Cardinal Pell: Many Synod Fathers Still Concerned About Drafting Committee Composition
In a statement released this evening, a spokesman for Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy, has said the cardinal is aware that "concerns remain" among "many synod fathers" about the composition of the drafting committee of the final relatio of the Ordinary Synod on the Family.
The cardinal is also aware that concerns remain about the process by which the final relatio will be presented to the synod fathers, and voting on the document, the statement reads.
The communique follows reports that a number of cardinals signed a letter to the Pope on the first day of the synod last week, voicing such concerns.
The Pope sought to allay their apprehensions in an uncheduled address to the synod on the second day of the meeting.
The spokesman said the letter to the Pope was private and "should remain private" and that there were "errors in both the content and the list of signatories" (four cardinals today denied signing it).
He also said "obviously there is no possibility of change" in the Church's doctrine on proper dispositions necessary for the reception of Holy Communion, despite "minority elements" wanting to change the Church's teaching in this regard.
***
Statement from Spokesperson for Cardinal George Pell
Monday 12 October 2015
A spokesperson for Cardinal Pell said that there is strong agreement in the Synod on most points but obviously there is some disagreement because minority elements want to change the Church's teachings on the proper dispositions necessary for the reception of Communion.
Obviously there is no possibility of change on this doctrine.
A private letter should remain private but it seems that there are errors in both the content and the list of signatories.
The Cardinal is aware that concerns remain among many of the Synod Fathers about the composition of the drafting committee of the final relatio and about the process by which it will be presented to the Synod fathers and voted upon.
- Keywords:
- synod on the family
Edward Pentin Edward Pentin is the Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst. He began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for EWTN's National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.
