Instrumentum Laboris 2024: The Leveling of the Church

An image of the Church according to Francis
The two previous articles about the 2024 Instrumentum laboris (IL) allowed us to discover a certain reorientation of the process.
The shift at the Vatican is taking place in the scope of synodality, which is now extended to the whole Church, and no longer, as has always been the case, only to bishops or even priests. This is still Francis’ conception of the idea on June 13, 2013, in his Address to Members of the 13th Ordinary Council of the General Secretary of the Synod of Bishops.
In this last speech in fact, the Pope sees the Synod as an instrument at the service of collegiality, “to encourage deeper dialogue and collaboration between Bishops, and between them and the Bishop of Rome.”
The elements are put into place: 1) the “journeying together”; 2) the infallibility of the Flock, which comes from the sensus fidei, that the Pope translates as the faithful’s “instinctive ability” of discernment, hence the need to consult them in the synodal process; 3) listening is placed at the center of the process; 4) the image of the “inverted pyramid,” and the denial of any superiority in the Church; and 5) the three levels of exercise of synodality: local, then ecclesiastical provinces and regions, and finally the universal Church.
The power in the Church is threefold. The principal one is the power of sanctification which depends immediately on the power of order: it is accomplished principally through the administration of sacraments.
But this sanctification must be accomplished within the framework of a government capable of directing the faithful and instructing them: it is the power of jurisdiction which is divided into the power of jurisdiction in the strict sense, which carries laws and commandments to guide wills, and the power of teaching or Magisterium, to guide intelligences.
It must also be remembered that this latter power is guaranteed, in certain circumstances, by infallibility, which can be found in the Pope when he speaks ex cathedra, in the ordinary and universal Magisterium of the bishops or in the ecumenical council, when it provides definitions.
In the synodal Church, the entire People of God, including the faithful, are endowed with the three powers in ways that overturn the divine constitution of the Church.
Francis has taken up the classic formula of “infallible in credendo,” already distorted by Vatican II. In itself, it means that the faithful, if they adhere to the teaching of their pastors, are infallible in their belief.
But the Council had explained that the People of God are not mistaken, “even though it may not find words to explain that faith”—in other words, independently of their pastors. The Pope has largely taken up this idea in his 2015 text.
As for the power of government, it has found its formula in the “co-responsibility” which seeks to divide it between all the members of the Church. Certainly, it may be associated with the adjective “differentiated,” doubtless to show a difference between the members of the hierarchy and the faithful, but it is indeed a division. Several proposals which are to be discussed at the October session of the Synod are very clear on this subject.
Finally, the power of order and sanctification is leveled by the repeated affirmation of the equality of all the faithful in baptism. Certainly, but some members have received priestly ordination or episcopal consecration. Synodality proposes to reconsider the sacrament of orders as a whole, and to seek to divide certain powers that it possesses: the proposal is explicit in the IL.
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Un renversement des pouvoirs
Dans l’Eglise synodale, le Peuple de Dieu tout entier, comprenant les fidèles, se voit doté des trois pouvoirs selon des modalités qui renversent la divine constitution de l’Eglise.
François a repris la formule classique « infaillible dans la croyance », déjà détournée par Vatican II. En soi, elle signifie que les fidèles, s’ils adhèrent à l’enseignement de leurs pasteurs, sont infaillibles dans leur croyance.
Mais le Concile avait expliqué que le Peuple de Dieu ne se trompe pas « même s’il ne trouve pas les paroles pour exprimer sa foi », autrement dit, indépendamment des pasteurs. Le Pape a largement repris cette idée dans son texte de 2015.
Quant au pouvoir de gouvernement, il a trouvé sa formule dans la « coresponsabilité » qui veut le répartir entre tous les membres de l’Eglise. Certes, il est parfois associé à l’adjectif « différenciée », sans doute pour manifester une différence entre les membres de la hiérarchie et les fidèles, mais il s’agit bien d’une division. Plusieurs propositions qui doivent être discutées à la session d’octobre du synode sont d’ailleurs très claires à ce sujet.
Enfin, le pouvoir d’ordre et de sanctification est nivelé par l’affirmation répétée de l’égalité de tous les fidèles dans le baptême. Certes, mais certains membres ont reçu l’ordination sacerdotale ou le sacre épiscopal. La synodalité propose de reconsidérer le sacrement de l’ordre dans un ensemble, et de chercher à répartir certains pouvoirs qu’il possède : la proposition est explicite dans l’IL.
Ainsi, la synodalité réalise un nivellement, un aplatissement des pouvoirs de l’Eglise et de l’Eglise elle-même.
Une Eglise synodale en marche
Ces faits sont déjà très graves, mais de plus, il n’est pas possible de savoir où la machine s’arrêtera. Par définition, une Eglise synodale doit être en marche. Mais vers quel but défini ? Le Pape dit qu’il faut se « laisser surprendre ». Mais un mouvement qui n’a pas de but fixé ne s’arrête jamais, et de plus, nul ne sait où il peut aboutir.
La synodalité ainsi conçue est semblable à la révolution : elle ne peut jamais s’arrêter, elle n’est jamais satisfaite. Et elle finit par tout détruire.
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(Source : synod.va – FSSPX.Actualités)
Illustration : Photo 314355982 © Bahtiar Arifianto | Dreamstime.com