Rome Considers Streamlining Annulments, Improving Marriage Prep

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Preparations are heating up for this October's Extraordinary Synod on the Family, scheduled to take place in Rome. What will Pope Francis do? What can he do?  My debut post on the popular Catholic news website Aleteia answers some of these questions.

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The recently released working document for this October's Extraordinary Synod on the Family presents a remarkably candid view of the troubles besetting Catholic marriages and families today. Young people are frequently afraid to commit, marriage preparation is often seen as a useless obligation, there is wide ignorance of Church teaching, few understand that using contraception is sinful, and many parents show limited interest in the religious education of their children. There are bright spots. In contrast to the wide-spread confusion over contraception, most Catholics realize that abortion is a serious sin. The faithful also expressed both a strong desire to know Sacred Scripture better and a deep devotion to the Holy Family.

The working document (or instrumentum laboris) summarized a vast number of answers to the questions posed in the Synod's Preparatory Document issued on November 5, 2013. In drafting the working document, the Synod Council considered not only official responses from the bishops but also observations by parishes, lay movements, academic institutions, and Catholic and non-Catholic specialists on marriage and family life. The tone and scope of the working document demonstrate Pope Francis' commitment to listening to others as the necessary first step in any dialogue. Pastoral dialogue, the Pope stated in The Joy of the Gospel, must be founded on "a desire to listen to everyone and not simply to those who would tell him what he would like to hear."

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