A Catholic Register census of Canadian diocesan web sites found 13 of the 69 dioceses that have web sites have posted the Vatican’s questions about family life. The Vatican sent the questions to the world’s bishops with a request that they consult “as widely as possible” on Oct. 18.

Four of Canada’s 73 Catholic dioceses have no web site.

Bishops’ conferences around the world have taken varying approaches to the Vatican’s call for wide consultation. In England and Wales the national bishops’ conference posted the 39 questions online, using the SurveyMonkey web site. This led to news stories about the Vatican surveying the world’s Catholics on contraception, same-sex marriage, unmarried couples who live together, divorce and remarriage.

In Canada, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops left decisions about how to consult the laity up to individual bishops.
The American bishops’ conference similarly left the decision up to individual dioceses, resulting in 23 per cent of U.S. dioceses (46 of 195) posting some form of the questions online.

There’s no requirement that bishops post the questions online and no restriction on Catholics submitting their responses to their bishop, whether they find the questions on their diocesan web site or not. The Catholic Register has posted the questions on its web site (see below).

Among those submitting their views, whether their bishops have asked or not, are members of the Catholic Women’s League. National president Betty Anne Brown Davidson has been urging CWL members to make their views known.

“When I first heard about this extraordinary synod on the family, I immediately got in touch with our standing committee chair for Christian family life and I said, ‘Let’s get this document and let’s give input to our bishops through the CCCB, whether they want it or not,’ ” said Brown Davidson. “We live the reality of family life.”

When the British bishops posted the questions in late October, Archbishop Lorenzo Baldisseri, Vatican secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, signalled his approval for the online questionnaire. Again in December, Baldissari said bishops should go beyond the usual consultations when preparing their submissions.

“The consultation must gather information from the grass roots, and not limit itself to the level of the curia or other institutions,” said Baldisseri. “Though involved in the process, they must co-operate by addressing themselves to the faithful, to communities, to associations and other bodies.”

Canada’s bishops must have their submissions in to the bishops’ conference by the end of this month. The CCCB must boil down the 73 responses to a single submission to the Synod of Bishops by Jan. 31.

Online responses to the questionnaire would not be equivalent to a scientific survey of Catholic opinion and understanding. The self-selected group that chooses to work its way through the 39 questions would not be identical with Catholics at large.

Cardinal Peter Erdo, the synod’s relator charged with synthesizing the submissions of bishops, said opinion surveys will not be the basis for any decisions.

“Certainly the doctrine of the magisterium must be the basis of the common reasoning of the synod,” he told reporters in November. “It is not a question of public opinion.”

The extraordinary synod is a challenge to the way things have been done since Pope Paul VI began calling periodic synods on specific questions, said Saint Paul University theologian Catherine Clifford.

“We haven’t cultivated very well within the Church what I have called the habits of dialogue,” said Clifford. “Just as an example, when Pope Francis and the Synod of Bishops asked bishops to consult as widely as possible at the level of deaneries and parishes, we have so little experience of that. We don’t have effective structures for carrying out that or creating space for those kinds of conversations.”

How the Church knows and understands itself from the point of view of the faithful is one of the most profound challenges in Pope Francis’ recent apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, said CCCB president Archbishop Paul-André Durocher.

“The Pope speaks to us of a pastoral conversation,” Durocher said. “There needs to be a pastoral conversation. In that sense, that conversation has to make its way to the hearts of all the faithful.”

The extraordinary synod will gather about 150 bishops from around the world — presidents of conferences of bishops, heads of Eastern Catholic Churches and heads of major Vatican offices — Oct. 5 to 19. The extraordinary synod will be followed by a larger ordinary synod, again addressing questions around family life, in 2015.

A major part of the preparation for the 2014 Extraordinary Synod on the Family involves the following questionnaire from the Vatican that has been distributed to bishops around the world.

The following series of questions allows particular parishes to participate actively in the preparation of the Extraordinary Synod, whose purpose is to proclaim the Gospel in the context of the pastoral challenges facing the family today.

1. The Diffusion of the Teachings on the Family in Sacred Scripture and the Church’s Magisterium
a) Describe how the Catholic Church’s teachings on the value of the family contained in the Bible, Gaudium et spes, Familiaris consortio and other documents of the post-conciliar Magisterium is understood by people today? What formation is given to our people on the Church’s teaching on family life?
b) In those cases where the Church's teaching is known, is it accepted fully or are there difficulties in putting it into practice? If so, what are they?
c) How widespread is the Church's teaching in pastoral programmes at the national, diocesan and parish levels? What catechesis is done on the family?
d ) To what extent — and what aspects in particular —  is this teaching actually known, accepted, rejected and/or criticized in areas outside the Church? What are the cultural factors which hinder the full reception of the Church’s teaching on the family?

