Bishops publish criticism ahead of synod

ENGLISH and Welsh bishops have taken the unprecedented step of revealing the highly critical feedback they received from thousands of Catholics in response to a questionnaire about church teaching on marriage and family life.

The report, released on Tuesday by the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, is a summary of more than 2,000 responses to “The Call, the Mission and the Journey”, a survey of six questions circulated to parishes and online ahead of next month’s Synod on the Family.

Respondents accuse the Church of being bigoted and out of touch, Pharisaical and lacking in compassion.

“We are ashamed of our faith – so misogynistic, controlling, self-opinionated … we are not salt of the earth: we give no flavour to the joy of our Creator, but bang on about matters which are not part of the big picture,” reads one submission.

Catholics listed church teaching, financial pressure, health worries and the influence of a secular culture as problems, but also valued marriage and family life.

In particular, they cited “unbending or unrealistic” teaching about sexual ethics and “a lack of support for same-sex partnerships, or contraception”.

“Some struggle with a lack of mercy shown by the Church and say that the Church fails to acknowledge that though people make mistakes they still need their church community,” the report read.

Eileen Fitzpatrick, chairwoman of the reform-minded group A Call to Action (Acta), welcomed publication of the “unique” report as a new chapter in relations between bishops and laity.

“I’m absolutely gobsmacked. The air of candour is remarkable and refreshing. It’s very, very brave of them to do this,” she said. “It gives voice to the critics.”

Respondents also called for married clergy and the ordination of women, and a number raised the plight of divorced and remarried Catholics.

“Many are disturbed by the legalistic and punitive response of the Church to those who cannot live up to the standard,” the report concluded, noting also that people felt that denying access to the sacraments was “corrosive”.

The report will inform Cardinal Vincent Nichols’ and Bishop Peter Doyle’s interventions at the synod.

At a press conference in London on Tuesday, Cardinal Nichols said that the consultation had not been a PR exercise.

“This is a Church of sinners. We make a mess of things,” he said. “What we’ve got is a lively, passionate family. We have our arguments and we have our different points of view and that’s fine, because we have a shared Lord and we have the places where we meet.”

On the issue of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, he returned to the concept of gradualism and a penitential pathway that could lead people back into full communion with the Church.
“Married and divorced people are not a category and there will be no categorical solution,” he said.

The report also acknowledged widespread dissatisfaction with the way that this survey, and one disseminated last year ahead of the previous synod, were conducted.

Critics of the first questionnaire said it was too theological, while critics of this most recent survey said the questions were platitudinous. Results of the survey conducted ahead of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family in 2014 were not published, reportedly on the  Vatican’s instruction.

The 2015 summary includes research submitted to the bishops by groups including Acta, the Catholic Women’s League and the Union of Catholic Mothers.