Chaput statement clarified

Kenneth Gavin, director of communications at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, has issued a statement clarifying remarks made by Archbishop Charles Chaput in the context of the Synod on the Family, in which he said “confusion is of the Devil”, writes James Roberts.

At the First Things Erasmus lecture on 20 October in New York, the archbishop was asked to comment on the synod.

He replied: “Well, first of all, I wasn’t there. That’s very significant, because to claim you know what really happened when you weren’t there is foolish. To get your information from the press is a mistake because they don’t know well enough how to understand it so they can tell people what happened. I don’t think the press deliberately distorts, they just don’t have any background to be able to evaluate things.

“In some cases, they’re certainly the enemy and want to distort the Church. Having said all that, I was very disturbed by what happened. I think confusion is of the Devil, and I think the public image that came across was of confusion.”

Mr Gavin pointed out that this comment by Archbishop Chaput, made in the question-and-answer session after the lecture, “was a criticism of those who used the reports coming out of the synod out of context to reinforce their own opinions and agendas”.