UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Nov. 16, 2013
While U.S. bishops consider how best and how broad to collect information ahead of a 2014 global bishops’ meeting on family issues, several lay Catholic groups took the task into their own hands.
In mid-November, a coalition of 15 church reform groups — primarily members of Catholic Organizations for Renewal — created an online survey for U.S. Catholics to offer their thoughts on the preparatory document to the 2014 Synod of Bishops, which will focus on the theme of “pastoral challenges to the family in the context of evangelization.”
Before the coalition announced the survey, Marianne Duddy-Burke told NCR that the idea emerged from a concern that the U.S. episcopacy would not consult with lay Catholics as they compiled their responses.
“This is a chance for people to have their voice heard,” said Duddy-Burke, executive director of DignityUSA, one of the sponsoring organizations.
Other sponsors include the American Catholic Council, Call to Action, FutureChurch, Voice of the Faithful, the Women’s Ordination Conference and Fortunate Families.
The survey, hosted online at www.surveymonkey.com/s/SynodOnFamilyUS, will remain open for response through Dec. 15. At that point, the coalition will compile and send the responses to four prelates: Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops; Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, papal nuncio to the U.S.; Boston Cardinal Sean O’Malley, the American representative on Pope Francis’ Council of Cardinals; and Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky., the newly elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. …
Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good on Nov. 1 launched its version (papalsurvey.com) in English and Spanish, sending it to its 30,000 members and posting it online. As of Nov. 12, more than 3,000 people had completed the survey, with more than half of the respondents coming from outside the nonprofit’s network.
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