2. Marriage according to the Natural Law
a) What place does the idea of the natural law have in the cultural areas of society: in institutions, education, academic circles and among the people at large? What anthropological ideas underlie the discussion on the natural basis of the family?
b) Is the idea of the natural law in the union between a man and a woman commonly accepted as such by the baptized in general?
c) How is the theory and practice of natural law in the union between man and woman challenged in light of the formation of a family? How is it proposed and developed in civil and Church institutions?
d) In cases where non-practicing Catholics or declared non-believers request the celebration of marriage, describe how this pastoral challenge is dealt with?

3. The Pastoral Care of the Family in Evangelization
a) What experiences have emerged in recent decades regarding marriage preparation? What efforts are there to stimulate the task of evangelization of the couple and of the family? How can an awareness of the family as the "domestic Church" be promoted?
b) How successful have you been in proposing a manner of praying within the family which can withstand life’s complexities and today’s culture?
c) In the current generational crisis, how have Christian families been able to fulfill their vocation of transmitting the faith?
d) In what way have the local Churches and movements on family spirituality been able to create ways of acting which are exemplary?
e) What specific contribution can couples and families make to spreading a credible and  holistic idea of the couple and the Christian family today?
f) What pastoral care has the Church provided in supporting couples in formation and couples in crisis situations?

4. Pastoral Care in Certain Difficult Marital Situations
a) Is cohabitation ad experimentum a pastoral reality in your particular Church? Can you  approximate a percentage?
b) Do unions which are not recognized either religiously or civilly exist? Are reliable statistics available?
c) Are separated couples and those divorced and remarried a pastoral reality in your particular Church? Can you approximate a percentage? How do you deal with this situation in appropriate pastoral programmes?
d) In all the above cases, how do the baptized live in this irregular situation? Are aware of it? Are they simply indifferent? Do they feel marginalized or suffer from the impossibility of receiving the sacraments?
e) What questions do divorced and remarried people pose to the Church concerning the Sacraments of the Eucharist and of Reconciliation? Among those persons who find themselves in these situations, how many ask for these sacraments?
f ) Could a simplification of canonical practice in recognizing a declaration of nullity of the marriage bond provide a positive contribution to solving the problems of the persons involved? If yes, what form would it take?
g) Does a ministry exist to attend to these cases? Describe this pastoral ministry? Do such programmes exist on the national and diocesan levels? How is God’s mercy proclaimed to separated couples and those divorced and remarried and how does the Church put into practice her support  for them in their journey of faith?

5. On Unions of Persons of the Same Sex
a) Is there a law in your country recognizing civil unions for people of the same-sex and equating it in some way to marriage?
b) What is the attitude of the local and particular Churches towards both the State as the promoter of civil unions between persons of the same sex and the people involved in this type of union?
c) What pastoral attention can be given to people who have chosen to live in these types of union?
d) In the case of unions of persons of the same sex who have adopted children, what can be done pastorally in light of transmitting the faith?

6. The Education of Children in Irregular Marriages
a) What is the estimated proportion of children and adolescents in these cases, as regards children who are born and raised in regularly constituted families?
b) How do parents in these situations approach the Church? What do they ask? Do they request the sacraments only or do they also want catechesis and the general teaching of religion?
c) How do the particular Churches attempt to meet the needs of the parents of these children to provide them with a Christian education?
d) What is the sacramental practice in these cases: preparation, administration of the sacrament and the accompaniment?

7. The Openness of the Married Couple to Life
a) What knowledge do Christians have today of the teachings of Humanae vitae on responsible parenthood? Are they aware of how morally to evaluate the different methods of family planning? Could any insights be suggested in this regard pastorally?
b) Is this moral teaching accepted? What aspects pose the most difficulties in a large majority of couple’s accepting this teaching?
c) What natural methods are promoted by the particular Churches to help spouses put into practice the teachings of Humanae vitae?
d) What is your experience on this subject in the practice of the Sacrament of Penance and participation at the Eucharist?
e) What differences are seen in this regard between the Church’s teaching and civic education?
f) How can a more open attitude towards having children be fostered? How can an increase in births be promoted?

8. The Relationship Between the Family and the Person
a) Jesus Christ reveals the mystery and vocation of the human person. How can the family be a privileged place for this to happen?
b) What critical situations in the family today can obstruct a person’s encounter with Christ?
c) To what extent do the many crisis of faith which people can experience affect family life?

9. Other Challenges and Proposals
What other challenges or proposals related to the topics in the above questions do you consider urgent and useful to treat?