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‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves’...
By Michelle Boorstein
‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves’ is U.S. Catholic bishops’ outlook as they meet In their first meeting since a closely watched Vatican synod on family issues last month, U.S. bishops emphasized Monday that the gathering in Rome was merely the beginning of a process to examine church practices concerning matters such as remarriage and the place of gay families. Catholics around the world have been intently analyzing last month’s synod on the family, which Pope Francis called in order to have frank talks on teachings many Catholics ignore, such as those against divorce, cohabitation and same-sex relationships. The meeting ended with what appeared to be no consensus, but on Monday, top U.S. bishops said pastoral changes were not planned to take place, if they happen at all, until a follow-up meeting in fall 2015. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We are Americans, we want answers now,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, head of the Louisville archdiocese and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opened its annual meeting Monday in Baltimore. “Abstractly, while the teachings of the church remain timeless, the opportunities to reach out creatively have changed with each age because the circumstances change. . . . So let’s give ourselves a chance to let that unfold so that creative ways . . . can bubble up.” Kurtz was speaking on a panel in which some of the bishops who had attended the synod shared their experiences with the entire group. The pope has opened dialogue on Catholic teachings and practices in a way that has thrilled many Catholics and alarmed many others. Experts say this has created a challenging environment for Catholic leaders as they shape their own priorities. The U.S. bishops stressed Monday that they would be focusing largely on their pre-Francis agendas, including religious freedom (and their fight against the White House health plan’s mandate that employers offer birth control coverage), protecting traditional marriage and promoting natural family planning. The tension over how rigidly to emphasize doctrine was on display this past weekend, when the Vatican confirmed long-standing rumors that Francis was removing leading conservative Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke of the St. Louis archdiocese as head of the Vatican’s high court. The pope didn’t say why, but Burke is known for actions that run contrary to Francis’s welcoming tone, such as pushing for the denial of Communion to Catholic politicians and others who support abortion rights, and other efforts to emphasize doctrine explicitly. He also criticized Francis for suggesting that the church was overly focused on abortion and homosexuality. In reviewing the past year, the bishops noted their focus on advocating for undocumented immigrant children and resettling legal refugees. On Monday, the bishops also heard a presentation on what some see as a crisis in Latino Catholics’ lack of interest in Catholic schools. Even though 20 percent of Catholic students in Catholic schools are Latino, experts have found that many parishes and schools have little outreach to Latino Catholics, such as Spanish services. But there was a lot of discussion at the meeting about the synod and what will happen during the next year. Synods are considered key meetings, when potential shifts in church teaching or practice may happen. Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl, who is on the small committee that helps the church prepare for synods, said his committee will meet in the next few weeks and then tell the dioceses around the world how specifically to prepare for the fall 2015 event. Even as some speaking on the panel about the synod — particularly Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan — downplayed the reported controversy in Rome, Wuerl said it was good that people at least were talking about Catholicism. “For two weeks, the whole world was focused on Catholic teachings on marriage and family. We had media from all over the world, and even when they weren’t always getting all the details right. . . . the media, especially the Catholic media, were presenting Catholic teaching on what is marriage and what is a family,” Wuerl said. “I think that was unintended but a great blessing for all of us.”
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