Spirituality: Update on the Synod - October 6th

I will give a thumbnail sketch on major issues that have an effect on the Synod on Synodality that began earlier this week.

 

New Cardinals

 

First, let’s start with Sunday’s big news. Pope Francis is creating 21 new cardinals on December 8^th. He will have appointed 80% of the Cardinals that can vote for a Pope. 

 

By December 8^th, 112 Cardinals will have been named by Pope Francis, 23 by Pope Benedict XVI and 5 by Pope John Paul II. He has cemented his legacy by moving the church to its peripheries. The new cardinal-electors hail from six continents around the world, including bishops from Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Africa, and Iran. Eleven will go to bishops and priests from religious orders.

 

Among the most notable names is Dominican Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, the former master of the Dominican order. Radcliffe, 79, was effectively exiled from Vatican circles under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, but his emphasis on pastoral theology has been elevated by Francis, who invited the Dominican friar to lead the spiritual retreats for both the 2023 and 2024 Synod on Synodality. 

 

Closest to us is Archbishop Francis Leo of Toronto, Canada. The relatively unknown 53-year-old was tapped to lead Canada's largest diocese in 2023 and is considered among one of the pope's most significant legacy appointments in North America.

 

The Pope’s Trips to Asia

 

1. The Pope still has lots of energy. This pope is not ready to step down.
2. He had substantive conversations with scores of ecclesial as well as political leaders.
3. Huge crowds flocked to see the Pope. In Catholic East Timor, it is estimated half the country attended his Mass.
4. The pope brought a pastoral message of comfort and challenge to Catholics in Asia, who are a small minority often subject to persecution. In Muslim-majority Indonesia, where Catholics are only about 3% of the population, the government officially tolerates all religions, but some areas enforce Islamic law. To be able to gather in large numbers to pray with the pope and celebrate the Eucharist allows these Catholics to feel the support of the worldwide church. As a pastor, the pope made a special effort to meet with children and the marginalized. These folks are always close to the pope’s heart. 
5. He also challenges Catholics to spread the gospel, the good news of God’s love for all people and our responsibility to care for one another.
6. The pope brought a message of interreligious dialogue and cooperation. He meets with leaders of other faiths to foster trust and connection. Dialogue is essential.
7. Francis told Indonesian leaders, calling it “indispensable for meeting common challenges, including that of countering extremism and intolerance.” They signed a joint declaration, “Fostering Religious Harmony for the Sake of Humanity,” calling for cooperation in the fight against dehumanization and climate change. He called for the “defense of human dignity, the fight against poverty and the promotion of peace.”
8. In Singapore, (Christians, Hindus, and Sikhs) “All religions are a journey leading to God. They are, to make a comparison, like different languages, different idioms, to get there. But God is for everyone. And since God is God for everyone, we are all children of God.”
9. The pope joined his voice with residents of island nations suffering from climate change, where islands face an existential threat.
10. Francis never forgets the poor and marginalized. Francis placed special emphasis on “protecting the dignity of migrant workers” who “contribute a great deal to society and should be guaranteed a fair wage.” In Papua New Guinea, where half the women report being raped, Francis advocated for the rights of women and their need for protection. 
11. At the conclusion of his trip, the Pope told Catholic voters in the United States to follow their consciences in the upcoming presidential election. Regarding issues that Catholics should consider, he mentioned abortion and the treatment of migrants, stating that both are against life.

 

 

October 7^th

 

The members of the Synod fasted and prayed for peace in the Middle East, calling for a return of hostages, cessation to killing, and an enduring peace.

 

The Retreat preceding the Synod

 

Fr. Timothy Radcliffe (now Cardinal-elect) opened the proceedings with a retreat for the participants as he did last October. 

 

Opening Remarks

 

Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General: “The Synod is essentially a school of discernment: it is the Church gathered with Peter to discern together. A synodal Church is a proposal for today's society: discernment is the fruit of a mature exercise of synodality as a style and a method. Ecclesial discernment can be a challenge and an example for any type of assembly that must find in the mutual listening of its members the golden rule for the search for truth and the common good”.

 

Ten Study Groups

 

There are ten study groups in addition to specific commissions tasked with analyzing specific topics. The Pope sent the more controversial issues to committees to report back to him in 2025 after the synod had concluded.

 

1. A pastoral approach to Polygamists in various African countries
2. The Role of Women and Female Diaconate
3. The Cry of the Poor; the cry of the earth; the plight of women
4. Eastern Churches devastated by war
5. Digital and the Proclamation of the Gospel
6. Petrine Primacy in an Ecumenical Framework
7. The relationship between people and pastors
8. Consecrated life and communion
9. Synodal review of the ‘Ratio’ for priests
10. A new way of working for Nuncios

 

 

Some of the topics discussed were controversial: women deacons, the church’s ministry to LGBTQ+ Catholics, priestly formation, the selection of bishops and the role of the laity in the church. Though the synod presumed these topics would come back to them at their next session with more information and analysis, the committees will only give interim reports to the synod in October.

 

For the pope, the heart of the synod was the listening and discerning the direction of the Spirit. He now wants this session of the synod to focus on how to make the church more synodal in parishes, dioceses, episcopal conferences and internationally.

 

The pope’s goal is to make the church more consultative, more synodal. He disdains clericalism and wants to increase the role of the laity in the mission and governance of the church. He wants the bishops and priests to understand that they are servants of the people of God, and he wants the laity to understand their role in evangelization.

 

This year’s session will follow the same methodology of “Conversations in the Spirit” as the first session. During this session, the pope wants the delegates to focus on the topic of synodality rather than on controversial topics. 

 

• How can the church become more synodal on the parish, diocesan, national and international level? 
• How can the church be more consultative, more listening and less clerical? 
• How can the church listen to the Spirit and follow where it is leading us? 
• How can the laity become more involved in the mission of Jesus?

 

The synod office announced in March the formation of an additional five working groups to address topics such as the role of bishops, decentralization in the church, and how to inject synodality in church structures, theology and mission. 

 

The topics being studied by the committees include 

1. ecumenical dialogue, 
2. the formation of priests, 
3. the role of bishops and papal representatives, 
4. theological questions on ministries and 
5. “controversial doctrinal, pastoral and ethical questions.” Women deacons will be studied under the rubric of “ministries,” while LGBTQ+ issues will be studied under the rubric of “the circular relationship between doctrine and pastoral care.” 
6. The document suggested creating new spaces where women may share their skills and insights, allowing for more women in decision-making roles, expanding the roles and responsibility of religious women and increasing the leadership of women in seminaries and church tribunals.

 

Responses

 

The conservative response to the first session of the synod was negative warning that the church is not a democracy and feared that the role of the hierarchy was being diminished.

 

Progressives were ecstatic about the involvement of the laity and the openness of discussion. They praised the roundtable format and the conversations in the Spirit, although they would have preferred letting members to speak freely about their experience.