Perth Catholics are being encouraged to take part in the Church’s global questionnaire on the challenges facing the family today.
Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has encouraged all Perth parishes, Archdiocesan agencies, Catholic groups and individuals to consider participating.
Pope Francis has invited every diocese in the world to complete the questionnaire, with some Australian dioceses, such as Melbourne, Parramatta and Sydney, commencing earlier this month.
The information collected will form the basis of discussion at an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops that Pope Francis has called to take place in the Vatican in October next year.
The theme of the Synod will be pastoral challenges of the family in the context of evangelisation.
Director of Catholic Marriage and Fertility Services in Perth Derek Boylen told The Record the 39-question survey, which covers topics such as marriage, divorce, annulment, same-sex unions and natural family planning, was a fantastic initiative.
“What people need to understand is that the aim of the Synod is to explore how do we respond more pastorally to people who are in different and difficult family situations,” he said.
“It’s not a Synod about changing or reviewing the Church’s teaching when it comes to ethical and moral issues, but rather how do we, as a faith community, respond in a more loving and gentle way to people who have various family challenges and marriage difficulties.”
Questions examine the challenges of various family situations, such as the following: In the case of unions of persons of the same sex who have adopted children, what can be done pastorally in light of transmitting the faith?
Mr Boylen said there are a number of important pastoral challenges facing the family today that the questionnaire seeks views on.
“Over the last few generations we’ve seen a move from the traditional family being the predominant model of family in our community to really a diverse array of different family types,” he said.
“Cohabitation is obviously a huge issue, particularly with about 80 per cent of couples today in Australia who are cohabiting.
“Contraception – the prevalence of it in our community and its effect on marriage and family life – and dual working families… that’s a small number of the big pastoral challenges.”
Responses need to be submitted by December 9, after which they will be forwarded to the Australian Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ACBC). The ACBC will then prepare a national response to forward to Rome.
Mr Boylen said he strongly encouraged Perth Catholics to complete the questionnaire.
“Here is an opportunity to really be a part of the development of the Church’s approach to responding to pastoral needs of families,” he said.
“Everyone comes from a family, so I think everyone in some way has something to contribute to this discussion.”
Catholics interested in participating are asked to read a preparatory document that includes an overview of topics relevant to the questionnaire.
To read the preparatory document and participate in the questionnaire via mail or email visit: www.perthcatholic.org.au.
The online survey can be accessed at www.surveymonkey.com/s/PerthFamily. For more information contact Derek Boylen on 92415000 or derek.cmfs@perthcatholic.org.au.