Questionnaire used by Mumbai Diocese for the Family Synod in Rome

Family Synod 2015 | Survey Questionnaire

Pope Francis has asked the faithful to suggest different ways in which the Church can provide better pastoral care to the families. This questionnaire has been designed to gather your opinion about solutions to the challenges that our families face today.

Please select the appropriate answer for each question. Legend: Yes (Y), No (N), or Don’t Know (DK).

 
1. By ensuring that the parish team visits families on a regular basis.
2. By training the families to include family experiences in their prayer.
3. By organizing Family/couple retreats so they know Christian marriage corresponds to plan of God.
4. By encouraging families to participate in support groups (Marriage Encounter, SCC/BCC etc).
5. By interpreting the Bible and Church Teachings in relation to everyday family experiences.
6. By encouraging families to participate frequently in sacraments (Eucharist, Reconciliation).
7. By having parish pastoral programs that focus on the family
8. By helping couples to understand that the church recognizes the family as “Domestic Church”

B. How can the Church help spouses to strengthen their relationships and build commitment?

 
1. By providing couple centered activities to foster bonding and indissolubility
2. By providing ongoing training to learn skills to nurture relationship and commitment.
3. By making trained counselors available for couples in need.
4. By common celebrations of marriages/baptisms/anniversaries, etc.
5. By assisting couples in the initial years of their marriage to understand each other better.
6. By inviting successfully married couples to share experiences with other couples.
7. By emphasizing the permanence/vocation of marriage in programs for the youth.
8. By organizing more family fellowship functions to foster bonding within families.
9. By motivating members of family to take care of elderly and sick.

C. How can we encourage responsible Christian parenting?

 
1. By providing parenting skills to couples at different stages of their family life.
2. By creating opportunities for experience sharing for parents with children of similar ages.
3. By educating parents on how to address the doubts of a child regarding faith and values.
4. By emphasizing faith and character formation of children in their development.
5. By encouraging parents to become role models for children in living Christian values/faith.
6. By ensuring children attend faith education programs organized by the parish/diocese.
7. By encouraging parents to spend quality time with their children.

D. How can the marriage preparation / enrichment course be made meaningful and effective?

 
1. By increasing the involvement of the lay people in the preparation, implementation and evaluation of marriage preparation courses.
2. By periodically updating the course syllabus in line with the changing situations of family.
3. By ensuring that the courses are conducted by trained professionals in accordance with the recommended syllabus.
4. By educating the parents of the couple on their roles and responsibilities in promoting a healthy marital relationship.
5. By gearing parish youth programs towards marriage preparation.
6. By drawing on popular wisdom found in prevailing cultures that support natural marriages.

E. How can the Church care for those who seek annulment/divorce and those in irregular marriages?

 
1. By simplifying the process of annulment.
2. By providing judicial vicars assistance for timely handling of the annulment process.
3. By setting a definite time frame for completion of the process of annulment.
4. By offering counseling/reconciliation to those who seek divorce.
5. By inviting the catholic partner in an interreligious marriage to participate in the sacramental life of the Church.
6. By allowing those in irregular marriages to participate in active life of the parish.
7. By assisting couples who live together without marriage to accept the sacrament of marriage.
8. By being more compassionate and less judgmental in our approach.
9. By parish priest/other representatives of the Church visiting couples.

F. How can the Church promote Openness to life?

 
1. By bringing in lay professionals to conduct Natural Family Programs.
2. By conducting sex education programs for youth.
3. By promoting Natural Family Planning as the only family planning method.
4. By educating people on the right to life and the evil of abortion.
5. By educating people that abortion is not a solution to unplanned pregnancy.
6. By relaxing the Church’s stand on contraception in the context of increasing abortions.
7. By encouraging couples and families to go in for adoption.
8. By promoting dialogue with science and biomedical technologies that support natural family planning.
9. By promoting pro-life groups and volunteers in the parish and the diocese.

G. How can the Church counter negative social influences?

 
1. Church should take a timely stand against social influences contrary to Christian values.
2. By educating people [children, youth, adults] to critically reflect on messages from the media and other sources.
3. By the Church involving itself actively in local issues [eg. alcoholism, dowry, domestic violence, etc.] which harm unity/harmony in the family.

H. How can the Church enhance pastoral care practices of priests/religious?

 
1. By ensuring that the priests have adequate practical skills to minister to families before they are ordained.
2. By involving laity in giving training to priests/sisters/brothers for ministering to families.
3. By organizing ongoing training programs for priests/sisters/brothers to understand and address changing family situations.
4. By making priests accountable for imparting the teachings of the Church to the lay faithful.

I. How can the Church provide pastoral care for those with homosexual tendencies?

 
1. By inviting homosexuals in the church to participate in the family organizations and movements.
2. By educating everyone to treat homosexual persons with respect and sensitivity.

Any missing aspect or additional issue/comment :

Source: http://archdioceseofbombay.org/resources/family-synod-2015-survey-questionnaire

 

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