Reform groups’ petition asks Vatican to diversify lay voices at family synod

UNITED STATES
National Catholic Reporter

Soli Salgado | Feb. 13, 2015

At the Synod of Bishops on the family held at the Vatican in October 2014, several couples from around the world were invited to attend as representatives of the Catholic laity. One American couple, Alice and Jeff Heinzen, spoke about the beauty of family life and the advantages of natural family planning, a practice embraced in the church’s teachings.

But Deborah Rose-Milavec, executive director of FutureChurch, said, “While their voice and constituency should be represented, they should not be overrepresented. The purpose of the synod is to break new ground on these issues and to develop pastoral practices that reach out to Catholics who have not felt welcomed because they do not entirely conform to current teaching and practice.”

In an effort to “widen the circle” at the second synod on the family, scheduled for October 2015, reform groups FutureChurch, Voice of the Faithful and the American Catholic Council have drafted a petition calling for more diverse laity to be invited. Twenty other organizations have joined the cause. The letter, which launched Jan. 21, addresses Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, and the bishops of the world. Organizers plan to deliver it March 4 by mail and email to the bishops, and hand-deliver a copy to Baldisseri at the Vatican.

The petition names groups of people that will be discussed according to the 2014 synod document, known as a lineamenta, and therefore should be included in the conversation:

* Divorced and remarried people;
* Cohabitating couples;
* Interfaith families;
* Impoverished families;
* Single parents;
* Families with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender members;
* Same-sex couples;
* Families torn by the violence of war and abuse.

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