BALTIMORE (MD)
Washington Post
‘Let’s not get ahead of ourselves’ is U.S. Catholic bishops’ outlook as they meet
By Michelle Boorstein November 10
In their first meeting since a closely watched Vatican synod on family issues last month, U.S. bishops emphasized Monday that the gathering in Rome was merely the beginning of a process to examine church practices concerning matters such as remarriage and the place of gay families.
Catholics around the world have been intently analyzing last month’s synod on the family, which Pope Francis called in order to have frank talks on teachings many Catholics ignore, such as those against divorce, cohabitation and same-sex relationships. The meeting ended with what appeared to be no consensus, but on Monday, top U.S. bishops said pastoral changes were not planned to take place, if they happen at all, until a follow-up meeting in fall 2015.
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We are Americans, we want answers now,” said Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, head of the Louisville archdiocese and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which opened its annual meeting Monday in Baltimore. “Abstractly, while the teachings of the church remain timeless, the opportunities to reach out creatively have changed with each age because the circumstances change. . . . So let’s give ourselves a chance to let that unfold so that creative ways . . . can bubble up.”
Kurtz was speaking on a panel in which some of the bishops who had attended the synod shared their experiences with the entire group.
The pope has opened dialogue on Catholic teachings and practices in a way that has thrilled many Catholics and alarmed many others. Experts say this has created a challenging environment for Catholic leaders as they shape their own priorities.
The U.S. bishops stressed Monday that they would be focusing largely on their pre-Francis agendas, including religious freedom (and their fight against the White House health plan’s mandate that employers offer birth control coverage), protecting traditional marriage and promoting natural family planning.
The tension over how rigidly to emphasize doctrine was on display this past weekend, when the Vatican confirmed long-standing rumors that Francis was removing leading conservative Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke of the St. Louis archdiocese as head of the Vatican’s high court. The pope didn’t say why, but Burke is known for actions that run contrary to Francis’s welcoming tone, such as pushing for the denial of Communion to Catholic politicians and others who support abortion rights, and other efforts to emphasize doctrine explicitly. He also criticized Francis for suggesting that the church was overly focused on abortion and homosexuality.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.