The Sat Report: Conversion, the Heart of Synodality
Analysis of Part I of the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality
Continuing an analysis of the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality, we move on to the first part of the document, which deals in finally giving us, the laity, an understanding of what Synodality is, or what it is supposed to be. Despite being told that an official translation of the Final Document would be made available in days, two week later and nothing, so I’ve attached the official working translation, with all the quotes in this piece taken from there.
This chapter, like all the sections of this document, begins by paraphrasing one of the meditations Cardinal-designate Timothy Radcliffe delivered over the course of the two sessions of the Synod. This one on the resurrection narratives and the role of Mary Magdalen, I guess as an example of the laity, and the Peter and John, as examples of the bishops. I must admit I am not a huge fan of Radcliffe’s exegesis, though I haven’t read anything from him outside of what he has said or written in relation to the Synod.
The document emphatically states that, “the Church exists to bear witness in the world to the most decisive moment in history: the Resurrection of Jesus.” Correct, this moment was so profound that the men who witnessed it travelled to ends of the known world to bear witness to this truth, to the point of death.
The text continues “The Church assumes this responsibility today at a time dominated by a crisis of participation, that is, of people feeling that they are not participants or actors with a common destiny, as well as by an individualistic understanding of happiness and salvation.” Is there an individualistic understanding of salvation in Catholicism? I’m genuinely curious of where this is coming from. More ironic is the talk of a crisis of participation, as I have said numerous times over the last few weeks the biggest flaw in the this multi-year Synodal Process was the inability of the Vatican to garner more than a measly 2 % participation rate.
The document then after describing the sacraments of initiation, outlines what the sensus fidei is, stating that “this consists in a certain connaturality with divine realities, based on the fact that, in the Holy Spirit, the baptised become “sharers in the divine nature” (DV 2). This participation enables the capacity for the faithful to grasp intuitively that which is in conformity with the truth of Revelation in the communion of the whole Church. This is the reason why the Church is certain that the holy People of God cannot err in matters of belief. They manifest this special property when they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals.”
The text continues “The exercise of the sensus fidei must not be confused with public opinion. It is always in conjunction with the discernment of pastors at the different levels of Church life, as the various interconnected phases of the synodal process demonstrated. The sensus fidei aims at reaching a consensus of the faithful (consensus fidelium), which constitutes “a sure criterion for determining whether a particular doctrine or practice belongs to the apostolic faith” (ITC, Sensus fidei in the life of the Church, 2014, 3).” So far so good.
“All Christians participate in the sensus fidei through baptism. Therefore, as well as constituting the basis of synodality baptism is also the foundation of ecumenism. "The path of synodality, which the Catholic Church is travelling, is and must be ecumenical, just as the ecumenical path is synodal" (Pope Francis, Address to His Holiness Mar Awa III, 19 November 2022). Ecumenism is first and foremost a matter of spiritual renewal.” This has big implications, because as the document states previously the sensus fidei aims for consensus, and it is this consensus that determines whether a doctrine belongs to the Apostolic Faith. Now if the all the baptised, Catholics and non-Catholics, participate in the sensus fidei, then the scope of its use to determine doctrine and practice is very limited, particularly if it needs consensus to do so, among the members of sects that schismatic or heretical.
On the later point, the Vatican really sees Synodality as the answer to ending the divisions in Christendom. The document states the Ecumenism “demands processes of repentance and the healing of memories of past wounds, and, where necessary, finding the courage to offer fraternal correction in a spirit of evangelical charity.”
The Meaning of Synodality
The document explicitly states that Synodality is a series of meetings, before highlighting that “Synodality is the walking together of Christians with Christ and towards God’s Kingdom, in union with all humanity.” From here comes the first proposal of the document; “Equally, a desire emerged to expand possibilities for participation and for the exercise of differentiated co-responsibility by all the baptised, men and women.” However, to the credit of the drafters of this document they acknowledge that, “in this regard, however, the lack of participation by so many members of the People of God in this journey of ecclesial renewal was a source of sadness.” All that being said, how it possible to deduce that the laity actually want to participate in co-responsibility, when the overwhelming majority had apathy for this entire process. It comes across as clericalist to impose this on the laity as something they wanted, when the document itself clearly states that they barely participated.
The text continues, “there was also a sense of sadness expressed at the widespread difficulty within the Church in living flourishing relationships fully between men and women, between different generations and between individuals and groups with diverse cultural identities and social conditions. Of particular concern in this regard must be the people made poor and those who are excluded.” These are valid points. There is a small minority of women in the Church that want to made priests, and they will never be satisfied until this happens. It never will, and they see this as the last bastion of the patriarchy. These same people probably think that Kamala Harris lost to Donald Trump because she is women, and not because ordinary people are struggling with inflation, going into debt because of the price of gas, the chaotic and incompetent Afghanistan withdrawal, the fact that America had no Secretary of Defence for three days and the President didn’t know anything about it. I could go on.
