Open Letter To U.S. Bishops Attending The Synod… The Church’s Teachings On The Family Need No Updating

By MICHAEL HARTNETT

(Editor’s Note: Michael Hartnett lives with his family in the Chicago area, where he works as a project manager and public policy analyst. He has authored or coauthored numerous published reports that address federal transportation, environmental, and pension and retirement policies. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently, he is studying at The Institute for Lay Formation, University of St. Mary of the Lake, in Mundelein, Ill.)

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To the American Bishops participating in the Synod on the Family,
I was disturbed recently to learn that my diocese has felt it necessary to survey the faithful regarding the role of the family in their lives, ostensibly as a way to assist the Pope and the bishops who will be participating in the second and final session of the Synod on the Family next October.
I decided not to complete the survey distributed at my parish, but the issue and the alarming signals coming out of the 2014 synod session are of great concern to me. Therefore, I offer this brief response.
The Roman Catholic Church has a venerable and very well-developed doctrine and set of pastoral teachings on the family. Drawing from Holy Scripture, Church Tradition, natural law, and the very design of our bodies, these teachings need no updating and serve as a rich source from which bishops, priests, and lay leaders can instruct the faithful in these disorienting and confusing times.
Even assuming the best of intentions, the participants in the synod will not significantly add to or refine these age-old teachings; indeed, the best men present will be fighting hard to preserve what has been handed down to us. What, then, can we expect to reap from the considerable time and expense that will be invested in the synod?
Perhaps a clue can be found in the broad society of the West, which has become unmoored from the moral teachings of centuries. The family — and even the objective and God-ordained complementarity of the two sexes — has been under attack in the West for many years, and the attack has recently taken on new and breathtaking forms.
To take one example, the once surreal notion of homosexual marriage is now treated as a very serious thing whose legitimacy is beyond debate, and its opponents are caricatured as ignorant and hate-filled. This is true in the schools, in mass media and entertainment, the corporate world, and government.
Another clue can be found in the synod’s original interim Relatio, which would have been a weak, insipid, and forgettable document coming from any secular organization. It is shocking that it came from the earthly leadership of the Holy Roman Catholic Church. To take only one example of many, the document asks, concerning people with homosexual inclinations: “Are our communities capable of this, accepting and valuing their sexual orientation, without compromising Catholic doctrine on the family and matrimony?”
Apparently the authors are incapable of making elemental distinctions such as 1) a homosexual inclination, 2) the person who has such an inclination, and 3) what this person does with the promptings of the inclination.
The homosexual inclination is a tragedy, and, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church states, is often a trial for those who bear it. A person with such an inclination can and should of course be valued and loved. Without a doubt, people with homosexual inclinations can be exceptional in kindness, charity, talent, inventiveness, generosity, and many other admirable qualities. The same can be said of men who feel strong urgings toward adultery. Just as an otherwise good man sins when he commits adultery, when a homosexual inclination drives a man to homosexual acts, he has committed a perversion and a sin. This is true, is it not?
These two clues suggest that the purpose of the synod is to capitulate with regard to centuries-old Catholic sexual morality for the sake of institutional safety and perhaps popularity. The modern world has indeed drifted far from the teachings of the Church, and all signs indicate that faithful Catholics may have a difficult time of it in coming years. Economic persecution has already begun, and much worse may be in store.
On marriage and other issues, will the Church imitate the example of its Founder during His agony in the Gethsemane? Or will her leaders refuse the cup, and follow Judas in seeking the silver of transient safety? That is the question before us, and it will be answered this October. In the meantime, I urge you, Pope Francis, and your brother bishops throughout the world to consider the words of a great American jurist and a late-in-life convert to Catholicism:
“The forces of radical egalitarianism and individualism have changed much in American life. As to whether any institution can maintain its integrity in the face of the deforming pressures of modern liberal culture, the test case of course is the Roman Catholic Church. It is the test case because few religions in the history of the world have placed so much emphasis on doctrinal purity, liturgical correctness, and moral authenticity as has the Catholic Church.
“If a concern for orthodoxy has always been paramount in the Church, the contemporary Church has an eerie feel about it precisely because of an absence of that concern. If orthodoxy is no longer a major concern, that is surely a sign that the Church is giving way to the culture. The Church’s opposition to abortion, to homosexual conduct, and to the ordination of women is under attack, and may be a minority position among the laity and even the Bishops. If the Church gives way on any of those issues, the culture will have effectively destroyed it….
“If a Church changes doctrine and structure to follow its members’ views, it’s difficult to see the value of that Church and its religion. Religions must claim to be true, and, in their essentials, to uphold principles that are universal and eternal. No Church that panders to the zeitgeist deserves respect, and very shortly it will not get respect, except from those who find it politically useful, and that is less respect than disguised contempt” — Robert Bork, 1996.
The heritage of the Church positions it well to reassert its timeless mission, and serve as the loving parent of its adherents, and indeed of all humanity. In this Year of Mercy, may the Holy Spirit guide her leaders to consider that true parental love involves a balance of mercy and sternness with regard to truth and virtue.

Yours sincerely,

Michael Hartnett