WASHINGTON — Pope Francis wants to know about the state of marriage and the family in the Church, before the bishops meet in Rome for an extraordinary synod next year. However, the lay faithful should not expect to be receiving a survey on their views from the Vatican anytime soon.
For one thing, the Vatican’s survey is being handled at the diocesan level, and the aim is to collect raw data, not opinions on Church doctrine or discipline, in advance of the 2014 synod. The data will help inform the bishops as they develop pastoral solutions for the challenges faced by modern families.
“Each bishop determines what is the most useful and reasonable manner of consultation to assist him in preparing his report for the Vatican,” said Don Clemmer, assistant director of media relations at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Clemmer said once a diocese completes its report, the data will be sent back to the USCCB and then forwarded on to the Vatican.
It is too early to say how each of the U.S. dioceses will handle the questionnaire. The Archdiocese of Denver’s communications office informed the Register that the archdiocese is studying how best to approach the questionnaire and will be forming a plan over the next few weeks. In the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., according to the communications office, Bishop Kevin Rhoades has not yet had an opportunity to meet with his cabinet to discuss how they will gather the survey data.
The Diocese of Harrisburg, Pa., said that it will be distributing the survey to all priests and deacons in its 15 counties and that it may include those involved in parish marriage ministries as well.
“It will be a big job to read and compile all the surveys in the short time allotted, but I feel that it will be worth it to share this information about marriage in central Pennsylvania with the larger Church,” said Victoria Laskowski, the diocese’s director of marriage and family ministries.
The responses from all the dioceses have to be returned to the Vatican by the end of January 2014.
2014 Synod
The synod is set for Oct. 5-19 and will focus on “The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.” The bishops and Pope Francis will discuss pastoral responses to the problems of divorce and same-sex “marriage,” as well as other challenges to the health of families.
The 39 questions in the Vatican survey form part of a preparatory document that addresses such topics as "Pastoral Care in Certain Difficult Marital Situations," the "Union of Persons of the Same Sex," the "Education of Children in Irregular Marriages," "Openness of the Married Couple to Life" and the "Relationship Between the Family and the Person."
“This is huge, to have an extraordinary synod focused specifically on the family,” said Bill May, president of Catholics for the Common Good, a lay apostolate focused on evangelizing the culture.
May is the author of a recent book called Getting the Marriage Conversation Right, and his organization has been focused on presenting the Church’s teachings on marriage and family in a compelling way.
“The questionnaire reflects an interest in trying to understand the problems of the family more deeply as they try to prepare and address it,” he said.
Misunderstandings
The Vatican’s worldwide survey, however, has been misunderstood by others and inaccurately described in a number of media outlets as an opinion survey or a poll of the views lay Catholics may have on marriage, family and sexuality.
Vatican officials involved with preparing for the synod have made clear that the preparatory document and questionnaire are geared toward finding pastoral solutions for the modern challenges to the family, not altering Church teaching.
Cardinal Péter Erdő, primate of Hungary, said at a Nov. 5 press conference that the aim of the Vatican survey is to obtain “concrete and real data” from dioceses to inform the synod’s discussions.
“The document contains, as well as a general presentation on the matter, various essential biblical and magisterial quotations on the theme as well as a questionnaire on the main challenges regarding the family,” Cardinal Erdő said.
One lay Catholic organization, however, has taken upon itself to publish an online version of the survey. Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good — a separate and distinct organization unrelated to Catholics for the Common Good — has posted a truncated version of the Vatican questionnaire, under a heading that reads, “Communicating the Sense of the Faithful in the United States to Pope Francis." The organization says it will send the responses to the USCCB “and to the appropriate officials in the Vatican, including the Holy Father himself.”
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good has been criticized by some Catholic observers, who note that it is a politically partisan group that has acted to undermine Church teachings on abortion.
During the 2008 election campaign, then-Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver publicly criticized the organization, commenting that “… the work of Democratic-friendly groups like Catholics United and Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good have done a disservice to the Church, confused the natural priorities of Catholic social teaching, undermined the progress pro-lifers have made and provided an excuse for some Catholics to abandon the abortion issue, instead of fighting within their parties and at the ballot box to protect the unborn.”
Only a Preparatory Document
However, it appears unlikely that anything other than the diocesan responses to the official Vatican survey will be considered.
Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi explained that the Vatican questionnaire is “only a document sent to bishops’ conferences throughout the world” to help prepare for the extraordinary synod.
The USCCB Office of Communications also said it could not comment about third-party surveys — only on the official survey being sent to the bishops.
