The following comes from an October 6 Catholic News Agency article by Hannah Brockhaus:
The theme for the 2018 Synod of Bishops has been released, and will focus on how to best teach the faith to young people and help them to discern God’s will for their lives.
Set to take place in October 2018, the 50th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will discuss “Young People, the Faith and the Discernment of Vocation,” an Oct. 6 Vatican communique said.
Greg Burke, Director of the Holy See Press Office, told journalists Thursday that the topic of the upcoming synod is not about celibacy or the priesthood in particular, but is “wider than vocations.”
Vocations “certainly will be part of that but it’s wider, much wider.” In addition to vocational discernment, it’s about “the formation and transmission of faith,” he said.
Asked to explain “discernment,” Burke described it as “spiritual decision making,” not only about whether or not to become a priest, but about “what you do in life.”
Following the conclusion of the 2015 encounter, Pope Francis named 15 cardinals and bishops to prepare for the 2018 gathering.
The members are: Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia, Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments; Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban; Cardinal Marc Ouellet, Prefect of the Congregation of Bishops; Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodriguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa; Cardinal Christoph Shoenborn, Archbishop of Vienna; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay; Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, Archbishop of Manila; Cardinal George Pell, Prefect for the Secretariat of the Economy; Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster; Archbishop Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan of Mouila, Gabon, and Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto.
The three members appointed by Pope Francis himself are: Archbishop Louis Raphael Sako, Chaldean Patriarch of Babylon; Archbishop Carlos Osoro Sierra of Madrid and Archbishop Sergio Da Rocha Archbishop of Brazil and president of the Brazilian Episcopal Conference.
The following comes from an October 6 Catholic Herald article:
According to one respected Vatican journalist, the synod – a meeting of bishops which will take place in 2014 – was nearly dedicated to a different theme: priestly celibacy.
Edward Pentin, Vatican correspondent of the National Catholic Register, reported that Pope Francis was “known to be keen” for the next synod to examine “priestly celibacy and a possible push to allow married priests”.
However, Pentin wrote, “That proposal was understood to have been voted down by the majority of members on the XIV Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops.”
There had been speculation that the synod would address priestly celibacy. Cardinal Cláudio Hummes, Archbishop Emeritus of São Paulo and a friend of Pope Francis, is known to be interested in reforming the requirement for priests to be celibate, and recently had an audience with the Pope.
No doubt the result of the next synod will be further papal undermining of Catholic doctrine and praxis.
Clinton, thank God you aren’t cynical about life!
From what emerged from the last synod on the family, why would one not be skeptical about a future synod? Pope Francis definitely has an agenda to undermine Catholic teaching.
CR, Your are right. Speaking of Papal undermining of Catholic teaching, have you seen this yet? NEWS: The Pope sends Cardinal Sarah to the woodshed AGAIN. Article @ https://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-replaces-cardinal-sarah-to-open-jpii-institutes-academic-year#When%3A2016-10-6+15%3A22%3A01/
Why is it, in this papacy, only conservatives get sent to the woodshed?
Continued…..The progressive Papal agenda. The Pope’s recent appointment of new cardinals. Pope snubs conservatives & promotes liberals in the USA. Article @ https://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2016/10/09/new-cardinal-picks-pope-francis-sidelines-conservatives-promotes-progressives/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+breitbart+%28Breitbart+News%29/
CR, Sadly you are correct. This article explains: the SYNOD was going to be on another (undermining) topic all together, but thru God’s grace, got voted out. See details @
http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/news/2016/10/06/proposed-synod-on-married-priests-was-voted-down-by-popes-advisors/
The Pope’s intentions are progressive. His actions are backing up his confusing words. Only the naive believe he is harmless. God help us.
One can only wonder at the perversions that will be discussed, with the goal of making them “acceptable” to the young: “unsure of your sexuality, why sure, it is fine to experiment, to find out . . .” that sort of thing (does this also mean — and one bets that it does — that heterosexual kids can masturbate, “fool around” and the like — to find out? Huh, huh, huh, Holy Father? It is almost too much to bear, even with respect and deference and all that. Why pay for these pompous fools? Just look at how C. Chaput fawns over Abortion-Supporting “Catholic” Dem. Candidate Tim Kaine. What corrupt clerics we have that are running things in this, Christ’s own Church. Stop giving them any money.
How about getting the youth to start attending the Traditional Latin Mass??
OK, Janek, what will we tell the youth to “entice” them to attend the TLM instead of the NO? You may have a very good point, in that if they did start attending they would be better Catholics? But, I wonder what the attraction would be. In this age of instagram and facebook and messaging, what would attract them to a Mass that took more than an hour, where selfies aren’t encouraged and where they would be wondering how many likes they missed out on? I don’t oppose the TLM, I just don’t know what the attraction would be for the youth. Maybe we should ask them.
Janek, Or any mass during & after college? If Jesus in the Holy Eucharist isn’t enough to make a good NO or the wonderful TLM attractive, they are too worldly to care. Goes back to parents number one priority — carefully and fully handing down their faith, No Excuses. It’s the most important gift parents can give to their children. The second most important gift is to teach them values. Enticements, entertainment, parties, fun and technology have their ‘place’ in life. If kids know how to look for the real deal, they aren’t sucked in by the ‘constant distractions’ that can be the devils playground. Be a godly parent.
Many Catholics have not read a Catholic Bible, nor the “Catechism of the Catholic Church, second edition” of 1997.
This is because many Bishops and many Priests do not encourage them to do so.
” My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge;
because you have rejected knowledge,I reject you from being a priest to me.
And since you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.” – Hosea 4:6.
There is data available, some newer than others, that indicate that if the average age of a parish is over 34, it is likely to die within ten years. There is data that shows that we lose most youth at about 16-21 years of age. There is data that indicates that most Catholic kids leave the church during college, and never come back. Point is simple. We must find ways to better build the faith of your youth, find ways to keep them in the church and better ways to increase their faith. Whatever we did in the past isn’t working today, so let’s not double down on those methods. We need new ways to evangelize the young. If we don’t succeed, they will not bring their children to the faith. We need this Synod!