Card. Kasper proposes midway of ‘rigorism’ and ‘laxism’ for Family
Vatican City, 11 March 2014: The Gospel of the Family is the title of a book, to be
published this week in German and Italian. It features the reflection with which Cardinal
Walter Kasper introduced the forthcoming Synod on the family to cardinals gathered
with Pope Francis at February’s consistory.
In an interview with Vatican Radio,
Cardinal Kasper said: my main intention was not to speak about divorced and remarried
people but to speak about the Gospel of the family. I think the majority of young
people want stable relationships, want to live in a family and therefore the Church
has to help them so I wanted to build up a new, better, more deeper understanding
of family life.
Then I spoke also about the situation when people fail with
their family life and the Church has to be close to them, to help, support and encourage
them and there my proposal (was) to find a way between ‘rigorism’ (strictness) – which
cannot be the way of normal Christians – and a pure ‘laxism’ (leniency) I think this
can be the only approach of the Church today.
I maintain the full teaching
of the Church but the teaching has to be applied to concrete situations, as Jesus
did it and as Pope Francis does it very often. The doctrine of the Church is not an
ideology in the clouds but God wants to be present, close to his people.
It’s
obvious if you see the answers to the questionnaire of the secretariat of the synod
to see that there is a difficulty, an abyss….so the Church has to bridge this abyss.
It does not mean pure appeasement policies, but the Church must explain in a new way
what is family and matrimony in order to help people and at the same time remain faithful
to the Gospel.
I do not like to speak of revolution….there were doctrines of
the Holy Office before the (Vatican) Council against ecumenism, yet the Council found
a way not to destroy or negate the doctrine, but to find ways to interpret it in an
adequate way….and I ask myself why it could not be possible also with other doctrines.
Blessed
John Henry Newman wrote a famous essay on listening to the faithful in matters of
faith. Therefore we have to listen to people living family life – not just listen
to people living in celibacy – both belong to the people of God, but the great majority
are not these people.Source: VR Eng