The Holy See Press Office held a press conference yesterday to introduce the Instrumentum Laboris for the 14th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which will be held October 4-25, 2015.

Vatican Radio is reporting on the newly released document which is which is based on the theme – “The vocation and mission of the family in the Church and contemporary world”.

Divided into three parts. The first part, “Listening to the challenges of the family” relates most directly to last year’s Extraordinary Synod while the second part “Discernment of the family vocation”, and third, “The mission of the family today”, introduce the theme of the next one.

As far as the hot button issues that lit up the headlines last fall, the first part of the document states that divorced and remarried couples should be “integrated” into the Church and suggests a “penitential road” for divorced and remarried couples under the authority of the bishop or accompanied by a priest. However, Archbishop Bruno Forte, special secretary to the synod, said the role of the next synod would not be to give a “yes or no” answer to the question of whether or not divorced and remarried Catholics should be allowed to receive Communion, but simply to reflect upon it as bishops.

Also included in the first part are references to streamlining the annulment process, pastoral problems regarding mixed marriages and disparities of worship, questions related to responsible procreation, reduction of births, adoption and fostering and respect for life from conception to natural end.

As for gay Catholics, the text calls for diocesan pastoral plans to be developed that will offer “accompaniment” to homosexual Catholics and their families but reaffirms the Church’s opposition to same-sex marriage. The document reiterates the long-standing teaching of the Church that gays should be treated with respect and sensitivity.

In the second part, “Discernment of the family vocation”, discussions will center around the themes such as natural marriage, family life, faith, prayer, catechesis, the intimate bond between the Church and the family, the young and their fear of marriage and the indissolubility of marriage as a gift and a duty.

The third part will be devoted to “The mission of the family today” and explores the family’s role in evangelization.

The three weeks of the Synod will be divided in correspondence with the three parts of the Instrumentum Laboris with a week set aside for each part.

“At the end of the third week, time will be set aside for the preparation of the final text of the document, which will be presented to the Assembly for the final modifications, to be inserted into the text before its final approval,” said Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, during the press conference.

“The method will ensure the opportunity to intervene on the part of all those entitled to do so, including at the end of the day, and will enable more time to be assigned to the Circuli Minores. It is expected that a final document will be produced and consigned to the Holy Father”.

Last year’s Synod was riddled with irresponsible reporting and misinformation, something the bishops would like to avoid this time around.

The Cardinal mentioned the Holy Father’s affirmation that “the Synod is a space in which the Holy Spirit can act, not parliament. The Synod Fathers are invited to express themselves with parrhesia [with boldness and freedom of speech]. They will be free to communicate with the media at their discretion and with responsibility”.

Thus far, the text of the 2015 Instrumentum Laboris has only been issued in Italian with an English translation currently unavailable.
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