Cardinal Vincent Nichols spoke at a press briefing regarding the discussions that had taken place at the synod on the family so far. The briefing was led by Fr Lombardi, the Director of the Vatican Press Office, at Sala Stampa della Santa Sede with Cardinal Boutros al-Rahi also in attendance.
After giving updates on which areas had been discussed at the synod, Cardinal Vincent responded to questions from the press on a wide variety of areas. When asked about the discussions on the 'law of graduality', he stated that it was 'a law of pastoral moral theology which permits and encourages people to take one step at a time in our search for holiness in our lives'.
Other questions focused on the change of language that is used to refer to family. Cardinal Vincent emphasised that a more thoughtful discussion of the importance of the family is needed to overcome problems with language.
Cardinal Vincent said that there was a real sense of open sharing and walking together in the synod hall. He highlighted the importance and value of the testimonies given by married people at the beginning of each session before the testimonies of the synod fathers. This reflects the importance of involving married couples in the synod, and grounding discussion in the reality of married life.
The press briefing is available to watch here:
