Comments on the recommendations that are not being promulgated

Certain recommendations that received two-thirds of the votes in the Synodal Assembly do not fall within the jurisdiction of the diocesan Bishop. Others contain ambiguities or lend themselves to a variety of interpretations. For these reasons, I am not able to promulgate them. Nevertheless, I believe that it is important to offer some reflections on them in order to encourage dialogue and understanding.

Moreover, some recommendations that did not receive a favorable vote in the Synodal Assembly are, nevertheless, worthy of consideration because they give us an opportunity to reflect on some questions that are important for the life of the Church.

1- That those holding pastoral responsibilities - clerical and lay people, develop outside the particular framework of the Sacrament of Reconciliation, a ministry of Healing/Reconciliation as a sign of the compassion of Jesus Christ towards human suffering. (A-10)

This recommendation was not accepted in the Synodal Assembly. I am not promulgating it because it presents several difficulties in interpretation. Nevertheless, I invite all pastoral workers and priests to sensitize the believers to the different non-sacramental forms of forgiveness and reconciliation.

2- That the Church of Montreal call for a moratorium on the reception of the sacraments by children.(A-11)

This recommendation was rejected because it may have seemed too absolute and very radical in its perspective. Yet such a recommendation awakens an awareness that we cannot continue to prepare young people, in the same way, for the celebration of the sacraments.

Several questions arise which justify our taking time to rethink the process of Christian initiation, to decide to renew it so that young people may be better prepared, better supported by their families and better accompanied by the Christian community.

It is in this spirit of the renewal of our pastoral policies that, in promulgating the proposal "The diocesan Church revise its common policy for the Christian initiation of youth so as to better respond to the different stages of faith development", I invite all those responsible for pastoral work and all parents to collaborate so that our Church may respond in the best possible way to its mission of educating our youth in the faith.

3- That the Church of Montreal be more pastorally forthcoming and open with regard to the divorced and remarried who wish to participate fully in the life of the Christian community and avail themselves of the sacraments. (B-37)

The divorced and remarried often feel excluded from the Church community, but we must remind them that they are always members of the Church and that we are constantly solicitous for them. However, the nature of marriage and Church legislation do not allow me to promulgate this recommendation as it is formulated.

The Synodal Assembly, in proposing an audacious pastoral approach to the divorced and remarried, desired to invite these persons to a new way of living and journeying together in Christian communities.

In 1995, the Office for Family in our diocese, proposed an authentic Gospel approach to help persons in conjugal or family difficulty. The accompaniment proposed would support them in their vocation and help them to discover their mission as baptized persons. I recommend that all pastoral leaders "rediscover" this process which witnesses to a pastoral effort based on the very experience of encountering the merciful Christ. All of us should continue this reflection in order to create new paths of hope for individuals and their families in this difficulty but still desirous of being authentic disciples of Christ.

Cf. A pastoral for broken families. A proposal for an accompaniment and Christian mission. Mediaspaul. 1995.

I invite all pastoral leaders to develop a pastoral policy for welcoming divorced and remarried persons, a pastoral policy that would imply attentive and empathetic listening to these persons, recognition of their sufferings, of their hopes, of the strengths of their human and Christian growth and of the stepping stone that something new and great would be for their edification in the light of the Gospel.

4- That the Church of Montreal clarify its pastoral approach regarding married priests who are not laicized, gays and lesbians, and common-law partners in order to help them take the place which is theirs in the Christian community and to clarify the manner of their participation in sacramental life. (B-39)

This recommendation contains elements so different one from the other that it is impossible to promulgate it as formulated. However, it invites us to a solicitude for and a pastoral welcoming of these persons.

5- That the Bishop receive the request made by those who wish women to have access to the priesthood. (C-10)

This recommendation which obtained 66.33% of the votes in the Synodal Assembly reflects a widely spread opinion in our milieu. I am taking note of it and will bring it to the attention of the Church authorities.

6- That the Church of Montreal offer, in the future, formation and access to the diaconate to those who wish to accede to it, regardless of their gender. (C-11)

Many studies have been done and are continuing on this question. The document "Directives for the Life and Ministry of Permanent Deacons" opens up some interesting perspectives. We are following this question closely. However, the access of women to the diaconate arises from the authority of the Pope and of the Assembly of Bishops.

7- That married men be eligible for priestly ministry in our Church. (C -12)

At the present time, this recommendation is contrary to the current regulation of the Latin Church. However, in the Churches of the Eastern rite, both Catholic and Orthodox, married men have always been eligible for priestly ministry.

