The Synod is Aimed at Changing Church Teaching

The real purpose of the 2021-2023 Synod is now very clear.  But it takes some ability to read between the lines for that clarity to emerge.

If you have not yet read the USCCB’s Synthesis on the results of the Diocesan Phase of the Synod, it is quite a read.  The report states “The document that follows is an attempt to synthesize and contextualize the common joys, hopes, and wounds called forth with the help of the Holy Spirit in the unfolding of the Synod.”  But the report really focuses on “wounds” and how progressives hope to “fix” those wounds.

For years now the Left has been trying to convince everyone that those who are not on the Left are racist, misogynistic, anti-immigrant, homophobic, and don’t care about the planet we all live on.  Minorities, women, illegal immigrants, homosexuals, and even the planet itself are victims of white privilege you know.

Additionally, they say, we need to celebrate “diversity” (instead of celebrating unity).  This means we also have to be accepting of those who embrace sin and want to live a sinful lifestyle.  In fact, more than just accepting sinfulness, we should celebrate such lifestyles.

Unfortunately, as the Synod Synthesis shows, much of this Leftist propaganda has been and still is infecting the Church.  And what better way to continue infecting the Church than to say “you need to hear our grievances.”  And that is exactly what the Synthesis is – a list of grievances offered up by about one percent of U.S. Catholics.  It is anything but a representative sampling of what Catholics in America are thinking.

Francis the Duped?

I’ve come to the defense of Pope Francis more than once (here, here, and here, for instance), but at the same time, in all charity, he does have some shortcomings (as do I, and most everyone else).

Chief among Francis’ shortcomings, in my opinion, is a less than strong theological education. He also seems too affable.  And in my experience, people who are too affable, who want to be liked, are often too open to being swayed.

I tend to think those progressive Cardinals who pushed for his election as our pontiff, knew this about him.  And I would bet that it is the progressive Cardinals, some of whom are his advisors now, who pushed for the Synod.

It’s a sneaky shrewd way of allowing dissidence to foment.  And it smacks of something the devil might be behind rather than the Holy Spirit at work in  the Church.

The Church is “Wounded”

The Synthesis says that the Church is suffering from four wounds.  And, of course, all those old, white males (popes, cardinals, bishops, and priests) who have run the Church for centuries are responsible for these wounds.  This is one of the reasons we need women priests don’t you know!

Chief among these wounds is “the still unfolding effects of the sexual abuse crisis.”  Now there’s a surprise.  Who knew?

According to the Region III report, “The sex abuse scandals and the way the Church leadership handled the situation are seen as one of the strongest causes of a lack of trust and credibility on the part of the faithful.”

I tend to think most devout Catholics realize the Church is made up of sinners.  I know I’m one.  And yes, there are and have been priests, bishops, and cardinals (and even popes) who fall into the ‘sinners’ category, too.

But devout Catholics also know that God’s truths are unchanging.

“Then Peter approaching asked him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus answered, “I say to you, not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:21-22).

We need to forgive the priests and members of Church hierarchy who sinned.  Healing can only come about through forgiveness.

But the Left is not about to let that happen.  The Left does not want people to forgive and it certainly does not want people to forget. It does not want the Church to heal and grow.  It wants the Church to remain wounded and die away.  And the Synod is a wonderful opportunity for the Left to snipe away and continue to inflict wounds on the Church.

More Wounds

The next wound is the “sense of community among the People of God” suffering “from the ongoing effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.”  It seems that “A large number of the faithful have not yet returned to worship.”  Wow, another news flash, this one from Region 12.

I questioned the wisdom of closing our churches during the Covid outbreak.  But those on the Left were determined to make the most of the ‘crises.’  And they did.  And many of our bishops caved in to the fear mongering.  In hindsight that was probably not showing a lot of wisdom.

So now we have to bring all these lapsed Catholics back into the fold.  And the Left is saying the way to do this is for the Church to become more open and welcoming.  In other words (here it comes), Church teaching needs to change!

Wound number three “division at the local level” stemming from “the perceived lack of unity among the bishops in the United States, and even of some individual bishops with the Holy Father.”

