The
Vatican has issued an unprecedented worldwide survey on how parishes
deal with sensitive issues such as birth control, divorce and gay
couples, seeking input ahead of a major meeting on the family that Pope
Francis plans for next year.
However, it is unclear how Irish bishops
will survey the views of parishioners.
The poll was sent to national bishops’ conferences worldwide last
month with a request from the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops,
Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, to “share it immediately as widely as
possible to deaneries and parishes so that input from local sources can
be received”.
However, the Catholic Communications Office was unable to say this
week whether or not Irish bishops had put in place a way of finding out
the views of parishioners.
In England, bishops have posted the survey online to be filled out by
a wide range of Catholics, including priests, religious and lay people.
The Association of Catholic Priests (ACP) has also published the poll
on their website.
However, a spokesman for the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference was
unable to confirm the Irish bishops’ plan for the survey this week.
The survey reflects the Pope’s pledge to move away from what he
called a “Vatican-centric” approach toward one where local Church
leaders are more involved in decision-making.
Among the questions put to participants are whether gay marriage is
recognised in their country, what pastoral attention can be given to
people in same sex unions and what can be done pastorally in light of
transmitting the faith to the adopted children of same sex couples.
The
poll also asks “how is God’s mercy proclaimed” to separated, divorced
and remarried couples.
Additional information is sought on the pastoral care of men and
women who live together outside of marriage. The survey also asks
parishes whether they believe married men and women tend to follow
Church teaching barring the use of artificial contraception.
The lengthy introduction to the survey lays out a broad list of
concerns which the document says “were unheard of until a few years
ago”, including co-habitation, single-parent families, interfaith
marriages and surrogate motherhood. The survey also cites as a new
challenge “same-sex unions between persons who are, not infrequently,
permitted to adopt children”.
The poll findings will help set the agenda for an extraordinary synod
of the presidents of national bishops’ conferences in October 2014,
which will be followed by another on the topic in 2015.