Conservative cardinals Fear ‘pre-cooked’ deals
Prelates write to pope expressing Concern
on liberal declarations emerging at gathering
By Paddy Agnew in Irish TimesSouth African cardinal Wilfred Napier, said a paper calling for greater inclusivity towards homosexuals had been published at last year’s synod without prior knowledge of many. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
(Note: It is better that the synod go through all kinds of confusion, infights and heart burns, even noisy angry shouting debates in order to come out solving all disagreement and united in one noble vision to be implemented to everyone’s benefit. Ultimately it is the principle of UN: It is better that fighting factions, promoters of conflicting ideologies and warring nations sit facing each other in a conference hall to shout at each other than to shoot at each other on the battle field. That is also the way the Divine domesticates fighting factions in the church to become humanely human. james kottoor, editor)
Senior conservative cardinals have complained that efforts are being made at the Synod of Bishops in Rome to guarantee liberal-sounding “pre-cooked” policy declarations emerge from the gathering.
A letter to Pope Francis, signed by up to nine cardinals, expressed concern about “procedural processes”, saying that interim papers in the past had not always properly reflected the discussions.Speaking to The Irish Times, one of the signatories, South African cardinal Wilfred Napier,
Suspicions:“Things like that worry one . . . and if the thrust was in the same direction this time, then one would have to have some concerns about how accurately [the final message] is going to reflect what is actually being said in the synod. “Certainly, no one must have the suspicions of last time, namely that the final message has been pre-cooked and we are just South African cardinal Wilfred Napier, said a paper calling for greater inclusivity towards homosexuals had been published at last year’s synod without prior knowledge of many. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
In their letter, released on Monday on the website of Sandro Magister, an Italian religious affairs journalist closely linked to conservatives, the cardinals expressed their concern that the “new process seems designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions”.Besides Cardinal Napier, the letter to the pope is believed to have been signed by Italian Carlo Caffarra, Canadian Thomas Collins, North American Timothy Dolan, Dutchman Willem Eijk, German Gerhard Müller, Australian George Pell, Guinean Robert Sarah and Venezuelan Jorge Urosa Savino.
First published: Tue, Oct 13, 2015
