Synod note: Monday will bring interventions on Instrumentum Laboris 130

On Monday there will be interventions on Instrumentum Laboris 130:

130. Some families have members who have a homosexual tendency. In this regard, the synod fathers asked themselves what pastoral attention might be appropriate for them in accordance with Church teaching: “There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.” Nevertheless, men and women with a homosexual tendency ought to be received with respect and sensitivity. “Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.” (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Considerations Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons, 4).

Pray and fast.

See also Fr. George Byer’s comments HERE.

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18 Comments

  1. Gratias says:

    Families that have a homosexual child are naturally devastated. It is merciful for them to pray for the cure of their child while at the same time avoid getting involved in the destructive maelstrom of this inverted all-encompassing lifestyle. This is not about those poor families that have such a tragedy happen to them; this whole pantomime is about homosexual marriage which is what the World that so admires the present pontificate really wants.

  2. SKAY says:

    Thank you for the link to Father Byer’s comments Father Z.
    His points about the elephant in the room are exactly right. It is
    so clear for anyone who cares to see. Where is common sense?

    Fr. Byer will be added to my prayers.

  3. Andrew D says:

    “You are Peter and upon this rock… and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.” We are all familiar with that quote from the Gospel. The last part “the gates of hell will not prevail” is something all of us need to keep in mind. Sodomy is one of the sins that cries out for God’s vengeance. I’m not going to get graphic but just think about what happens during the act of sodomy – can any rational person say that this is natural and as God intended it? No. Pray, fast and pray and fast more but have faith that this act of hell (sodomy) will never be elevated to the Sacrament of Marriage in the Holy Catholic Church.

  4. iPadre says:

    There is no need for a Synod to tackle this issue. I have not seen discrimination in the Church against people either same-sex attraction. Actually, I have seen just tho opposite. They have been welcomed and made part of the community.

    Courage Ministry needs to be embraced and promoted by our bishops, priests. and bishop conferences. It is a beautiful ministry of support for those who struggle with SSA. There is also Encourage for family and friends. I have Courage in my parish, and find it very rewarding to walk with these wonderful people.

    http://www.couragerc.net

  5. juergensen says:

    Instrumentum Laboris 130 quotes only a small part of Section 4 of the CDF document. Here is the full text of Section 4 (footnotes omitted):

    “There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family. Marriage is holy, while homosexual acts go against the natural moral law. Homosexual acts ‘close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved’.

    Sacred Scripture condemns homosexual acts ‘as a serious depravity… (cf. Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10). This judgment of Scripture does not of course permit us to conclude that all those who suffer from this anomaly are personally responsible for it, but it does attest to the fact that homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’. This same moral judgment is found in many Christian writers of the first centuries and is unanimously accepted by Catholic Tradition.

    Nonetheless, according to the teaching of the Church, men and women with homosexual tendencies ‘must be accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided’. They are called, like other Christians, to live the virtue of chastity. The homosexual inclination is however ‘objectively disordered’ and homosexual practices are ‘sins gravely contrary to chastity’.”

  6. Giuseppe says:

    I think I’ve lived in a big city for too long.
    Each time I read something about this synod, I read the word
    ‘relator’ as ‘realtor’.
    And don’t ask what I’ve misread ‘relatio’ as.
    I think I need to go on a retreat.

  7. Ferde Rombola says:

    I can accept ‘unjust’ discrimination. Valid and necessary discrimination is absolutely essential.

    To discriminate is to discern. Not enough discerning by those snoozing prelates who voted for this thing last year

  8. brhenry says:

    Read the book of St. .Jude today…then pray hard.

  9. jfk03 says:

    The Catholic laity deserve something better than this chaos. Yes, I will fast and pray. I will tell the Lord what I think, and I will seek His wisdom.

  10. Peter Stuart says:

    Meantime, a Synod Father pleads for the inclusion of the “new minority” of the forgotten faithful. Are our prayers being answered?

  11. Christ_opher says:

    Spent a great deal of the early hours reading up on the situation occurring at the Synod. Must admit I’m pretty depressed by it all however there are some truly outstanding Cardinals attending whom although they may be outnumbered are standing firm in the truth. One of the Cardinal’s when he was a young Priest wrote to Sister Lucia, the letter had to go via her Bishop and one day he received an answer from Sister Lucia.

    In the reply sister Lucia wrote that, The final battle will be over Marriage and the Family but to not worry because The Holy Mother of God, The Virgin Mary had already crushed the head of the serpent.

    (Strangely, In his letter the Cardinal had never asked Sister Lucia anything about the final battle).

  12. TomG says:

    Peter Stuart: I believe so. I was a little surprised to see his name among the dozen cardinals who sent the letter to the Holy Father. Encouraging!

  13. thomas tucker says:

    I am beginning to wonder if the heresy about homosexuality is similar to the historical heresy of Arianism, spreading widely and being embraced by many clergy and laity. If so, who will be our St. Athanasius?

