German and Swiss Bishops publish first results of Vatican family life survey

The German and Swiss Catholic Bishops Conferences are the first to publish initial analyses of last year's Vatican questionnaire, sent to dioceses around the world in preparation for the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops 2014.

The German bishops' report, published in German, English and Italian, praises the participants in the survey. They said: "Despite the linguistic style of the questions, which many criticised as being difficult to understand, many individuals and bodies have taken the initiative themselves and have studied the preparatory document for the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops and sent to the dioceses their responses to the questions which it contains."

They write: "All in all, this summary is based on broad participation on the part of the baptised. The commitment which was developed over this short period, both on the part of the individuals involved and of the institutions which dealt with the analysis and systematisation, is considerable. This demonstrates, firstly, the fundamental relevance of the overall topic for life and, secondly, that people have a great deal of interest in contributing their personal ideas and assessments to the preparation of the Synod."

Both the German and Swiss reports show considerable differences between church teaching on marriage and sexuality, and the personal beliefs of practicing Catholics who filled out the survey.

The German report said that a divergence was seen "above all when it comes to pre-marital cohabitation, (the status of the) divorced and remarried, birth control and homosexuality."

"Most of the baptized have an image of the church that, on the one hand, is family friendly in its attitude, whilst at the same time considering her sexual morality to be unrealistic," it said.

Both reports said Catholics in their countries accept the church's vision of marriage as a life-long union of a man and a woman open to having children, and hope to realize that vision in their own family. However, the German dioceses reported that "'pre-marital unions' are not only a relevant pastoral reality, but one which is almost universal," since between 90 percent and 100 percent of couples who seek a Catholic wedding are already living together, despite church teaching that sex outside of marriage is sinful.

Much of the German summary is concerned with issues related to divorced and remarried Catholics, many of whom still actively participate in their parishes. But the Bishops write: "Divorce and remarrying frequently lead to a process of becoming distant from the church or of widening the existing gap," the German bishops reported. "Many no longer wish to be associated with an institution which they regard as unforgiving."

One third of marriages in Germany end in divorce, the report says, mentioned that Catholic marriages are only "somewhat more stable than average."

Both surveys found found that most respondents rejected or ignored Church teaching on contraception.

The German bishops said Catholics accepted civil partnerships for same-sex couples as a matter of justice.

To read the German summary in English, see: www.dbk.de/fileadmin/redaktion/diverse_downloads/presse_2014/2014-012b-ENG-Fragebogen-Die-patoralen-Herausforderungen-der-Familie.pdf

The Swiss report (in German, French and Italian) can be read here: www.bischoefe.ch/dokumente/communiques/umfrage-zur-familienpastoral-ergebnisse