On the other divisions in the Church, be they generational or between groups, these have been simmering for a long time. Benedict brought peace to the liturgical wars, that unfortunately Pope Francis reignited through following the advice of people who are no longer in his inner circle. I’ve said that I don’t think Pope Francis is particular ideological when it comes to the liturgy. He was fed misinformation about the opposition to him which widely exaggerated the sway of American trad influences for want of better descriptor, and greatly understated the opposition from the progressive, dying, wing of the Church in Europe, as the Pope would find out by the discourtesy shown to him in Belgium. The remainder of this Pontificate, and the mandate for the next, will be on healing the internal divisions in Catholicism. Time will tell if Synodality is that magic bullet. On this point, the document says that “a spirituality of synodality also requires asceticism, humility, patience and a willingness to forgive and be forgiven.”
The document to its credit underscores this “The need within the Church for healing, reconciliation and the rebuilding of trust has resounded at every stage of the synodal process, particularly in light of so many scandals related to different types of abuse. It also resounded in the face of similar abuses in society. The Church is called to put at the centre of its life and action the fact that in Christ, through Baptism, we are entrusted to each other. Recognition of this profound reality becomes a sacred duty that enables us to recognise mistakes and rebuild trust. There is a missionary obligation upon the People of God to walk this path in our world and we need to invoke the gift to do so from above. Walking this path is also an act of justice. The desire to do so is the fruit of synodal renewal.”
The document also highlights how Synodality can save the world, “we live in an age marked by ever increasing inequalities; growing disillusionment with traditional models of governance; disenchantment with the functioning of democracy; increasing autocratic and dictatorial tendencies; and the predominance of the market model without regard for the vulnerability of people and of creation. The temptation can be to resolve conflicts by force rather than by dialogue. Authentic practices of synodality enable Christians to be a critical and prophetic voice over against the prevailing culture. In this way, we can offer a distinctive contribution to the search for answers to many challenges faced by our contemporary societies in building the common good.”
I wonder what the mean by traditional forms of governance? It certainly isn’t the plutocracy, as exemplified by the world’s oldest democracy and the recent elections.
“The practice of synodality is a challenge to the growing isolation of people and to cultural individualism, which the Church has also often absorbed, and it calls us to mutual care, interdependence and co-responsibility for the common good. Likewise, it challenges exaggerated forms of social communitarianism that suffocate people and prevent them from being agents of their own development. The willingness to listen to all, especially those who are poor, stands in stark contrast to a world in which the concentration of power tends to disregard those who are poor, the marginalized, minorities and the earth, our common home.”
The final point I want to highlight from this part of the document is the words it reserves for the methodology of the Synodality. “Conversation in the Spirit is a tool that, even with its limitations, enables listening in order to discern “what the Spirit is saying to the Churches” (Rev. 2:7).” The document continues, “its practice has elicited joy, awe and gratitude and has been experienced as a path of renewal that transforms individuals, groups, and the Church.” That may be so, but it isn’t clear how this can be translated into the meetings of Parish Councils, Diocesan Councils, and Episcopal Conferences, that the document later proposes be mandatory.
This all I want to say about the first part of the final document. I would encourage you to read the document for yourself, and draw your own conclusions. On the next post, I’ll look about what the Final Document has to say about Synodality and relationships in the Church.
The whole notion that the baptized automatically have an orthodox "sensus fidelium" is a farce and a lie! Baptism gives to the soul the theological virtue of Faith in seed form only. That seed has to be nourished through years of learning the content of the Mysteries of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith - accompanied by faithful living and worship. This Synod seems to think that Baptism confers the preternatural gift of "infused knowledge" upon the soul! Furthermore, it even implies that Protestants would have this gift too! If this were so, there would have been no need for all the dogmatic councils of the Church that hammered out the orthodox doctrines and dogmas of the Catholic Faith down through the centuries -- all the baptized would "magically" have infused knowledge about the beliefs of the Faith. The only thing that will result from consulting the laity - and sadly many of the bishops in our times - is a collective "sentimental journey" into religious feeling colored by cultural preferences. This is not the Source of Divine Revelation of the Catholic and Apostolic Faith. It is pure Gnosticism.
Synodality is the Nursing Home of Modernism replete with senile dementia ranting, temper tantrums and completely irrational orders.