Summary of Second Week of Synod

VATICAN CITY –  As the second week of the synod draws to a close (Oct 11-17), it remains to be seen what the final product from the global meeting of bishops will be.  The Synod on the Family, which gathers bishops from around the world for a three-week meeting in Rome, builds upon a previous gathering last year.

The final document from last year, known as the Instrumentum Laboris, serves as this year’s starting point.  However, nearly all of the bishops’ small groups (by language) this year have asked for a substantial rewriting of the second part of the Instrumentum Laboris.  As a result, it is not yet clear what the final report from this year’s meeting will say.

The drafting committee for the synod’s final report met Oct 14 in order to harmonise all the ‘modi’ (amendments) the groups proposed for the working document.  At the moment, it is still unclear what the final report will look like; it is possible that it will be an amended version of the working document, or it could be a brand new text.  Eleven out of thirteen small groups advanced requests for a substantial rewriting of the second part of the working document, titled “The Family and the Socio-Economic Context.”

Almost all of the small groups asked that the document include more abundant references to the Holy Scriptures.  One of them went further, and formally asked for a magisterial document about the Church’s teaching on the family.  All these concerns will be analysed by the drafting committee for the final report.  Composed by ten people appointed by the pope, the drafting committee is called to harmonise all the amendments presented–some 700 amendments received–in a new text that will be submitted for the synod’s approval. – CNA/EWTN News