Most US dioceses consult Catholics on family issues for fall synod

With little more than a month to go before reports are due in Rome, more than half of U.S. dioceses have asked Catholics in their regions for input for the upcoming ordinary Synod of Bishops on the family at the Vatican in October.

A NCR investigation of websites and online publications for 33 Latin-rite archdioceses and 145 Latin-rite dioceses, conducted Thursday and Friday, found that roughly 52 percent of them (93) have begun to gather information in some capacity. For the remaining 85 dioceses, it was unclear how or if they were collecting responses within their borders.

Almost two-thirds of U.S. archdioceses (21) have collected information for the synod that will address areas related to contemporary marriage and family life, with 17 of them offering online surveys. For dioceses, about half (72) had sought out responses, with 48 of them using online forms.

A similar review of the two Eastern Rite Archeparchies and 15 Eastern Rite Eparchies that are members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops found no information about how to contribute to the October 2015 synod.

[See the chart below for a breakdown of each diocese.]

In 2013, Pope Francis initiated a two-year churchwide consultation on the family that included an extraordinary Synod of Bishops, which met at the Vatican in October 2014, and an ordinary Synod of Bishops, which will meet Oct. 4-25 at the Vatican and focus on the theme, "The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and Contemporary World."

In December, the Vatican sent the world's bishops' conferences the final report of the 2014 assembly and a list of 46 questions on a range of topics, including matters of marriage and sexuality. Those questions and the report make up a working document, known as the lineamenta, for the next Synod of Bishops. 

The U.S. bishops' conference staff, which will compile the U.S. report on these consultations and send it to the Vatican by April, have asked dioceses to submit reports to them no later than March 20.

So far, 18 dioceses have stopped collecting information. Another 11 will stop accepting submissions by the end of February.

When the synod opens Oct. 4, as many as six bishops overseeing dioceses could represent U.S. Catholics at the meetings, and two more are designated as alternates.

Of those eight, NCR found clear, public information about how six of them are gathering input in some fashion: Archbishop Joseph Kurtz of Louisville, Ky.; Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput; Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez; San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone (who is an alternate); Cardinals Donald Wuerl of Washington, D.C.; and Timothy Dolan of New York. Wuerl and Dolan are members of the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops.

It was unclear how Galveston-Houston Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and Chicago Archbishop Blase Cupich, an alternate, were gathering information in their respective archdioceses.

The Boston archdiocese -- whose Cardinal Sean O'Malley isn't a synod delegate but is a member of the pope's Council of Cardinals -- offered a six-question summary survey and a series of videos reviewing the various themes the synod will discuss. The archdiocese had five informational sessions on the synod, but historic snowfall led to the cancellation of two.

Other notable archdioceses without clear, online evidence of seeking parish-level input included Atlanta, Baltimore and Miami.

While some dioceses elected not to invite general participation, they explained how they would complete their report. In the Grand Rapids, Mich., diocese, for example, an announcement on its website stated the lineamenta questionnaire "has been provided to those in the diocese serving in roles involving pastoral care and leadership" and asked that they respond by March 4.

In its survey of diocesan websites, NCR checked each one's homepage, family life and/or marriage sections, press releases and diocesan publications since the beginning of the year, in addition to searching the sites for the term "synod."

Describing the 46-item lineamenta -- longer than last year's 39-item questionnaire -- as "a lengthy series of questions," the Charlotte, N.C., diocese suggested parishioners allot two hours to read the document and complete the essay-style online survey.

Some dioceses, such as Denver; Baton Rouge, La.; Crookston, Minn.; and Oakland, Calif., have offered a scaled-down version of the 46 questions. The Juneau, Alaska, diocese provided an "annotated" version, adding context and explanations to each question. The St. Louis archdiocese added similar "in other words" explanations to accompany several of the questions. The diocese of Trenton, N.J., offered both the full survey and a simplified 11-question version.

As in Trenton, the other four New Jersey dioceses will carry out Pope Francis' direction for further dialogue by inviting laity to attend listening sessions. The diocese of Metuchen, N.J., will hold two listening sessions March 4 in English and Spanish, while the archdiocese of Newark will offer nine "Listen and Discuss" sessions, including three in Spanish.

Listening sessions were the preferred method of input in Tucson, Ariz., as well, where Bishop Gerald Kicanas held four two-hour weekend meetings with parishioners, the last one taking place Feb. 15. In Scranton, Pa., the diocese, in addition to providing an online survey, offered resources for parishes and organizations to lead their own meetings.

Thirty-one dioceses offered the survey or the lineamenta in both English and Spanish; the San Jose, Calif., diocese also provided a Vietnamese version.

Of the dioceses that made the synod questionnaire publicly available, with two exceptions, no diocese specified how or if it intended to relay the information it received back to the local church or if the bishop would respond to the information received.

One exception was the Stockton, Calif., diocese, which has already provided a detailed picture of its responses, gathered through a consultation among pastors and their parish councils.

More than half of the respondents were 55 years or older, nearly two-thirds were female and about 70 percent were married. Some topics with overwhelming opposition included gay civil ceremonies -- with more than half of respondents against it -- and marriages taking place in the Catholic church, with 77 percent saying this was very important to them. The issues of birth control, infertility treatment, and the effectiveness of church teaching on family life all had mixed answers, almost equally split.

As reported earlier, the priest collecting and data from the surveys in the Oakland diocese will return a report back to parishes with suggestions on how to address areas of concern.

NCR will continue to collect data on consultations in individual dioceses. If you have information from your locale, send it to synod@ncronline.org.

[Contributing to this report were NCR editor Dennis Coday (dcoday@ncronline.org), staff writer Brian Roewe (broewe@ncronline.org), and Bertelsen interns Mick Forgey (mforgey@ncronline.org) and Soli Salgado (ssalgado@ncronline.org).]

*updated Feb. 24.
** updated March 2.
*** updated March 5.