Bishop Larry Silva presided over the convalidation of the marriages of 12 couples June 2, 2013, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Ewa Beach. The ceremony makes valid existing unions of couples previously married “outside the church.” Here the newly-convalidated pose for a photo with the bishop and the priests and deacons of the parish. (Photo by Cameron Datanagan)
On Oct. 30, Bishop Larry Silva opened his mail to find a questionnaire from the Vatican. The survey sought the opinions of Catholics worldwide on the topic of family and married life in preparation for an extraordinary Synod of Bishops, Oct. 5-19, 2014, in Rome. Bishops were asked to distribute the document “as widely as possible to deaneries (vicariates) and parishes so that input from local sources can be received.”
Bishop Silva was one of several dozen U.S. bishops who put the survey online, inviting Catholics in the diocese to share their thoughts on the transmission and acceptance of Catholic teachings in the areas of marriage, family life, divorce, remarriage, cohabitation, same-sex unions and contraception.
In Hawaii, 308 people responded to the 39 queries, which were organized under nine topics. They included 49 priests and deacons, 97 Catholic church and school staff and 162 lay people “from the pew.” Responses came from every island and represented a wide range of ages. The questions were not always “user-friendly” or easily comprehended; nonetheless respondents gave their valuable time to share their unique perspectives.
A full summary of survey results can be found at www.catholichawaii.org.
Bishop Silva used the input from the 300-plus participants to help him craft his own 14-page response, which is the one being forwarded to Rome. The full text of Bishop Silva’s response is on pages 8-10.
The survey began by asking how well church teaching on the family was understood by today’s Catholics. Respondents more or less concluded that most Catholics are not very knowledgeable about church teachings on marriage and family.
The majority of priest respondents worried about modern secularized culture drowning out church beliefs. As one priest wrote, “The influence of secularistic mass media and communications to people post the greatest challenge to putting the church’s teaching into practice. A seven-minute Sunday homily on these teachings is nothing compared to how the mass media and social media control the minds of young people today. There is scarcity of Catholic mass media and communication to disseminate the teachings of the church.”
Respondents seemed to agree that the image of marriage and the configuration of the family are shifting realities.
One lay person wrote, “Family structures around the world have differed from the beginning of human history. Since we have a world with billions of people in it, it is no longer necessary that the essence of marriage is the biological ability to procreate. Love and care of partners is the essence of marriage.”
The changing views of marriage and family led priests to note the significant pastoral challenges they face when couples come to the church requesting marriage. They indicated that many couples are more concerned about the wedding ceremony than about the life-long commitment they are about to make.
Relationship with the church
More than 90 percent of priests and laypeople said that cohabitation outside of marriage is a pastoral reality in their parishes, as is the situation of separated, divorced and remarried couples. When it comes to their relationship with the church, one priest divided these Catholics into two categories. There are those who “simply go to Holy Communion” having “decided on their own that it doesn’t matter, that it is OK to receive.”
The second group are Catholics who are more attentive to church teachings and who experience much pain at not being admitted to the sacraments. “They feel rejected by the church and in turn reject the church themselves” was the sentiment of one lay person.
Eighty percent of the lay people did not think that there were pastoral programs in their parish for these couples.
Some survey participants favored streamlining the annulment process, but not at the expense of undermining church teaching on the permanence of the marriage bond. Several lay people even suggested moving the annulment process from the chancery to the parish setting because the pastor is the church official who best knows the couple.
Regarding same-sex unions, many survey participants referred to the recent controversy and legalization in Hawaii of same-sex marriage. It was agreed that providing pastoral attention to people living in same-sex unions is extremely difficult. 88 percent of all respondents reported that their parish does not provide pastoral attention to people living in this situation.
In the case of children of same-sex couples, most agreed that they should have the same sacramental and religious education opportunities as every other child in the parish.
Only about 20 percent of the respondents answered questions on the topic of “Humanae Vitae,” the encyclical that expressed the church’s opposition to artificial contraception. Of these, only 25 people indicated they agreed with this moral teaching.
Several lay people indicated a difficulty in not knowing or trusting the natural family planning methods which are acceptable to the church.
When asked if their parish promoted natural methods of birth control, 11 out of 20 priests responded “yes,” while only 10 out of 41 lay people reported “yes.”
To the question of how an increase in births can be promoted, four priests suggested better catechesis on church teaching, three priests said the church should become more active in family and child services, two priests indicated that financial support should be given to families and two priests suggested that social justice efforts with the world’s poor is most needed.
At the end of the survey, a general question asking for “other challenges and proposals” drew a wide range of responses.
Respondents said that the challenges facing today’s Catholic families included serious financial strain, child abuse, drug use, and a need for the church to be more vocal about its teaching.
Explained one priest: “Economic situations require both parents to work or one parent to have two or three jobs. We need to look at ways to allow families to have more time to enjoy one another.”
A diocesan employee wrote, “The most important challenge is to present the Church’s teaching on marriage and the family with confidence and joy, including those teachings that are considered ‘difficult.’”
Single voices called for women priests, voluntary celibacy for priests and the excommunication of Catholic public figures who hold positions that violate church teachings.
There were also calls for increased catechesis, the active promotion of family life, more engagement between pastors and parishioners, more challenging homilies, and the encouragement of lay leadership.
Kristina M. DeNeve, Ph.D., is the Coordinator of Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Honolulu. She collated the general responses to the Vatican survey, which can be found at www.catholichawaii.org.
