Read the full synod document here, but today, a longer paragraph exploring the beginning of a pastoral need:
47. A special discernment is indispensable for pastorally guiding persons who are separated, divorced or abandoned. Respect needs to be primarily given to the suffering of those who have unjustly endured separation, divorce or abandonment, or those who have been subjected to the maltreatment of a husband or a wife, which interrupts their life together. To forgive such an injustice is not easy, but grace makes this journey possible.
Grace indeed. I think our society, both outside the Church and often in, makes this very difficult today. Can we find it in us, even institutionally, to labor for peace among people?
First, a suggestion for estranged family members:
Pastoral activity, then, needs to be geared towards reconciliation or mediation of differences, which might even take place in specialized “listening centers” established in dioceses.
An outreach to children of injured or broken marriages:
At the same time, the synod fathers emphasized the necessity of addressing, in a faithful and constructive fashion, the consequences of separation or divorce on children, in every case the innocent victims of the situation. Children must not become an “object” of contention. Instead, every suitable means ought to be sought to ensure that they can overcome the trauma of a family break-up and grow as serenely as possible. In each case, the Church is always to point out the injustice which very often is associated with divorce.
A recognition that some adults in broken circumstances require something more than platitudes or pity:
Special attention is to be given in the guidance of single-parent families. Women in this situation ought to receive special assistance so they can bear the responsibility of providing a home and raising their children.
The vote: 164 to 12, with 7 abstaining.
Catholic Sensibility 