined clearly that the process was “not about settling all the issues” facing the family in today’s world. Nor was it “about finding exhaustive solutions for all the difficulties and uncertainties which challenge and threaten the family,” the Pontiff said.
Joy of hope
What this synod was about, according to Pope Francis, was “bringing the joy of hope without falling into a facile repetition of what is obvious or has already been said”.
Furthermore, it was about viewing today’s challenges “in the light” of the Faith, “carefully studying them and confronting them fearlessly, without burying our heads in the sand”.
Ultimately, according to Pope Francis, “it was about urging everyone to appreciate the importance of the institution of the family and of marriage between a man and a woman, based on unity and indissolubility, and valuing it as the fundamental basis of society and human life”.