Faith News: October 5-19, 2014 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family

The third Extraordinary Synod of Bishops in the history of the Church is meeting at the Vatican this October!  An "extraordinary" synod takes place when a Pope calls for a group of Bishops to work on a matter of urgent concern.  Typically, the number is no more than 200 and the work is more streamlined than that of an ordinary Synod of Bishops. 
In this case, 114 presidents of national Bishop's Conferences around the world (including the President of the United States' Conference of Catholic Bishops [USCCB]), 13 heads of Eastern Catholic Churches, 38 observers, and 16 experts will be in attendance.   Along with the USCCB president Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, the Byzantine Archbishop William C. Skurla of Pittsburgh, Cardinal Timothy Dolan of NY, Cardinal Donald Wuerl of Washington, and Cardinal Raymond Burke of the Supreme Court of the Apostolic Signature will be representing the United States.  Also attending will be a Wisconsin couple who will have the duty of being lay auditors and share their insights in small groups with other couples, and they will also address the synod's general assembly regarding how they live out the faith as a married couple. 
This Synod will deal with the family in the modern world and the challenges which it faces.  Some of the issues which are under attack to families throughout the world include:  In the West:  the "contraceptive culture, abortion, redefinition of marriage, rampant consumerism, domestic violence.  In the East, challenges include:  the struggle to find food, drinkable water and decent work, a lack of adequate places to worship, fleeing from war or terrorists, the fight against disease, political and religious instability. ... [while] challenges [found] worldwide include:  the fight against poverty, young people lacking the optimism to start a family, families broken up by divorce, infidelity, pornography and other forms of addiction."  (Our Sunday Visitor, September 28, 2014  Challenges,  p. 10)
What an exciting time for the families of the world!