Bishop Anthony B. Taylor is welcoming input of the clergy and laity in the Diocese of Little Rock in preparation for the extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the family next October.
The synod, called by Pope Francis, is drawing great interest from everyday Catholics, many of whom are anxious to weigh in on questions the Vatican has sent out in preparation for the session.
In some countries, bishops have already posted online surveys to get input from the laity, but in a brief report to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Nov. 11, New York Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan said he's awaiting clarification from the Holy See about how preparatory material such as the answers to a questionnaire sent to the world's bishops' conferences, will be used.
Several bishops said they are already consulting with their priests' councils or other diocesan organizations. Bishop Robert N. Lynch of St. Petersburg, Fla., suggested the U.S. bishops create several ways that everyday Catholics can respond to the questions the Vatican posed.
He suggested using a website such as Survey Monkey, for example, to solicit input, as well as have a way for people who don't use computers to participate.
Bishop Taylor distributed the preparatory document and questionnaire by e-mail to the pastors, parish staff and diocesan employees Nov. 18. He emphasized that all feedback should be funneled to him because the Vatican wants only one report from each diocese.
Because many of the questions apply more directly to the bishop or pastors, lay participants would only have to answer questions where they want to give input.
“This is not a referendum on Church teaching, nor is the doctrine of the Church in question,” the bishop wrote. “What is sought is input regarding the state of the question and especially regarding impediments to the full embrace of the teaching of Jesus in these matters in the context of today's increasingly secular world. What can be done to articulate Church teaching in a way that will open people's hearts anew to the grace of salvation and the embrace of Jesus' merciful, forgiving love?”
Bishop Taylor said the submitted questionnaires or what he writes to Rome won’t be released to the public.
“This provision serves to reinforce the fact that this is not a referendum (the teachings of Jesus and his Church are not up for a vote!) while at the same time permitting respondents to provide their input in complete anonymity.”
Cardinal Peter Erdo of Esztergom-Budapest, Hungary, the synod's relator, said Nov. 5 that the synod’s outcome will not be based on public opinion.
"Certainly the doctrine of the magisterium must be the basis of the common reasoning of the synod," Cardinal Erdo said.
As the synod's relator, Cardinal Erdo will synthesize the remarks and recommendations of his fellow bishops in two speeches during the gathering, which Pope Francis has called for October 2014.
In October 2013, the synod's general secretary, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, sent bishops' conferences around the world a preparatory document that included a 39-item questionnaire asking about the promotion and acceptance of Catholic teachings on marriage and the family, and cultural and social challenges to those teachings.
Among the topics of the questionnaire are divorce and remarriage, cohabitation, same-sex unions and contraception.
The archbishop said that pastors were expected to provide summaries of the views and experiences of parishioners, and that their findings would be "channeled" in turn through national bishops' conferences for ultimate consideration by the synod.
Catholic News Service contributed to this article.
