Tibda il-preparazzjoni għas-Sindou tal-Isqfijiet dwar il-Familja

The preparatory document for next year’s Synod of Bishops on the Family was formally released at a news conference in the Vatican on Tuesday. The synod’s theme is “The pastoral challenges to the Family in the context of Evangelization and it will run from the 5th to the 19th of October 2014. The document gives an overview of Church teaching on the family and spells out in a frank manner the many daunting challenges facing the family in today’s society, saying there is an urgency for the Church to address these challenges. The document also includes a questionnaire or consultation containing 39 questions on family issues that has been sent to bishops conferences around the world asking them to share it as widely as possible so that input from local sources can be received.

Bishop John Hine is the head of the Committee for Marriage and Family Life of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and spoke to Susy Hodges. He begins by giving his own reaction to the Church’s decision to send out this questionnaire and the feedback he has received so far from lay Catholics.

Bishop Hine welcomes the decision to send out this questionnaire seeking input from lay Catholics around the world ahead of next year’s Synod describing it as “extremely significant” and saying it’s already received an enthusiastic feedback from the faithful. “It really responds to the desire for the people, the laity in the Church to be consulted on matters which concern them so deeply.” “Couples are delighted that they’re going to be involved in the consultations,” he says.

Bishops Hine also says he finds this initiative “extremely refreshing” but goes on to warn that “it will, of course, raise expectations (from the lay faithful) and we have to recognize that and be prepared to work at meeting those expectations in some way.”

When asked if he believes some of those expectations are likely to be met or whether they are over the top, the Bishop says “those expectations are the reality that we’re facing” and adds that he believes it is very positive that “the Church is facing the real challenges so openly and this in itself, is of huge pastoral benefit.”

Source: News.va