In an astonishing piece of news, the Vatican is asking bishops around the world to ask the faithful what they they think of contraception, same-sex marriage, and divorce.

Joshua McElwee of The National Catholic Reporter writes:Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri“The Vatican has asked national bishops’ conferences around the world to conduct a wide-ranging poll of Catholics asking for their opinions on church teachings on contraception, same-sex marriage and divorce.“Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Vatican’s Synod of Bishops, asked the conferences to distribute the poll ‘immediately as widely as possible to deaneries and parishes so that input from local sources can be received.’“The poll, which comes in a questionnaire sent to national bishops’ conferences globally in preparation for a Vatican synod on the family next October, is the first time the church’s central hierarchy has asked for such input from grass-roots Catholics since at least the establishment of the synod system following the Second Vatican Council.“The upcoming synod, which Pope Francis announced earlier this month, is to be held Oct. 5-19, 2014, on the theme ‘Pastoral Challenges of the family in the context of evangelization.’ “You can read an earlier post about the announcement of the 2014 synod on marriage and family by clicking here.

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