Pope Francis Controversy

Hanna Monahan

10/23/14

Theology

Pope Francis called the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which was held in Vatican City from October 5-19, 2014, on the topic of "Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization". Pope Paul VI established the first Synod of bishops on September 15, 1965 in an attempt to make greater use of the bishops’ assistance in providing for the good of the Universal Church. Pope Francis had many reasons for calling the Synod. There were many issues that were discussed and debated during the Synod. As with any hierarchy, there is controversy and politics involved throughout the decision making process.

The Synod consists of Bishops from around the world

The Secretary General, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, sent out a questionnaire around the globe to be distributed to the parishes for their input to be heard at the assembly. The document was 39 questions on 9 different topics touching on subjects such as contraception, same-sex unions, cohabitation by unwed couples, and marriage and divorce. This was the first time the hierarchy of the Church had ever asked for such input from grass roots Catholics. There were 253 participants in the Synod, which included only 181 voting members. The Synod was divided, and at times the debate became very heated. The moderate thinking Bishops were pushing for more welcoming language from the Church. The conservatives were mainly worried about changing the Church teachings. Each Bishop had 4 minutes to speak and could submit additional documentation in support of their beliefs. After the first week, a "relatio post disceptationem", a report after the debate, was delivered. The relatio summarized the 265 speeches and written position material that was given to the group. The relatio included a drastic change in the acceptance of gays. Conservatives were outraged and demanded changes in the translation of "welcoming homosexuals" to "providing for homosexual

One of the most important commandments is to love thy neighbor. In all of the churches teachings it is stressed to love each other and be accepting of people of all types. We are all Gods children and we are all sinners. Who we love or choose to marry shouldn’t matter in the eyes of the God. I don’t believe that the love of a man and his husband, or a women and her wife, should be considered any less important than the love between a husband and wife. We are all equal in the eyes of God and should be given equal access and opportunities to grow in our catholic faith and be accepted for who we are. On the issue of divorced people being able to celebrate in the Eucharist, I strongly believe that they should absolutely be able to celebrate all of God’s gifts, which he bestowed on humans through the sacrifice of his son Jesus. Just because a person’s marriage needs to end, doesn’t mean they haven’t done everything humanly possible to try to save the marriage and not break their sacrament. They are still in need of being able to confess their sins and be forgiven for them. If a person kills someone, they are still able to celebrate in the Eucharist and forgiven for their sins. With over 50% of marriages ending in divorce and over 10 million gay and lesbian couples in the United States, the church