Day 1 of the synod

- Introductory Report of the Synod on the Family

On Day One of Synod 2015, conservatives strike first That strike was dealt by Hungarian Cardinal Péter Erdő, the man chosen to guide the synod's work.

[...] In his 7,000-word opening address on Monday morning, intended to set the tone for the synod’s work, Erdő seemed determined to close a series of doors that many people believed the last synod had left open — beginning with the controversial proposal of German Cardinal Walter Kasper to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to return to Communion. That Communion ban, Erdő insisted, is not an “arbitrary prohibition” but “intrinsic” to the nature of marriage as a permanent union. Mercy, he said, doesn’t just offer the possibility of forgiveness, it also “demands conversion.” ...

The progressives like Kasper want to have divorced/remarried people take communion based on the idea of being merciful. The conservatives will almost certainly not allow this to become an accepted MO.

Some believe the problem will be solved by the Pope having made annulments cheaper and less complicated, but as I mentioned earlier, most people don't decide not to get annulments because they cost too much or because they are complicated .... many people just don't want to embrace the fiction that their failed marriage was never really a marriage at all.

What will not come up at the synod is any re-examination of what Jesus said and meant about divorce. I fear that the synod will end up keeping things as they now are.