Synod on the Family (2014)

Image courtesy of Time

This weekend saw the start of an "extraordinary Synod" in the Vatican. It will be a two-week meeting by over 200 leaders of the Catholic Church, including the Pope to discuss marriage, divorce, homosexuality, abortion, contraception and all other matters connecting to family life.

The agenda was set after an opinion survey of Catholics world-wide ordered by Pope Francis last year. Many have claimed it was aimed at looking at to what extent Catholic teaching is being rejected or ignored by the faithful.

Even strongly Roman Catholic countries, have legalised abortion, divorce and same-sex marriages. Many Roman Catholics use birth control and a significant number have divorced (and potentially remarried).

There has been much made of Pope Francis' own views on sexuality which have been conditioned by years of working in the slums of Buenos Aires. He continues to stress the importance of understanding the problems faced by the poor, rather than focussing only on obedience to unbending rules.

"We cannot insist only upon issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraception,.. The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent,.. The church's pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines… We have to find a new balance, otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards."

The world will be listening very carefully to what this Synod has to say...

What do you think the Church leaders will have to say? Will it change much? 

Read more <here>

Full Vatican briefings <here>

Excellent blog post with all the info you need <here>