should not force the innocent party to continue in a sexual marital relation
with him/her, because this damages the innocent party physically,
physiologically and socially".
 Our Church allows divorce in cases of adultery and in cases of what we call
'legal adultery'; which is anything that is counted as adultery like:
homosexuality, intercourse against natural use, urging or compelling an
innocent
party into forbidden relations for materialistic gain or sexual exchange".
 Metropolitan Iosif of the Patriarchate of All Romania described the family as
"the primary cell of the Church. ... All family characteristics derive from its
Eucharistic structure, based essentially on forgiveness nurtured by humility,
which favours the growth of mutual love and transforms both the person and
Christian life in the short and the long term. The divine greatness of marriage
resides in the fact that in marriage we find a living representation of the
union of the Word with human nature".
 The Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley of the Baptist World Alliance remarked that "There
is no perfect family and no perfect marriage. In our broken world, families are
not only a source of great blessing, they can also be a source of great harm.
...
This is the pastoral reality: families have their blessings and their
dysfunctions. Amidst such experiences people yearn for mercy". Therefore, he
affirmed, Hence, in Baptist hymnology the theme of Jesus as friend is
important.
"Hymns ... express for us the presence of God in the midst of our imperfections
and struggles. They remind us of the one who in his vocation of suffering
servant enters our woundedness. This is the one who invites sinners to sit at
his table; the one who is 'gentle and humble in heart, in whom we find rest for
our souls'; the one to whom we pray in all confidence, 'Lord, have mercy'".
 Archbishop Yostinos Boulos Safar of Zahle and Bekaa commented on the
principle,
in the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, of economy. "This principle finds in
the sacrament of the Eucharist a medicine for wounded souls, as well as a help
for those who wish to recover their relationship with the Lord". He noted that
this sacrament, "which is salvific in effect", should not be withheld as "part
of the norms of punishment, other than in certain exceptional cases. The
Eucharist is not a prize or compensation, but the means by which the Lord Jesus
cures our weaknesses and attracts us towards Him".
 Metropolitan Stephanos of Tallin and all Estonia, observed that "today
marriage
and family have changed direction. In a number of countries, new legislation is
being enacted regarding this issue. These mutations in the family are a
challenge to us. ... The law confirms, without doubt, a new social situation
but
for the Church, the sacrament of marriage, it is hoped, is not revealed as a
mere institution but first and foremost, it is hoped, as a mystery of life.
Marriage makes sense only in relation to faith in Christ, in the Gospel, in the
certainty that the actions of Christ continue in the Gospel, that is, in the
Sacraments. Our first task is therefore to evangelise". Perhaps, he added, it
would be useful to help the "young and not so young, often uncertain, sometimes
psychologically unwell, to adopt a different outlook, to free themselves from
too symbiotic a relationship, to become truly responsible for each other, in
the
hope, at times, of already being able to experience the resurrection in the
glory of the body".
 The fraternal delegate Tim Macquiban, director of the Methodist Ecumenical
Office of Rome, remarked that "Sometimes in this Synod we seem to have
concentrated on one form of family, of parents and children, as defined through
sacramental marriage and its vocation. For some this fails to take account on
the different ways many people experience different forms of family in our
various contexts and cultures. ... Those who are single, with or without
children,
or in civil partnerships or co-habiting relationships, and even those within
marriages conducted in church and childless can easily feel excluded. The
Church
is challenged to accept that it can ... add to these difficulties with such a
stress on 'the Gospel of the Family'".
 Bishop emeritus Ndanganeni Petrus Phaswana of the Evangelical Lutheran Church
in Southern Africa comments that "Frequently, politics, religion and culture
are
instrumentalised and used to divide people and nations. This has led to growing
alienation and disunity. In the midst of this isolation, it is our task as
Churches to proclaim and witness that God does not call us to isolation, but,
rather, to life in communion with Christ and with one another". He also spoke
about the great commitment on the part of both Catholics and Lutherans in
promoting Christian unity through theological dialogue, noting that "we should
therefore remain sensitive to how our theological discussions support
individual
Christians in the challenges and sorrows facing them in their everyday lives".
 The Right Rev. Timothy Thornton of the Anglican Communion commented that the
first part of the Instrumentum Laboris "is too focused on the negative aspects
of family life", adding that "there is much joy in families and family life and
much to celebrate". He emphasised that "All families change. ... Change is a
key
part of Christian faith. Every day we are called to be converted to Christ, to
turn away from sin and turn to God. Every day we open ourselves to the
possibility of transformation. That is why all Christians are full of joy and
hope every day".
 The fraternal delegate of the Disciples of Christ, Dr. Robert K. Welsh,
focused
on three brief reflections. "First, how do we understand marriage and family
life today? What can we do to respond to the growing number of divorces and the
impact on the children in those families? These are urgent issues before all
Christians, and all societies, that represent major theological, practical, and
pastoral challenges". Secondly, with regard to "mixed marriages", he observed
that in the Instrumentum Laboris, "mixed marriages are only named in the
context
of presenting problems; for example, at the pastoral level of religious
education of children and in the relation to liturgical life. My hope is that
this Synod might also identify 'mixed marriages' in a more positive and hopeful
context as 'great opportunities' for witnessing to God's gift of oneness in
Christ and God's love for all persons, especially for those marriages between
persons baptised as Christians". Finally, he focused on the challenge of facing
the difficulties that interreligious or interdenominational families experience
every day. "My regret continues to be that, when I attend Mass with my
grandson,
I am not allowed to partake of the Eucharist. It is personal, and it is
painful".

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