Pope tells bishops to include ‘those on fringes’
Pope Francis
Pope Francis on Sunday warned Catholic bishops against turning away from people who do not fit their “scheduled faith”, a day after a divisive synod on the Church’s attitude to sex, love and marriage ended in stalemate.
Bishops on Saturday submitted a report to the pope that fudges the key issue of whether divorced and remarried believers should be allowed to play a full role in the Church, reflecting a stalemate in the battle between the conservative and liberal wings.
Francis is free to ignore or implement the document, which leaves him room for manoeuvre should he wish to defy his conservative opponents and push on with his attempt to make the Church more relevant and more welcoming towards believers who find themselves in breach of its rules.
At a mass Sunday marking the end of the synod, the 78-year-old pontiff warned bishops of the dangers of “falling into a ‘scheduled faith'”.
“We are able to walk with the people of God, but we already have our schedule for the journey, where everything is listed: we know where to go and how long it will take, everyone must respect our rhythm and every problem is a bother,” he said, looking pale and tired after the exertions of the synod.
Instead he pointed to the Gospel story of Jesus healing the blind man Bartimaeus as evidence that God “wants to include above all those kept on the fringes who are crying out to him”.
After the three-week synod — which Francis recognised in closing remarks had exposed deep divisions in the Catholic family — the pope must now decide if and when he updates guidelines on the Church’s teaching.
The text approved on Saturday advocates a “case-by-case” approach to the most controversial question, the handling of divorced and remarried believers, saying they need to play a greater role in the Church but stopping short of explicitly ending the current ban on their receiving communion.
The document includes only one brief article on the Church’s approach to gay believers, framing the question in terms of how priests can help support families who have “persons with homosexual tendencies” in their midst.
It reiterates that the Church believes every person, regardless of their sexuality, is worthy of respect but stresses the Church’s opposition to gay marriage.
The emphasis contrasted sharply with first drafts last year which spoke of recognising the value of loving same-sex relationships, to the outrage of those opposed to any dilution of Church teaching that homosexuality amounts to a kind of disorder.
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7 Comments
African clerics along with a few western hierarchy are determined to suppress the admonition to love your neighbor as yourself. Religion and backward culture eliminate an entire segment of humanity from respect and recognition of human dignity.Thus, “et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis” remains an impossible fantasy.
Hi Hugh, sorry to be a pain, but it is some African clerics. It depends where you are on the continent. The Catholic church opens her arms and gives succour and protection to the LBGTIQ community in some parts of Africa, in other parts she is a raging demon inciting persecution . The Bishops in Nigeria were forced to tow at least a role that decriminalises homosexuality. Nigeria is not inherently homophobic: it is just that the government stirs up religious indignation against gay people as a distraction from political and governmental incompetence. Also remember you are dealing with a generally poorly educated population that still burns witches. Usually it is the Evangelicals who are doing it to build up congregations and wealth. A thousand Nigerians girls, between 2000-2009 were burned as witches based on spurious accusations of EP pastors.
Stop telling lies to deceive others. Tell us what tribe in Nigeria accepts homosexuals? Or which religious organization welcomes that before you concluded that the government dabbled in to Gay issue to distract the people. The Muslims in Nigeria will not accept and promote Gay as okay and neither the Christians churches in the east will. It is not possible to force Africans to normalize Gay in their countries.
SoThere are many religions that accept homosexuals, and in fact the Catholic bishops conference in Nigeria called for compassion when dealing with homosexuals and does not favour gaoling homosexuals, rather it is opposed to gay marriage. I know Nigeria has yet as a nation to join the 18th century when it comes to dealing with homosexuality. I am so sorry you were unaware of the bishops statement.
You need to stop the lies, No Religion in Nigeria accepts gay marriage, please back your accusations up with evidence. How do you know witches. Don’t just listen to what pple say, rather make proper verifications, because people usually say stuff just to gain recognition.
There are many religions that accept homosexuals, and in fact the bishops conference in Nigeria called for compassion when dealing with homosexuals and does not favour gaoling homosexuals, rather it is opposed to gay marriage. I know Nigeria has yet as a nation to join the 18th century when it comes to dealing with homosexuality. I am so sorry you were unaware of the bishops statement.
Oh I am so sorry: that figure of a thousand witches burned to death comes from human rights watch. Do you really believe in witches? What next vampires, werewolves, trolls and fairies. Tosin I would like to invite you to the 21st century, I know it may be hard stepping of the 15th century, but you will find it totally liberating. Guess what the world isn’t flat.
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