Dear  

Reminder to speak up: two surveys on family issues:

Pope Francis says he wants to listen to lay people on sex and the family, so that is about as good an invitation to speak up as we could get. It is about the Synod on the Family in October 2015. 

Has your pastor or parish staff urged you to go to the Archdiocesan website  to tell the hierarchs how they can be more supportive of healthy family life? The bishops will address the issues of contraception, divorce and remarriage, same-gender relationships, and living together before marriage.

Does preaching a high moral standard under pain of sin and shame help people to form healthy intimate relationships or does it prevent them from forming them? How many social ills - abuse, alcoholism, depression, crime, loneliness - are caused by unhealthy emotional development? How basic is sexuality to emotional development?

The Vatican survey questions cast some doubt on whether the bishops actually want information from the people, but there is plenty of room to type in what you think even if the question is not clear to you. CCCR/Council of the Baptized are assured by the Archdiocesan staff that our answers will be submitted. DEADLINE: MARCH 10.

After you have done that survey, click here and you will find an easier survey we urge you to take too. It is sponsored by Catholic Church Reform International (CCRI) and this data will get to the bishops of the Synod also. DEADLINE: APRIL 15.

Done the surveys?  Next step?

CCCR/Council of the Baptized is asking what we can do in our own local church, this Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, to promote healthy psycho-social development in families. First, how big is the problem? Write your story to post on the CCCR website. Post it here.

Besides answering surveys and sharing your stories, there are other actions you can take in CCCR/Council of the Baptized's campaign to raise awareness of the sexual issues that help and hinder families. The list is here .

Email us at [email protected] if you can host a listening session of your friends or host a discussion of our position paper: Toward a Healthy Christian Theology of Sexuality.

Bulletin Board

Sex Education in Schools?

In your experience where does the sex education of elementary school children take place?  Does your parish support parents in the task of sex education? Do you know of any good programs in schools? What should be done? Let us know what you think by emailing  [email protected].

AND KEEP INVITING NEW REGISTRANTS FOR THE LAY NETWORK!  Registration at www.cccrmn.org.  We are up to 1601. 

Thanks from all of us at CCCR and Council of the Baptized