Keep pushing and promoting the idea that the Church is divided.  Divide and conquer.  Say the Church needs to listen more to the dissidents who want the Church to change her teachings.  She needs to listen and be more open minded.  But listening will not bring about unity.  And open-mindedness can easily turn into moral blindness.  Both will, however, almost certainly bring about more dissidence.

Faux Impartiality

Fortunately, some semblance of impartiality had to be present in the synthesis to make it appear balanced and reasonable.  So the division over the Liturgy was mentioned.

“The limited access to the 1962 Missal was lamented; many felt that the differences over how to celebrate the liturgy “sometimes reach the level of animosity. People on each side of the issue reported feeling judged by those who differ from them.”

Of course there’s a simple solution to this problem.  Pope Francis merely needs to rescind Traditionis Custodes and let Summorum Pontificum stand.  But the Leftist members of the Church hierarchy won’t allow this.  It would immediately heal one of the wounds.

Marginalization

And now we get to the biggie.  This is, I think, the whole point of the Synod.

“Closely related to the wound of polarization is the wound of marginalization. Not only do those who experience this wound suffer, but their marginalization has become a source of scandal for others, especially for some youth who perceive the Church as hypocritical and failing to act consistently with justice toward these diverse communities.”

It seems the Church has “marginalized” two groups of people.  I sense some ‘shaming’ coming up.

Group number one includes all “those marginalized who are made vulnerable by their lack of social and/ or economic power, such as immigrant communities; ethnic minorities; those who are undocumented; the unborn and their mothers; people who are experiencing poverty, homelessness, or incarceration; those people who have disabilities or mental health issues; and people suffering from various addictions. Included also in this group are women.”

In truth, I really can’t see how the Church has marginalized all these people.  In fact, the way I see it, the Church, individual parishes, and numerous ministries throughout the world are doing what they can to help these “marginalized” people.  But that doesn’t fit the Left’s narrative.  Somehow, some way, the Church is responsible for marginalizing these people.

I’m going to go out on a limb here.  The “fix” that will be proposed for un-marginalizing group one will be women deacons and priests.

Group number two “includes those who are marginalized because circumstances in their own lives are experienced as impediments to full participation in the life of the Church. Among these are members of the LGBTQ+ community, persons who have been divorced or those who have remarried without a declaration of nullity, as well as individuals who have civilly married but who never married in the Church.”

Better Fixes

Undoubtedly, the fix for un-marginalizing group two will be changes to Church teaching.  But there are simpler, better fixes.

It is the members or the LGBTQ+ community who insist on living a life of sin, and divorced people who have “remarried without a declaration of nullity, as well as individuals who have civilly married” who have excluded themselves from “full participation in the life of the Church.”

Fortunately, however, all these folk can get off the broad road and get on the narrow road (Matthew 7:13-14).  They can practice chastity, go to Confession, obtain a declaration of nullity, and/or get married in the Church.  They can then receive Communion and otherwise more fully participate in the life of the Church.  Problems solved.

But this is not what the Left wants.  They will most certainly fight to the death in defense of lawyer-client privilege, but many on the Left think “clergy-penitent privilege” is a bridge too far.  Besides, the real problem is Church teachings on morality and the Sacrament of Marriage.  These teachings need to be updated and modernized.  It matters not that Church teaching in both areas are God’s truths.

October 2023

As George Weigel wrote just the other day at Catholic World Report, the Synthesis is “a very disappointing document, not least because it largely focuses on what the 1% of U.S. Catholics who participated in these “synodal” discussions find wrong with the Church — a roster of grievances that, unsurprisingly, reflects both the progressive Catholic agenda in American Catholicism and certain dominant (if false) impressions about our local Church in Rome.”

The final phase of the Synod – the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops – will take place at the Vatican one year from now, in October 2023.  My guess is that it will be marked by a number of suggestions and proposals by progressives aimed at changing Church teaching on morality, the Sacrament of Marriage, the Sacrament of Holy Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Let us pray that the Holy Spirit does not allow the smoke of Satan to prevail in this latest battle for dominion.  But even if Satan is allowed to win the battle, don’t get discouraged.  Jesus Christ and His Church win in the end.