5 Headlines You May Have Missed (17 October)

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Catholic HeadlinesNews from around the Catholic world for the week ending 17 October.

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•  Backlash over inaccurate summary of proceedings at the Synod on the Family

•  Pope Paul VI to be beatified in Rome

•  French protest IVF and surrogacy

•  Melbourne’s March for the Babies goes off without a hitch

•  Artes Christi celebrate JPII’s feast day with a performance of his play

TRANSCRIPT

BOBBIE:  The publication of the Synod on the Family’s mid-term report has prompted controversy and clarifications.

The mid-term ‘relatio’ of the Extraordinary Synod on the Family was released earlier this week, summarising the first period of discussion at the Synod. The relatio, described as a working document, focused on the socio-cultural context of families today, a theological consideration of the family, and pastoral challenges.

Aspects of the document have prompted reactions by bishops, the faithful and global media, with its treatment of irregular unions being interpreted by secular media as a shift in Catholic teaching.

One of the more controversial aspects of the document, however, may have been caused by a mistranslation of the Italian document in to English. Paragraph 50 of the document, which speaks on the treatment of those in same-sex unions, refers to welcoming them while [quote]“accepting and valuing their orientation” [end quote]. Catholic News Agency reports that the Italian original renders the word “valuing” as “valutando”, which means to weigh, consider or assess something. The online translation of the document on the Vatican website acknowledges that this current English translation is an “unofficial translation”.

Nonetheless, the document has attracted criticism from some of the Synod Fathers. Cardinal Napier of Durban, South Africa, attacked the document, stating it did not accurately reflect the thoughts of the Synod Fathers or the intention of the Synod.

In a briefing with journalists, Cardinal Napier said, “the synod is not called to discuss contraception, abortion, same-sex marriages. It was convoked to speak about the family,” he said.

Catholic News Agency reports that other Synod Fathers have raised concerns that the document mentions little about the importance of women and grandparents, the role of the family in the Church, the Holy Family, that certain acts are sinful and contrary to the good, among other issues.

In reaction to the controversy, the Holy See press office released a statement, noting that “[t]he General Secretariat of the Synod … reiterates that it is a working document, which summarises the interventions and debate of the first week.”

The final document will be drafted by six bishops and will be made public at the discretion of the Holy Father.

More details on that story at Catholic News Agency.  

Photos have surfaced this week showing the tomb of Pope Paul VI in St Peter’s Basilica already bearing the title ‘Blessed’.

The Italian pontiff who shepherded the Church through the turbulent 1960s and 70s will be beatified in a Mass in Rome on 19 October, as a fitting conclusion to the Synod on the Family.

Pope Paul VI is perhaps best known for his encyclical ‘Humanae Vitae’, a document released in the midst of the sexual revolution to define the Church’s teaching against artificial methods of birth control. The document has been hailed as ‘prophetic’ in recent times, making predictions about the consequences of widespread adoption of contraception including an increase in marital infidelity, loss of respect for women and the risk that public authorities may abuse contraceptives to enforce population control policies.

His beatification was announced earlier this year following the approval of a miracle in which an unborn child diagnosed with brain defects was born in full health. The child’s mother sought Pope Paul VI’s intercession after doctors advised her to abort the child.

The beatification will take place at Mass in St Peter’s Square on Sunday, and it has been reported that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI may be present. The english language prayer of the faithful will be read by Dr Thomas W. Hilgers, Director of the Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction in the U.S.

Dr Hilgers said it was an honour to be asked to participate in the canonisation.

“I never imagined, when I first read his historic encyclical letter Humanae Vitae in 1968, that I would be someday be a part of this great man’s legacy,” Dr Hilgers said.

“He was such a staunch defender of the faith, and the courage he demonstrated continues to serve as a source of inspiration to both the Institute and to me personally.”

Dr Hilgers attributed his scientific achievements to Pope Paul’s encyclical.

“In the letter, he appealed directly to doctors and healthcare professionals to ‘pursue only those solutions that are in accord with faith and right reason,’” Dr Hilgers said.

“This compelled me initially to conduct research on reproductive health care solutions, which led to the development of our two breakthrough reproductive technologies of NaProTECHNOLOGY and the Creighton Model Fertility Care System, and later leading to the establishment of the Pope Paul VI Institute,” he said.

An estimated 530,000 protesters took part in two pro-life rallies in the streets of Paris and Bordeaux earlier this month.

The social movement, organised by La Manif Pour Tous,  was conducted in protest against medically assisted procreation techniques and surrogacy for gay couples in Montparnasse. Both rallies started in the middle of the day, an hour apart, and participants in Paris marched from Porte Dauphine [Port dough fynn] to Montparnasse.

La Manif Pour Tous President Ludovine de la Rochere said that traditional family values must be fought for at all costs.

“The exploitation of women is intolerable, because the child is not an object; because all children need a father and a mother,” she said.

While homosexual couples in France are allowed to adopt, they are currently barred from using surrogacy and in vitro fertilisation. The Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, reiterated this on Friday saying that surrogacy “is and will remain banned in France”.

La Manif Pour Tous is a contemporary French movement that serves to promote traditional family values. They are best known for their marches against same-sex marriage, held in 2013, where 14 million protesters flooded the streets of Paris.

Back in Australia, Saturday’s March for the Babies in Melbourne has been praised as a success with an estimated 7,000 pro-lifers taking part, more than doubling last year’s numbers.

March leader and pro-life Liberal party politician Bernie Finn has spent the last year working with Victoria Police to ensure the safety of those involved after last year’s march was affected by violent pro-abortion counter-protesters. Mr Finn reported that nearly 200 police officers patrolled the event this year.

Counter protestors still made their presence felt, holding placards with slogans such as “the only good baby is a dead baby”, shared around the world on social media.

The annual protest is to call on the Victorian State Government to reverse the 2008 Abortion Law Reform Act, a law that removes a doctor’s right to object to performing an abortion and allows abortion up to birth with the consent of two doctors.

Keeping with tradition, next year’s march will take place on Saturday 10 October, the anniversary of the passing of the controversial law.

Artes Christi Australia is set to celebrate the October 22 feast of St John Paul the Great with three performances of his play ‘The Jeweler’s Shop’.

The then Karol Wojtyla wrote the play as a reflection on marriage; one of the themes that he would carry through to his pontificate.

The Artes Christi performance will stay true to the rhapsodic theatre style that the Polish underground communities adopted during Nazi occupation. Sarah spoke to the play’s director Emma O’Shea to find out more.

EMMA: it’s a three-act play and it’s really a meditation on the Sacrament of Marriage. The actors read the words on stage. So when you go into the play you go in for a meditative experience, not so much a theatrical experience. We’re really trying to stay true to the way John Paul probably wanted this play to be experienced. You have to listen to the words and what’s really being said by the characters.

BOBBIE: The play will be performed in Melbourne, Sydney and Parramatta over the weekend following St John Paul II’s feast day. Bookings are essential. For more information you can visit theword.org.au, or hear the full interview on the Cradio website.

Music Credit: Waking Up by Dexter Britain.

 

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