English lay Catholics back priests' statement affirming Church teaching on marriage
April 09, 2015
More than 500 lay Catholics in England and Wales have signed a statement of support for Church teaching on marriage, echoing a recent statement issued by Catholic priests.
“As laity, we all know from our own family experiences, or those of our friends and neighbours, the harrowing trauma of divorce and separation, and we sympathise with all those in such situations,” reads the statement, published in the Catholic Herald. The signatories, drawn from widely different groups within the Church, affirm: “We believe that the Church must continue to proclaim the truth about marriage, given us by Christ in the Gospels.”
Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster had indicated that he was not pleased with the priests’ statement, saying that the discussion on marriage leading up to the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops “is not best conducted through the press.”
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Further information:
- Five hundred lay people echo priests’ plea to stand firm on Communion for the remarried (Catholic Herald
- Cardinal Nichols instructs priests to avoid public debate on Synod issues (CWN, 3/25)
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Posted by: geoffreysmith1 -
Apr. 10, 2015 7:03 AM ET USA
"Cardinal Vincent Nichols of Westminster had indicated that he was not pleased with the priests’ statement, saying that the discussion on marriage leading up to the October meeting of the Synod of Bishops “is not best conducted through the press.” " So, what would his eminence suggest is the best way for the laity to conduct such a discussion? Write to their bishops? And have their views totally ignored, without the decency of a courteous reply? Fool me once, shame on you;...
