John Allen skriver om åpningsinnlegget på bispesynoden i dag:
When the first Synod of Bishops on the family got underway last October, conservatives concerned with upholding traditional doctrine appeared caught off guard by a progressive push on several fronts, including relaxing the ban on Communion for Catholics who divorce and remarry outside the Church.
The leading symbol of that disorientation was the way Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő, ostensibly the man supposed to guide the summit’s work in his role as “General Relator,” appeared to be sidelined by more progressive prelates, especially Italian Archbishop Bruno Forte, in producing a controversial interim report calling for greater openness on divorce, homosexuality, and other hot-button topics.
If the opening day of Synod 2015 is any indication, Erdő has no intention of letting that happen again.
In his 7,000-word opening address on Monday morning, intended to set the tone for the synod’s work, Erdő seemed determined to close a series of doors that many people believed the last synod had left open — beginning with the controversial proposal of German Cardinal Walter Kasper to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to return to Communion.
That Communion ban, Erdő insisted, is not an “arbitrary prohibition” but “intrinsic” to the nature of marriage as a permanent union. Mercy, he said, doesn’t just offer the possibility of forgiveness, it also “demands conversion.”
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Allen skriver en hel del mer – les det her.