The Vatican has published a preparatory document, as part of a global consultation on the future of the Church, which addresses social issues such as LGBTQ+ and the reception of divorcees, polygamy and priestly marriage.
The 50-page document, released Tuesday, is intended to give food for thought to the “Synod of Synodality,” a gathering of bishops and laity from around the world whose first session is scheduled for October in Rome and the second stage for October. 2024.
This meeting is part of a broad consultation with Catholics from all continents, invited for two years to express their views on the Church and social issues.
The initiative was launched by Pope Francis, who wants to make the functioning of the Catholic Church less pyramidal.
“What concrete measures are needed to reach people who feel excluded from the Church because of their affectivity and sexuality,” the document asks, referring in particular to people who have been divorced, remarried or in polygamous marriages, or LGBTQ+.
The document addresses the issue of the female diaconate, women’s access to the role of diaconate, a controversial debate within the Church, since the diaconate is currently reserved for men in the Catholic Church.
Another topic discussed was the possibility of married men becoming priests in certain regions of the world.
In 2019, the bishops of nine countries gathered in Rome for the Amazon Synod proposed to the Pope to open the priesthood to certain married indigenous people and asked to relaunch the debate on deaconesses, but the suggestions were not accepted by the Pope.
The document also highlights the “open wounds” with cases of “sexual abuse, abuse of power and conscience, economic and institutional abuse”, and calls for “concrete measures”.
A Synod is usually followed by the Pope’s publication of an “apostolic exhortation,” an official document in which he makes recommendations to the faithful.
Source: TSF
