Synod14: Cardinal Marx Calls for Individual Situations to Be Taken Seriously

Says That All Views Will Be Respected in Final Document

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During a briefing at the Holy See Press Office this afternoon, Father Federico Lombardi, German Cardinal Reinhard Marx, Msgr. Paul Pontier, and Spanish laywoman llva Myriam Hoyos Castaneda spoke on the continuing work of the Synod of Bishops. 

Cardinal Marx noted that the debate was “intense,” but “overall there was a desire to find a common road.”

During his opening remarks, Fr. Lombardi said that as the end of the synod approaches, a final report will be released tomorrow.

“Individual situations are to be taken seriously, not everything is in black and white,” said Cardinal Marx.

ZENIT asked the German prelate whether it is feasible to reach a comprehensive document including the vast discussions over the course of the week. “As you said, not everything can be found in a final document,” he said, while noting that the grand majority of the discussions will be.

Noting that while it is impossible to incorporate everything, he underscored, the “need to bring everything to a common denominator, to respect all views.”

The prelate continued, “We have a procession,” that goes three steps forward and two steps… No it’s better, three steps forward and two backward, or two steps forward and one step backward, this is the procession that we have in Germany.”

“You always go on, even if it’s only [one] step,” he summarized.

In addition, Cardinal Marx said: “We must stand next to people, who have particular circumstances;” noting that “exclusion is not part of the language of the Church.”

 “We should find a different language,” he concluded, “not one of black and white,” because “human problems are much more complex.”

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Deborah Castellano Lubov

Deborah Castellano Lubov is Senior Vatican & Rome Correspondent for ZENIT; author of 'The Other Francis' ('L'Altro Francesco') featuring interviews with those closest to the Pope and preface by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Parolin (currently published in 5 languages); Deborah is also NBC & MSNBC Vatican Analyst. She often covers the Pope's travels abroad, often from the Papal Flight (including for historic trips such as to Abu Dhabi and Japan & Thailand), and has also asked him questions on the return-flight press conference on behalf of the English-speaking press present. Lubov has done much TV & radio commentary, including for NBC, Sky, EWTN, BBC, Vatican Radio, AP, Reuters and more. She also has contributed to various books on the Pope and has written for various Catholic publications. For 'The Other Francis': http://www.gracewing.co.uk/page219.html or https://www.amazon.com/Other-Francis-Everything-They-about/dp/0852449348/

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