The Catholic Church is preparing the Synod of Bishops, the assembly that meets periodically to discuss issues related to the Catholic Church and to advise the Pope: the next general assembly will be held in Rome in two sessions in October 2023 and October 2024. Tuesday is the preparatory document, called “Instrumentum laboris”, was made public a sixty-page document drawn up on the basis of the final documents of the continental assemblies, therefore coming from the dioceses around the world, involved starting from October 2021.
Among other things, the document deals with the issues of abuse, the admission of women to the diaconate, the vocational crisis and a possible openness to marriage for priests. But particular attention is paid to greater inclusion of people who feel excluded from the Church due to their sexuality. In the text we ask:
What concrete steps are needed to meet people who feel excluded from the Church because of their affectivity and sexuality, for example the divorced and remarried, people in polygamous marriage, LGBTQ+ people, etc.?
The reflection takes its cue from a previous document, dated 2016, by Pope Francis, The joy of love (“The joy of love”). It was a post-synodal apostolic exhortation: that is, a kind of “open letter” published following the discussions of the Synod on the family. It promoted a generally more open attitude towards divorced people who remarry – whose new union is not recognized by the Church – and gays, albeit with many caveats.
Another specific passage of the “Instrumentum laboris” concerns the abuses committed by representatives of the Catholic Church:
In many regions the Churches are deeply affected by the abuse crisis: sexual, of power and of conscience, economic and institutional. These are open wounds, the consequences of which have not yet been fully addressed. To the request for forgiveness addressed to the victims of the suffering it has caused, the Church must combine the growing commitment to conversion and reform to prevent similar situations from recurring in the future
The document constitutes a sort of starting point for the discussions of the Synod. Last April Pope Francis introduced some important changes to the composition of the assembly: historically it includes a representation of bishops from all over the world and a part of members who are not bishops. This second delegation will increase in number, half of which will include women and will have the right to vote. The 70 non-bishop members will be chosen by the Pope from a list of 140 people selected by the world‘s bishops’ conferences, the assemblies of bishops of every nation. Another indication given by Pope Francis is that young people should be chosen from among these.