HuffPo | America's Catholic bishops came together Monday to project an image
of unity, after a Vatican meeting on the family unleashed an uproar over
the direction of the church.
Last month's gathering in Rome on
more compassionately ministering to families featured open debate —
alarming many traditional Catholics, who argued it would undermine
public understanding of church teaching. Pope Francis encouraged a free
exchange of ideas at the assembly, or synod, in contrast to previous
years, when such events were tightly scripted.
At a meeting Monday
in Baltimore, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, president of the U.S. Conference
of Catholic Bishops, signaled there was no conflict between a gentler
approach and upholding church orthodoxy. Kurtz cited his home visits to
parishioners, where he wouldn't give them "a list of rules to follow
firsthand," but would instead "spend time with them trying to appreciate
the good that I saw in their hearts," before inviting them to follow
Christ.
"Such an approach isn't in opposition to church teachings.
It's an affirmation of them," said Kurtz, who attended the Vatican
gathering.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, who also
participated in the Vatican gathering, emphasized that last month's
meeting was only the start of a discussion before a larger gathering on
the family next year, where bishops will more concretely advise the pope
on developing any new church practices. New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan
said the divisiveness he read in media accounts did not reflect the
collegial discussion inside the event.
"It was a synod of consensus," Dolan said. The pope, he said, has a God-given gift "for attentive listening."
The
bishops made the remarks at their fourth national meeting since Francis
was elected. While many Catholics have praised Francis' new emphasis on
mercy over the culture wars, many theological conservatives have said
Francis is failing to carry out his duty as defender of the faith. Some
U.S. bishops have resisted turning their focus away from gay marriage,
abortion and other contentious social issues to take up Francis' focus
on the poor, immigrants and those who feel unwelcome in the church.
