Hysteria in the headlines

In reporting the content of an interim report from the Synod of Bishops taking place in Rome, headlines all over the country have recently said things like, "Vatican proposes dramatic shift in attitude toward gays, same sex couples" or "Vatican asks: Can we accept gays?"

The news stories are actually about a working document which was published after some small group discussions midway through the Synod on the family which is still meeting in Rome. The Pope did not author the document. The document will now be discussed and modified in the next week by working groups of bishops who will scrutinize each section, suggest changes and amendments and then a final report will be issued after the Synod ends. Even then, it will not be a report authored by the Pope but by a group of Bishops who attended the Synod. 

This final report will be disseminated and discussed worldwide over the next year. There will be a second Synod in Rome next October which will take the final report into consideration for their deliberations and recommendations which they will make to Pope Francis at the end of the second Synod. Keep in mind that this present document is not a reference document, meaning that is simply a draft document that will be debated and adjusted as a committee puts together a final document of this year’s Synod.

As Fr. Robert Barron put it, "What has just appeared is not even close to a definitive, formal teaching of the Catholic Church. It is a report on what has been discussed so far in a synod of some two hundred bishops from around the world. It conveys, to be sure, a certain consensus around major themes, trends that have been evident in the conversations, dominant emphases in the debates, etc., but it decidedly does not represent 'the teaching' of the Pope or the bishops."

Personally, I think that the section of the document called "Welcoming homosexual persons" has the good intention of emphasizing what the Church has always taught - charity toward everyone. Also, we should not unjustly discriminate against those with same sex attractions. Love the sinner but hate the sin. We should welcome everyone to Church because we are all sinners and we all need to hear the Good News about Jesus Christ, the offer of salvation, and how to repent from our sins and struggle to live a good Christian life. 

"Welcome," however, does not mean homosexual behavior is suddenly good. Same sex attraction is a disordered tendency (although not a sin) because it is not ordered toward the good, truth and beauty of human sexuality. On the other hand, when some chooses to engage in homosexual behavior, it is neither a truly unitive or procreative act. A homosexual act is an intrinsically evil choice and a mortal sin because it is a grave choice against God's providential plan for human sexuality. 

I certainly would admit that some of the wording of that section of the document is confusing and needs some serious work. It was pointed out that there is a mistranslation of the Italian word "valutando" (which does not mean "valuing" but "considering" or "taking into account") which has caused some serious confusion. The phrase "accepting and valuing their sexual orientation" would be better translated, "accepting and taking into account their sexual orientation."

That's why they call it a "working document" or a "draft." As Cardinal Dolan of New York said, "A lot of bishops and myself feel that (the document) needs some major reworking."

Let's pray for the Bishops and the Pope as they continue the Synod on the Family in Rome.