The Synod in Rome...

...cannot change God's plan for marriage and family or the Church's duty to live and teach it.  So I share the frustratiion of Synod Fathers at the antics of those who are trying to campaign for such changes or who are posturing about such changes by talking about "pastoral care" or schemes to pretend that one group of bishops in a particular place can make arrangements that run counter to Church teaching. 

Among courageous and forthroight speakers at the Synod are some notable Americans including Archbishop Charles Chaput and Bishop Robert Barron. Thank God for them.  A good analysis and comment on the latest events at the Synod can be found here.

The European church-and-state model that still lingers in the financial arrangements made for the Church in Germany is proving to be a weakness: the American experience seems to have been productive of more robust teaching, more freedom to be wholly and unreservedly devoted to Christ's call...