Sandro Magister at his blog Chiesa tells us that the Synod will all come down to what Pope Francis decides:
> Forbidden To Call It Divorce. But It Sure Looks Like It
> Si possono discutere gli atti di governo del papa?
> An Appeal Recalling the Teaching of “Humanae Vitae”
> Liturgy, Grace, Marriage, and the New Danger of Schism
The complete text of the interview:
> Scola: “I miei timori sulla famiglia. Ci si sta pensando poco”
> First Five, Now Seventeen Anti-Kasper Cardinals
It is absolutely stunning that the Church is being put through all this for frankly a largely non-existent problem. Many Catholics divorce and then enter into second marriage. Very few of these individuals bother to seek an annulment. If they cannot be bothered to do this, how many in that pool will bother to observe the restrictions of the Church on receiving communion? Most probably rarely darken the doors of the Church in any case. No great groundswell exists among the laity for this change, due to the fact that most of those involved could probably care less about the rules of the Church regarding communion . The movement for this change is almost entirely among clergy who wish to transform the nature of marriage from what Christ commanded to the way the secular world perceives it: one among many legal relationships that may be severed at will by the whim of one of the parties. If marriage becomes that and nothing more in Catholic teaching, expect the next push for the Church to bless gay marriage, since once marriage is no longer sealed to the teaching of Christ, it becomes simply the plaything of the intellectual prejudices and fads of the chattering classes of the West. It is frightening to think that Pope Francis may not discern any of this. It is even more frightening to think that he does discern this and is in favor of going forward with this change anyway.