A group of Catholic bishops has called for charity and understanding on a number of controversial social issues, including homosexuality, divorce and cohabitation.
The Synod of Bishops, an advisory council to Pope Francis, held a discussion on family issues that highlighted the importance of accepting people in nontraditional relationships without compromising Catholic doctrine on traditional marriage.
“It is necessary to accept people in their concrete being, to know how to support their search, to encourage the wish for God and the will to feel fully part of the Church, also on the part of those who have experienced failure or find themselves in the most diverse situations,” wrote Archbishop Peter Erdo in the post-debate report.
The Bishops wrote that gays have valuable “gifts and qualities” to offer and that Catholics must be “welcoming these people, guaranteeing to them a fraternal space in our communities.” The Bishops even acknowledged there could be some upside to same-sex relationships, writing, “Without denying the moral problems connected to homosexual unions it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners.”
The report also addressed cohabitation and divorce among Catholics, stating “new sensitivity in today’s pastoral care consists in grasping the positive reality of civil weddings and … cohabitation.”
Although these new statements express a shift in tone from Vatican officials, they should not be used to suggest that the Catholic position on social issues is about to change. The Catechism of the Catholic Church condemns both same-sex marriage and remarriage after divorce, and the assembled Bishops have not proposed any changes to Catholic theology that would reverse those teachings.