Pope Francis’ call for an extraordinary synod of bishops in 2014 was announced by the Vatican in October.
The synod’s discussions on the family are expected to be taken up again in 2015, at the regular worldwide synod of bishops, which falls on the 50th anniversary of the restoration of the synodal system by Pope Paul VI.
Peter Jesserer Smith is a Register staff writer.
Catholic News Agency contributed to this report.
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“The Church has a hierarchy—instituted by Christ.”
I don’t think that the purppose was to have a church of only bishops, which is the trend withthe “hierarchical” church; I think the “institution” (which you imply is the clerical organzation) was a service tio the laity. I don’t think Jesus was in the business of creating a new clerical institution, he had enough to contend with the original one, which he denounced though few would argue it was not a sacred creation too.
CL
The Church has a hierarchy—instituted by Christ. The individual Bishops have the liberty to consult as they like with the faithful, but the Bishops, in union with the Pope are the only ones with the authority to determine official teaching and “interpretation” of the teaching in matters of faith and morals. Thank God! (Otherwise, the Catholic Church would end up in the condition St. Paul spoke of = thrown about by every wind of false teaching (cf Eph 4:14), like various other “churches” that exist apart from the Catholic Church.) This we firmly BELIEVE on the word of Jesus: “You are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church….” (Matt 16: 18-19, etc….)
The Vatican is not afraid of lay opinion. http://www.catholicbandita.com/vatican-survey-not-afraid-lay-opinion/
I am divorced I believe in all unmet but it has become out of what I can afford . I wish I did not have to pay for one and I would get it I am so in debt and trying to support my daughter and her son who just went through a divorce. So I just do not date. Is they a way to help so we can do what the church teaches? I did not want the divorce but my husband did not believe in God and left me. Thanks
I accidentally hit the on unsubscribe button to receive follow-ups on comments. I would like to receive the updates on the comments. Thank you!!!
Thank you for this article regarding the Churches surveys. I recently filled out a survey, and was totally confused by it. I believe some of the Laity seriously thinks they have been given an opportunity to help change the Church Doctrine. This article has stared me toward the right direction, and has helped me to know where Pope Francis is going with this. I will share this with the Parish Council, the Advisory Team, and the new Core group that has recently been formed to help with the modern day challenges the church is facing. Hopefully, if there is any misunderstanding, this article will help to clear it up!
This is obviously for local use here in Sydney, Australia, but hopefully other dioceses around the world will develop a questionnaire similar to this (and provide it online) to make it easier for laity to provide input:
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/Survey.shtml
This survey was developed with the concurrence of Cardinal George Pell, who is one of eight advisors to Pope Francis. Perhaps readers can suggest the development of a similar survey to their own bishops. All Catholics should seize this moment, be positive, and provide as much feedback to their bishops as they can (not all questions have to be answered).
Sylvia,
Pope Francis does want to connect with people. He does not want to push their politics.
Casting Crowns,
Pope Francis is sincere, but the opportunists are waiting for a chance to push their politics.
The purpose of the survey is to meet people where they are, find out where and why they are hurting, and to lead them to an encounter with Christ who will transform them.
If the Bishops are wise, they will do as the Pope says.
How will the Surveys paint an accurate picture about anything, if each is answered in totally different ways? Isn’t the first step to any accumulation of statistical information to come up with a reliable instrument with which to poll the information accurately. It sounds to me like this survey is only going to cause controversy, instead of providing useful information for the bishops’ synod.
It is wonderful for the synod bishops to ask lay people for our thoughts. So far, I have answered the first few questions. There are a lot of them, so I respond in the survey form, and then copy and paste each question into a word doc, then email it to myself, for editing.
I plan to respond to a handful of questions every day for the next week or so, so that the whole survey could be done in reasonable amounts and my responses are easy to read. The survey must be done by the last week of November, so there is plenty of time. It is a gesture of good faith, to be asked, and I believe it is a responsibility for lay people to respond. It is like voting in an city, county, state or national election.
Furthermore, and most importantly, our clergy needs to know how we think, because their life experience is different from ours. Most priests learn about married life from hearing confessions, or from counseling people. That gives a skewed view of life. They need to know what we think: for balance, and for the overall health of our church.
The people in the pews, for the most part, want the road to be broad and smooth. That’s not the way Jesus Christ told us it would be.
I trust the Holy Spirit to guide our Holy Father. I say, let Catholics in Alliance with the Common Good send their surveys and the bishops and the Holy Father should read them. Truth will not be obscured if it be God’s truth, and reading those surveys might give some insight to the bishops in developing pastoral solutions to the creeping moral relativism that threatens us today.
