Message for
the Media
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rene Reid
Work phone: 775-825-9196; Cell phone:
775-772-1210
www.CatholicChurchReformIntl.org was designed to fail ... and is failing
Catholic Church Reform International
(CCRI) has written an Open Letter to Pope Francis telling him that the
46-question survey requiring all essay-type answers devised by the Secretariat of the
Synod of Bishops to gather feedback for the October 2015 Synod on the Family, is
totally unworkable and not being promoted on most of the worldwide diocesan
websites.
"We know it is an unworkable
document," said Peter Wilkinson, CCRI coordinator from Australia, "because our
research shows that, in the nine weeks it has been out there, few bishops and
dioceses anywhere in the world are using it. The complex survey is not only
doomed to fail, but sadly, appears to have been designed to fail."
"Not only will it not gather the
voices of Catholic couples and families, but it will drive them away," said Rene
Reid, CCRI co-founding director. "Whether it is intentional or not, this
questionnaire is counterproductive, threatens to thwart the Pope's wishes, and
could even endanger the effectiveness of the Synod itself."
Many bishops also want to hear the
voices of Catholic couples and families, but now find themselves stymied by a
Vatican tool unsuited to the task. It is overwhelming to even the most
well-educated Catholic. Without the people's voices, those bishops elected to
attend the October 2015 Assembly will have little to offer. "Pope Francis has
made it clear that he does not want them turning up with formulations for
pastoral care based simply on the application of doctrine or their own
interpretation of what their people need," Virginia Saldanha, CCRI coordinator
from India, pointed out. "That would defy the concluding directives of the
October 2014 Assembly."
But the voices should not be only those
of practicing Catholics. "Many Catholics no longer attend Mass," said Ms. Reid,
"often precisely because of Church teachings, attitudes, and pastoral practices
- the very issues that should be on the Synod's agenda. Pope Francis wants the
bishops to find concrete solutions to the innumerable challenges that families
face. The Lineamenta questionnaire not only shuts down the Faithful but
completely leaves out those who are no longer practicing Catholics. If the Synod wants to 'look at the
reality of the family today in all its complexities' as stated as its
objective," said Ms. Reid, "there has to be a simplified, user-friendly means to
gather the reflections of
ordinary Catholics."
Catholic Church Reform Int'l, a network
which spans 65 countries and shares Pope Francis's vision for a church engaged
in a communal search of discernment, is now looking to develop an alternative
survey, an uncomplicated living poll which, the CCRI letter explains "will be an
invitation to all the baptized to share with the Synod their lived experience of
marriage and family: 'How have their marriage and family
life benefited from the teachings of the Church, or how has it caused
difficulties or harm?' ...They will be asked for suggestions for change. 'If you
were once a participatory practicing Catholic but have left the Church, what
caused you to leave, what would bring you back?'" Brendan Butler, CCRI
coordinator from Ireland who is serving on the committee designing the poll
said: "CCRI wants a survey instrument which will be a pastoral agent in itself,
looking to support families still in the flock, those on the fringes who will
leave if some reform is not forthcoming, and looking to show welcome to those
who've strayed or felt driven away."
"Too long have we lay Faithful
colluded in silence out
of a mistaken sense of respect," said Robert Blair Kaiser, CCRI co-founder and
author. "We need to be speaking out, reminding bishops of the need to respond to
families in the context of a complex and changing environment. If the Church is
to be a credible instrument of the Gospel, it must instigate structural change
in the way it operates. One key element of that is ensuring that all the
baptized have a proper say in the governance of the Church."
To read the full letter to Pope
Francis, click http://www.catholicchurchreform.com/AlternativeLivingPoll.htm.
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