  14. Kathleen10 says:

    That is how I felt seeing Cardinal Dolan’s name. A pleasant surprise.
    The church has facilitated the acceptance and promotion of homosexuality in the culture at large and in the church by it’s weak contemporary language, including the odious “avoidance of unjust discrimination”, “respect, acceptance, and charity”. These are first degrees of getting the job done.
    One works in stages, no? We should all be more familiar by now. It creeps, like an invasive weed. One doesn’t wake up and find kudzu draped over the trees, it works inch by inch. You don’t notice for quite a while.
    The weak church language, lack of instruction on the truth of the Gospel from our pulpits, lack of how we OUGHT to be properly discriminating, is directly responsible for what we are seeing, the collapse of morality in our nations, SCOTUS and Ireland decisions against marriage and family, and now, a full on assault at the highest levels of our church. These homosexual priests want approval for themselves and their friends, and they want it right now. They must hurry, lest God intervene.
    Pope Francis has orchestrated this situation. It is all out there on the table. He is not an old codger, daft, naïve, or “surrounded by evil men”, except the ones he has put there.

  15. Grumpy Beggar says:

    After reading juergensen ‘s post , try concentrating on just the italicized part of Instrumentem Laboris 130 below.

    130. Some families have members who have a homosexual tendency. In this regard, the synod fathers asked themselves what pastoral attention might be appropriate for them in accordance with Church teaching: “There are absolutely no grounds for considering homosexual unions to be in any way similar or even remotely analogous to God’s plan for marriage and family.” Nevertheless, men and women with a homosexual tendency ought to be received with respect and sensitivity. “Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.”

    It almost looks like, from the way someone has extracted only part of the CDF document, they are trying to equate homosexual tendency with homosexual acts; whether inadvertently or not – this becomes the insinuation when a particular part of the CDF document is excluded. . . and that makes matters confusing.

    One is left wondering what would’ve happened if Instrumentum Laboris 130 might have been worded thus:
    “Some families have members who engage in homosexual acts . In this regard, the synod fathers asked themselves what pastoral attention might be appropriate for them in accordance with Church teaching: . . .” Oh sure ! , it’s blunt, but also much more to the point – Wouldn’t you say ?

    One problem with ( even well-intended) attempts to use alternative language , is that when we soften wording in an effort not to offend, it can hinder us from actually defining the sin and the sinful behaviour : Essentially , it obscures the truth.

    For good Catholic definitions , faithful to the truth , Father John Hardon, S.J. – gave us a reliable source : his Modern Catholic Dictionary .

    Whether inadvertent or not , the author/ writer of Instrumentem Laboris 130 has gone and confounded the very terminology we use to precisely distinguish the three levels of homosexuality: tendency , attraction , and active homosexuality , simply by leaving out what the CDF document said about homosexual acts . Re-reading Father Hardon’s definition just below can provide us with an idea of how Instrumentem Laboris 130 , in its present form, could easily be interpreted as having confused (or even supplanted) the classification of active homosexuality with homosexual tendency

    HOMOSEXUALITY. In general, some form of sexual relationship among members of the same sex. From a moral standpoint, three levels are to be distinguished: tendency, attraction, and activity. Homosexual tendencies in any person are within the normal range of human nature, whose fallen condition includes every conceivable kind of impulse that with sincere effort and divine grace can be controlled. Sexual attraction for members of the same sex may be partly due to the peculiar make-up of certain individuals or, more often, the result of indiscretion or seduction and presents a graver problem; yet this, too, is not by itself sinful and may in fact be an occasion for great supernatural merit. When the condition is pathological, it requires therapy. Active homosexuality is morally indefensible and has been many times forbidden in revelation and the teaching of the Church. The most extensive declaration on the subject was by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, approved by Pope Paul VI on November 7, 1975.

    Instrumentum Laboris 130 , the way it now stands, is about as clear as mud . Good luck on those interventions – on being able to argue anything substantial : Whatever valid subject matter might’ve been discussed , has been relegated to an ambiguous platform.

    Happy Thanksgiving to any other Canadians reading Fr. Z’s combox today.
    God bless.

  16. Cradle Catholic says:

    Thank you Fr. Z for the link to Fr. George David Byers blog. He points out another minority – a vulnerable minority who will be very adversely affected if Instrumentum Laboris 130 is approved: Children in the homosexual unions. I urge everyone reading to look up Fr. George David Byer’s blog

  17. juergensen says:

    Grumpy Beggar raises a legitimate question concerning whether Instrumentum Laboris 130 equates, or at least confuses, homosexual TENDENCIES and homosexual ACTS. The text opens with homosexual “tendencies”, then proceeds to homosexual “unions”, which means “acts”, and then concludes with homosexual “tendencies” again. The text thus prima facie treats “tendencies” and “acts” as interchangeable, viz., equal.

    The CDF document, however, clearly does not equate the two. It condemns homosexual ACTS as “against the natural moral law”; “under no circumstances can they be approved”; “a serious depravity”; “are intrinsically disordered”; and “sins gravely contrary to chastity”. It is those with homosexual TENDENCIES who, the CDF document says, are to be “accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity”, and “every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided”.

    By conflating homosexual TENDENCIES and homosexual ACTS, Instrumentum Laboris 130 could be read as calling for “accept[ance] with respect, compassion and sensitivity” – owed to those with homosexual TENDENCIES under the CDF document – of unrepentant SODOMITES.

  18. pannw says:

    Peter Stuart, wow. That is a pleasant surprise. A little less surprising was the Intervention released by Archbishop Chaput in which he says, “We need to call people to perseverance in grace and to trust in the greatness God intended for them — not confirm them in their errors.” The whole thing was rather excellent.

    Signs of encouragement, indeed… More praying and fasting!

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