Catholics in Alliance with the Common Good and other groups are under the mistaken notion that human intellect trumps God’s eternal truths. They think they are like gods knowing good and evil. It is their mistaken belief that if Pope Francis would just read their thoughts, he would see how right they are and change the doctrines of the church. Let him read them. Let the bishops read them and pray about what needs to be done to help them and the majority of Catholics in America come home.
We should welcome their participation in this collection of data. After all,they may be able to fool their fellow men, but the Holy Spirit can not be deceived.
Diocesan data you know is going to be heavily slanted. The Bishops surely don’t want Rome to know what people in the pew really think. Diocesan agendas have largely pushed the gospel to the back of the bus in favor of socialism. They have “ritual” without righteousness.
The best way to help the family and marriages? Restore to them useful and important functions. End the welfare state and frankly, this includes tax payer funded education.
I think to have effective pastoral care it would be nice to know how the people feel. Some bishops around the world seem to think asking their people is the best way. Our USCCB are looking for “raw” data, the article suggests, accordingly, we’ll likely see garbage in garbage out. What ashame to miss an opportunity of touching the masses.
This article reads a little political to me, I have read this twice and still am not sure what they are looking for. If they want the Churches
opinion about the people in the Parish and their problems ok, but if
our Beloved Pope Francis is wanting data about the struggles of the Family’s within then the questionnaire should be addressed to the People.
Sometimes I really wonder what the Church wants, I read Scripture and the
way to Salvation seems pretty clear and I am filled with Hope in the Merci of God, then I read opinions in various publications about the rules of the Church, Confession, and I honestly don’t see how someone like
me will have a chance. I am not as concerned about escaping hell and punishment as I am about being forever separated from God and His Love.
That is not true. Is states clearly on the form that you have to
state if you are a lay person giving your opinion.
Thank God; He is watching that the Catholic Doctrine that He gave us is protected.
Here’s the survey, which all Catholics will be invited to complete:
http://www.sydneycatholic.org/works/pdf/LineamentaAEIIIIN.pdf
However, the Church must be open to the great interest that the questionnaire has raised worldwide, thanks to the echo by the media. Impossible (fortunately, we have Pope Francis)to ignore the voice of the spirit in the thousands of responses, feelings, opinions and suggestions that begin to arrive through online answers, forums and chats. It is, really, a mediatic kayros.
And when, as usual, the sarcasms and snide remarks begin, this is what this worldwide survey is all about:
“Vatican officials involved with preparing for the synod have made clear that the preparatory document and questionnaire are geared toward finding pastoral solutions for the modern challenges to the family, not altering Church teaching.”
Let us pray for Our Pope Francis and our bishops!
There is a difference between a Pastoral Synod and a Doctrinal Synod, even if they cannot be separated, for any genuine doctrinal position should have pastoral implications. The Council of Trent, for example, was a doctrinal Council, called to clarify the challenges to Catholic teaching by the Reformers. Vatican II, though it defintely had certain doctrinal devlopments, such as its clear teaching that the Episcopacy was the fullest expression of the Holy Orders, was predominanty a pastoral Council. As Pope John XXIII said in his opening address, Gaudet Mater Ecclesia, the Church was to approach the world with the “medicine of mercy,” not changing the teachings but of applying them in a way that heals the world. The Good Pope John (XXIII) never talked of a change in Church doctrine. I think if we look at Francis along the line of the ongoing reform that began with Leo XIII, then we can understand a bit what is meant when the Church talks of a “PASTORAL” Synod or Council. It is not about changing, for example, the Ten Commandments. It is about asking how we who have believed in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Jesus can live out these truths today, in the post-modern world.Let us continue to pray for the Church and our mission as Church.
based on this article it looks like Harrisburg dioceses is on target to gather valuable data while others are scratching their heads trying to figure out what to do. In the UK (England and Wales) the Cardinals have used the Internet to send a survey out to all Catholics who desire to respond. Looks like the UK will have accurate and meaningful data for the Synod.
It’s good that our ecclesial leaders are finally addressing hetrosexual marriage issues in the modern world. I think the facts will be very revealing and will help inform the church leadership in its pastoral responsibilities.
Gee, and we all thought maybe Francis wanted to connect with people.
I’d recommend SoGoSurvey’s online survey tool to the Vatican :)
Groups like Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good do more harm to the faith than Bible Christians who often attack the Catholic Church. I certainly hope that their “survey” isn’t seen by anyone in Rome. You could probably reason more with atheists than with some of these people.
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