Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

January 28, 2015

Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò

Apostolic Nuncio

3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W,

Washington, DC, USA

Dear Archbishop:

We are writing to tell you how pleased and supportive we are of the direction in which Pope Francis is taking our Church. However, we fear that there are some who do not share his vision and are less than enthusiastic about his directive to hear from all the people. This appears to be increasingly evident in the matter of gathering the reflections of the Faithful on the Relatio emanating from the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

Three issues particularly concern us, namely, (1) the unworkable questionnaire contained in the Synod Secretariat’s Lineamenta circulated on the 9th of December; (2) what appears to be the lack of activity in the U.S. in promoting and encouraging reflections among ordinary Catholics – practicing and non-practicing – on the contents of the Relatio; and (3) that those of us in the reform community who support Pope Francis in the general direction he appears to be taking the church are being shut out of the World Meeting of Families.

Clearly there is a major problem with the Synod Secretariat’s survey instrument. Its 46 questions (actually 94) requiring essay-type answers are far too complex for even well-educated Catholics. Rather than invite reflection and participation, it appears designed to do the opposite. Further, we fear that many bishops, who would have wanted to use a well-designed questionnaire to listen to their people and to search for pastoral solutions to the many challenges which confront Catholic married couples and families, have been stymied by its unsuitability.

This is very evident from the research which CCRI has undertaken in recent days. We have examined the websites of all the Metropolitan Archdioceses of the U.S. to assess the degree of interest in the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod in October 2015, and to gauge the extent to which these leading U.S. dioceses are using the Lineamenta questionnaire to gather the reflections of the Faithful. Sadly, we could find very little: (1) only one Metropolitan website actually promoting the questionnaire; (2) only one other referring to the Lineamenta and offering an online facility for responding, and: (3) one other diocese encouraging community discussions at a local level.

As of today, not even the website of the U.S. Bishops Conference is promoting the Lineamenta questionnaire. At the prompting of our coordinating team, I spoke to the assistant in the office of the Secretariat General inquiring how we, the laity, might go about sharing our reflections with the Synod. I was told that the Synod questionnaire was intended for the bishops to complete, not the laity. Surprised, I asked what we could do. She directed me to call you, our apostolic nuncio, to learn how we might become involved. In perusing their website, I found the question: How can I support the Synod of Bishops? The answer: pray for the Bishops and read/study thePreparatory Document and theInstrumentum Laboris. No suggestion that our expressed reflections might be a way of supporting this meeting. No suggestion that the bishops want to hear from their people. We know of one leading U.S. bishop who told his people publicly that he simply could not promote the Lineamenta questionnaire, presumably because it is so unworkable.

An examination of the websites of many other Episcopal Conferences and Diocesan websites around the world provided similar disappointing results. Almost no websites anywhere in the world are promoting the Synod questionnaire with a few rare exceptions: those of the bishops of England and Wales who have devised two simpler questionnaires (one for clergy and one for laity) available online with supportive documents; that of the Swiss Bishops Conference which is promoting community discussions; those of the bishops of Ireland and Malta, who are doing the same; and those of several Australian dioceses using a locally designed questionnaire and actively promoting online responses.

In these countries where reflections are being actively sought, the deadlines for responses from the faithful have already been set: in Australia (10 February), in England and Wales (17 April), in Ireland (30 March) and in Switzerland (27 March). No acknowledgement of anything forthcoming was mentioned by the Secretariat General’s assistant. Given that more than eight weeks have already passed since the Lineamenta was released, and only nine weeks remain to the Synod Secretariat’s deadline for aggregate responses from each particular church to be put forward, this would suggest that there is urgency in getting the reflections of the people underway.

What further concerns us is that so little effort has gone into seeking to hear the voices of those who have drifted away from the Church, particularly the young adults, often because of the very issues which the Synod is discussing. If the Church takes no action to reach out to ex-Catholics, how will they be re-evangelized? How will the Church discover the pastoral approaches that might bring them back?

In short, if the bishops elected to speak to the Synod on behalf of the Catholics of the Church in the U.S. have neither invited the Faithful to share their reflections on marriage and family, nor listened to them, what is it that they will take to the Synod? It would appear only their own interpretation based on church doctrine – the very thing the pope has said he doesn’t want.

Pope Francis asked the bishops of the world to involve all components and all levels of the particular churches to be involved in this Synod. He wanted all the Faithful to examine in depth the Relatio generated by the Extraordinary Assembly and to search for concrete solutions to the many difficulties and innumerable challenges that families confront. He realizes that Bishops cannot do this alone. As he said in Evangelii Gaudium (n.33): “A proposal of goals without a communal search for the means of achieving them, will inevitably prove illusory.” Canon 212 also says the laity have a right and a duty to voice their concerns to their pastors. To assist the pope in this call, we at Catholic Church Reform Int’l are attempting to do just that through a “living poll” that could well fill the void left the by Synod questionnaire and draw in responses from many countries and from all levels and components of the baptized.

As ambassador of Pope Francis to the United States, you are the person to whom we voice our concerns, in the hope and expectation that you will convey them to him and to the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Baldiseri. There is urgency in this, lest the effectiveness of the Synod itself be endangered.

In closing, we’d like to bring up one additional issue. We have been rejected as an exhibitor at the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. One of our supporters wrote to Archbishop Chaput to ask why. We received this response:

Good morning,

Archbishop Chaput shared your email regarding exhibiting for the World Meeting of Families. Thank you very much for touching base. Given how little exhibit space we have, there’s a need to prioritize to whom this space is given. We have been approving exhibitors who are most likely to contribute to our actualizing the mission of the WMOF. Many possible exhibitors have been turned away for various reasons, some for the same reason that your application was declined. In the case of your group specifically, it was decided that, given the catechetical nature of the World Meeting of Families, we need to give priority to exhibits that further the reason for the exhibits in the WMOF, that is, that help add catechetical insights from Church teaching on the family along the same topics that are being covered in the Congress sessions.

Thank you again.

Best,

Donna

Donna Crilley Farrell

Executive Director

World Meeting of Families - Philadelphia 2015

215-587-3661 office

215-356-9644 cell

In addition, one of the women religious in our group attempted to register for the conference and was declined. This is from her email to me: “Any member of the clergy or religious order who wants to attend must get a letter from their bishop stating that they are good standing? I'm sure that they do not want any naysayers since Chaput and Co. will do their best to hijack any progress.” It is clear that only those who support church teachings as they currently exist are welcomed to the WMoF. Those of us who support Pope Francis in seeking to revamp church teachings to create a compassionate and welcoming church are not welcomed at this significant gathering. We would like Pope Francis to be aware of this fact. By agreeing to be a part of this gathering, we fear that his presence adds credence to the narrow, one-sided perspective being presented at this conference. The WMoF clearly does not represent the views of all families.

We are also forwarding copies of this letter to the bishops and alternates elected by the U.S. Bishops Conference to attend the Ordinary General Assembly in October 2015, so that they also will be aware of our concerns. We encourage you to follow up on the matters we have raised and we would like to hear from you. Please contact us through my office or the e-mail below.

Yours sincerely in the spirit of Jesus Christ,

Rene Reid

On behalf of the coordinating team of Catholic Church Reform Int’l

John Buggy (Australia)

Brendan Butler (Ireland)

Janet Hauter (United States)

Robert Blair Kaiser (United States)

Sr. Mary John Mananzan (Philippines)

Virginia Saldanha (India)

Peter Wilkinson (Australia)

CC: Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State

Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston,

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia

Archbishop Jose Gomez of Los Angeles

Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone

Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago

95 Rancho Manor Dr. +775-825-9196 office www.CatholicChurchReformIntl.org

Reno, NV 89509 U.S.A. +775-772-1210 mobile