Synod on Synodality: The “Instrumentum Laboris” (3)

This third article examines the points that will be proposed for discussion at the Assembly in October. They are gathered under the “three priority questions for the Synodal Church”: communion, mission, and participation.

Worksheets

These worksheets “have been prepared to facilitate discernment on the three “priorities that most strongly emerge from the work of all the continents.” They must be understood according to the “dynamics of the Assembly.” This point is detailed below.

“During its proceedings, the Assembly will continue to use the method of conversation in the Spirit that has characterized the entire synodal process, adapting it where necessary. Through its direct experience of this method, the Assembly will then be able to reflect with greater insight on ways to incorporate it more readily into the ordinary life of the Church as a shared to discern the will of God.”

The synodal Church should therefore arise from the experience of the synodal assembly. We are in full praxis: the synodal method must be perfected by experience, which will undoubtedly make it possible to define this Church: it is a question of creating an action which will define being. The world upside down.

A Communion that Shines

The first set of worksheets revolves around communion. What are the main concerns of this Church which must be synodal, in our secularized and de-Christianized world?

“The Continental Assemblies indicate various directions for our growth as a missionary synodal Church: … the poor, … caring for our common home [i.e., climate change], … migratory movements, … being agents of reconciliation and artisans of peace, … the liberation and promotion of the poor,…divorced-remarried, polygamous or LGBT people, … racial, tribal, ethnic, class or caste discrimination, … people with disabilities” (B 1.1) .

Another direction is given by “renewed ecumenical commitment.” Thus “Synodality and ecumenism are two paths to walk together, with a common goal: a better Christian witness. This can take the form of coexistence in an ‘ecumenism of life’ at different levels, including through inter-Church marriages.” (B 1.4)

Encouraging “inter-Church” [i.e., interconfessional] weddings is totally against Tradition. But the worst is to follow: the theological justification that is given. “There are several ecumenical implications of the commitment to build a synodal Church: a) Through one Baptism all Christians participate in the sensus fidei (supernatural sense of the faith; cf. LG 12), which is why in a synodal Church all the Baptized must be listened to attentively” (B 1.4)

The error is serious. Claiming that “all Christians” participate in the sensus fidei reveals the writers’ notion of the Church: they are not far from the “pan-Christianity” condemned by the encyclical Mortalium animos. A consequence follows from this: obligatory ecumenism.

“All the Final Documents of the Continental Assemblies highlight the close relationship between synodality and ecumenism, and some devote entire chapters to it. Indeed, both synodality and ecumenism are rooted in the baptismal dignity of the entire People of God” (Ibid.).

The Synodal Church is an ecumenical Church: it has lost the true notion of the Catholic Church and the theology of baptism. And this loss is deeply rooted in the minds of the faithful.

Co-responsibility for the Mission

This idea develops first in the liturgical field: “The synodal process offers a positive vision of ministries, placing ordained Ministry within broader ecclesial ministeriality without creating oppositions. However, the Continental Assemblies also note an urgent need to discern the emerging charisms and the appropriate forms of exercising baptismal Ministries (instituted, extraordinary, and de facto) within the People of God” (B 2.2).

The foundation of this continuous upheaval of the liturgy is always the same: “A serene reception of the Second Vatican Council emerges, with the recognition of baptismal dignity as the foundation of everyone's participation in the life of the Church.” The following details:

“How should we celebrate Baptism, Confirmation and the Eucharist so that they are occasions for witnessing and promoting the participation and co-responsibility of all as active subjects in the life and mission of the Church? How can we renew an understanding of ministry not limited to ordained Ministry alone?” (Ibid.) When will there be confirmation – even Mass – by lay people?

The question of women immediately follows: “questions of women’s participation and recognition,… the desire for a greater presence of women in positions of responsibility and governance emerged as crucial elements in the search for more synodal ways to live the Church’s mission”  (B 2.3). Next come the practical proposals.

“What concrete steps can the Church take to renew and reform its procedures, institutional arrangements and structures to enable greater recognition and participation of women, including in governance, decision-making processes, and taking of decisions, in a spirit of communion and with a view to mission?” (Ibid.)

In particular: “Most of the Continental Assemblies… call for the question of women's inclusion in  the diaconate be considered. Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?” Will we soon have a heretical decision? (Ibid.)

Another regularly discussed question is priestly celibacy: “As some continents propose,  could a reflection be opened concerning the discipline on access to the Priesthood for married men, at least in some areas?” (Ibid.)

Next comes the bishops: “There is a need for adequate governance structures which respond to the demand for greater transparency and accountability, which will impact the way the Bishop’s ministry is exercised.” This “requires cultural and structural changes.” (B 2.5)

“2) How does the exercise of the episcopal ministry solicit consultation, collaboration, and participation in the decision-making processes of the People of God? 3) On the basis of what criteria can a Bishop evaluate himself and  be evaluated in the performance of his service in a synodal style?” Further on, the Pope finds himself under fire with this question: “How should the role of the Bishop of Rome and the exercise of his primacy evolve in a synodal Church?” (Ibid.)

Participation, Governance, and Authority

It is the questioning of authority, but also of its forms in the Church: “How can we renew the service of authority and the exercise of responsibility in the missionary synodal Church?” (B 3.1)

The practical question follows: “How can we imagine decision-making processes that are more participatory, which give space for listening and community discernment supported by authority understood as a service of unity?” (B 3.2)

The next point constantly revolves around the request to “change the structures”: Parish Pastoral Councils, Economic Affairs Councils, diocesan or eparchial Synods, or by the establishment of new ones, the call to reform structures, institutions and functioning mechanisms with a view to transparency.” (B 3.3)

Finally, what more particularly manifests the intentions is the following request: “What can we learn from the way in which public institutions and public and civil law strive to respond to the need for transparency and accountability in society (separation of powers, independent supervisory bodies, obligations to make public certain procedures, limits on the duration appointments, etc.)?” (Ibid.)

Because it is well known that our civil society is dazzlingly transparent and that there are no schemes or understandings in any way in the various modern democracies... Without forgetting one detail: the divine constitution of the Church was given to us by Jesus Christ, Who is God, and it cannot be reformed.

The last point concerns the authority of the episcopal conferences and of the synod of bishops in particular: two institutions which have no foundation in Sacred Scripture or Tradition and which have by themselves and in essence only the quality of counsel.

The assembly has yet to be held, but the IL by its mere tenor is already revolutionary: no question is refused or rejected, not even one that is heretical in itself, or potentially destructive of the order established by God in His Church. The future is already very bleak.