This consideration also applies to the recommendation: "That celibacy not be obligatory for futur priests and that the choice for celibacy be left to each individual ". (D-16)

8- That priests who have had to leave their priestly ministry in order to marry, not be systematically excluded afterwards from a pastoral mandate and that they even be called to assume certain priestly services. (C-13)

I cannot promulgate this recommendation because of some ambiguities it conceals. Several of these priests, who asked to be relieved of their priestly duties, remain very attached to the Church. They are still active and render many services in the Christian community. Like all the baptized, they contribute to the life of the Church. However, they cannot be appointed pastors or curates.

9- That the Archbishop of Montreal intensify his dialogue with Rome through strategies aimed at dispelling ambiguities regarding disciplinary points and doctrinal issues relative to various questions: the ordination of women to the diaconate and priesthood; the access of married men to the priesthood; the revision of Canon Law; the exclusion of divorced-remarried from the Eucharist; the disproportionate place of sexual issues in moral discourse within the Church. (C-22)

The disparity and complexity of these questions does not allow me to promulgate this recommendation. Several of these points are subjects of reflection by the Episcopal Conferences and by the universal Church.

10-That the Archbishop of Montreal give greater autonomy to pastoral regions and to the parishes of the diocese. (C-21.2)

The context in which this recommendation was presented to the Synodal Assembly can lead to a certain ambiguity. No doubt this explains the result of the vote: 57.86% of the votes. Nevertheless, in order to bring about genuine co-responsibility at every structural level of the Church, (a Church that seeks to be fully ministerial and based on Communion), it would be desirable, indeed necessary, that persons and communities develop greater autonomy in the exercise of their pastoral and administrative responsibilities. This autonomy however, must always be carried out in solidarity with the Church and be respectful of the unity of the Church of Montreal.

11- That the Church of Montreal explore the possibility - in the line adopted by the Churches of the Eastern rites - of recognizing the failure of a marriage and of the celebration of a new union. (F-03)

It is always enriching to see how other Churches take positions different from ours on questions and particular situations that are analogous to those we know. This recommendation refers to certain practices of the Eastern Churches. However, we must respect the theological and disciplinary policies of our Church.

12- That the Church of Montreal define and make public criteria of belonging to the Church that go beyond attendance at Mass and include such things as welcoming, respect for others, support, etc. done in the name of Christ. (F-11)

This recommendation cannot be promulgated as it is drawn up because it is incomplete and ambiguous. To speak of criteria for belonging refers to conditions that define incorporation in the Roman Catholic Church: baptism, the profession of faith in God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the practice, in Christ's name, of Gospel values such as the unconditional welcoming of others, respect for the dignity of the human person, pardon and reconciliation, mutual assistance, active participation in the life of the Christian community, the celebration of the sacraments, the acknowledgment of the Sovereign Pontiff as universal Pastor of the Catholic Church, membership in a diocesan Church and the recognition of the Bishop of the place as Pastor.

These criteria define membership in the Catholic Church. Often, believers conform to these with more or less fidelity. But there is always place for growth in the Christian life.

13. That the Diocese of Montreal ask its priests, when the time is right, to prepare with their parishioners, a Church which is able to function under the responsibility of lay people. (F-13)

This recommendation, in spite of its realistic perspective on the sharing of responsibilities between clergy and laity, can lead to confusion when it speaks of a "Church which functions under the responsibility of lay persons." One could understand by this that there would no longer be priests responsible for this Church, something that cannot be because, for Catholics, there is no Christian community without priests.

Christ himself constituted the Apostles heads of communities and responsible for the mission of evangelization. The bishops are the successors of the Apostles and the priests are their immediate collaborators. Fidelity to the apostolic character of the Catholic Church is not, as such, incompatible with a sharing of pastoral responsibilities between clergy and laity and a participation of lay persons in "the exercise of the pastoral charge of the community;" (Canon 517, 2^e). It is in this spirit that the implementation of co-responsibility and the exercise of participatory leadership will be carried out in the Church of Montreal.

This recommendation, which obtained 63.43% of the votes of the Synodal Assembly, shows that changes must be brought about in mentalities as a result of the impressive emergence of lay persons as pastoral leaders. Also, we must prepare parishioners immediately for a "new pastoral image" of our Church, a pastoral image whose signs are already visible.