VATICAN INFORMATION SERVICE
YEAR XXII - # 184
DATE 21-10-2015

Summary:
- Fidelity to the promise, a work of art
- The Circuli Minori conclude their examination of the Instrumentum Laboris
- Declaration by the director of the Holy See Press Office
- Audiences
- Other Pontifical Acts

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 Fidelity to the promise, a work of art
 Vatican City, 21 October 2015 (VIS) - This morning Pope Francis held his usual
Wednesday general audience in St. Peter's Square. In his catechesis, in which
he
revisited the theme of the family, he reflected on faithfulness and the promise
of love between a man and a woman, on which the family is based, and which
implies the promise to welcome and educate children, to care for elderly
parents
and the weakest members of the family, and to help each other to develop their
own qualities and to accept their limitations.
 "A family that closes up on itself is a contradiction, a mortification of the
promise that brought it to life", he said. "Never forget that the identity of
the family is always a promise that extends and expands to all the family, and
also to all humanity. ... Love, like friendship, owes its strength and beauty
to
the fact that it generates a bond without curbing freedom. Love is free, the
promise of the family is free, and this is its beauty. Without freedom there is
no friendship, without freedom there is no love, without freedom there is no
marriage. So, freedom and fidelity are not opposed to each other; on the
contrary, they support each other, in terms of both interpersonal and social
relationships. Indeed, think of the damage caused, in the civilisation of
global
communication, by the inflation of promises not kept, in various fields, and
the
indulgence for infidelity to the word given and to commitments made".
 "Being faithful to promises is a true work of art by humanity", added Pope
Francis. "No relationship of love - no friendship, no form of caring for
another
person, no joy of the common good - reaches the height of our desire and our
hope, if it does not arrive at the point of inhabiting this miracle of the
soul.
And I use the word 'miracle', because the strength and persuasiveness of
fidelity, in spite of everything, can only enchant and surprise us. ... No
school
can teach the truth of love, if the family does not do so. No law can imposed
the beauty or legacy of this treasure of human dignity, if the personal bond
between love and generation does not inscribe it in our flesh".
 "Our fidelity to our promises is always entrusted to the grace and mercy of
God. Love for the human family, in good times and bad, is a point of honour for
the Church. May God enable us always to be worthy of this promise".

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 The Circuli Minori conclude their examination of the Instrumentum Laboris
 Vatican City, 21 October 2015 (VIS) - On Monday and Tuesday this week the
Synod
Fathers examined the third part of the Instrumentum Laboris, which deals with,
among other themes, irregular family situations, admission of divorced and
remarried faithful to communion, the pastoral care of homosexuals, and
responsible parenthood.
 The working groups analyses the special needs of families in irregular or
difficult situations, acknowledging, as affirmed by the English-speaking group
C
whose rapporteur is Archbishop Mark Benedict Coleridge, that "those cohabiting
are in a quite different situation from those who are divorced and civilly
remarried. We also agreed that cohabitation, though very widespread in many
cultures now, could not be considered a good in itself. We were prepared to
recognise that there may be good in the relationship of those cohabiting rather
than in cohabitation in some quasi-institutional sense".
 "We know that that are many other families who feel they are far from the
ideal
model, and others who to a greater or lesser extent do not even think it is for
them", comments the French group represented by Bishop Laurent Ulrich. "Divided
families, mixed families, single parent families, families without marriage,
even civil only; we cannot reject them, and we do not wish to think that their
path does not lead them to God, Who loves and draws all people towards Him. We
believe that in them we see the Spirit of the Lord Who inspires much of their
behaviour in their lives, and this detracts nothing from Christian families
whom
we support and encourage".
 With regard to the divorced and civilly remarried, there is general agreement
about the need to provide more effective pastoral accompaniment for these
couples, and especially for their children who also have rights. Some groups
express perplexity, however, in relation to what the Instrumentum Laboris
refers
to as a "a penitential path". "It is not clear to name the journey taken by the
divorced and remarried as a 'penitential path'", remarks the Spanish-speaking
group represented by Archbishop Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo. "Perhaps it
would be better to speak about itineraries of reconciliation, as there are some
irreversible situations that cannot be subject to a penitential path without
the
possibility of overcoming this".
 "It would appear that, with regard to the issue of closeness, we are all in
agreement, but what happens when we consider access to the sacraments?" asked
the Spanish-speaking group whose rapporteur is Cardinal Jose Luis Lacunza
Maestrojuan, O.A.R. "Without doubt, we need to set in motion a generous
movement
removing many of the obstacles from the way so that divorced and remarried
faithful can participate more widely in the life of the Church: at the moment
they cannot be godparents, they cannot be catechists, and they are not able to
teach religion. ... We must show that we are listening to the cry of many
people
who suffer and who call to participate as fully as possible in the life of the
Church".
 "With regard to the discipline of remarried divorcees, at present it is not
possible to establish general criteria covering all cases, which are very
diverse", observes the Italian group represented by Cardinal Maurizio Piacenza.
"There are divorced and remarried faithful who apply themselves to following
the
path of the Gospel, offering significant witness of charity. At the same time,
it is undeniable that in some circumstances, factors are present that limit the
possibilities of acting differently. As a consequence, the judgement on an
objective situation cannot be assumed in the judgement on subjective
'impunity'.
The limits and conditions thus become an appeal to discernment - primarily on
the part of the bishop - which must be accurate and respect the complexity of
such situations".
 The English group A, whose rapporteur is Archbishop Joseph Edward Kurtz,
expresses the view that "pastoral practice concerning admission to the
Sacrament
of the Eucharist by the divorced and civilly remarried ought not to be left to
individual episcopal conferences. To do so would risk harm to the unity of the
Catholic Church, the understanding of her sacramental order, and the visible
witness of the life of the faithful".
 The English group represented by Archbishop Diarmuid Martin requests that "the
Holy Father, taking into account the rich material which has emerged during
this
synodal process, consider establishing during the Jubilee Year of Mercy a
Special Commission to study in depth the ways in which the disciplines of the

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