Snyodality: Not So Bad After All?

I was wrong: I predicted the synod thing was at best a waste of time. At best! But now as the dust settles it seems the Holy Spirit, quietly, did show up. It wasn't all bad after all. The synthesis statement apparently is relatively innocuous: the g-word (gay) is not mentioned, the call for study of female deacons has already been dismissed by Francis himself. The sky is not falling! I can see three spirits at work: one good, the other two bad.

Listening. What is synodality? It is vague and undefined; but it does involve listening to each other. And that is, in itself a good thing, a very good thing. It seems that listening did occur over this past month. One prelate related that he heard very little ideological talk but much discussion of cultural differences: that sounds good to me!. It is not possible to exaggerate the value of listening: to each other, to the suffering, to our adversaries, to conscience, to the Word, to Tradition, to the gentle Holy Spirit. Listening is not everything; it is only about 93%! Three cheers for listening! Just one suggestion: perhaps Pope Francis and his lieutenants would walk their talk by welcoming and hearing young Latin mass families, Evangelical-Catholics from the USA, Americans on the southern border suffering from the uncontrolled invasion there, Ukranians, and some clerics who frequent Roman lace shops for their liturgical garb.

Progressive Agenda. It is crystal clear that many, or most, of the movers and shakers behind this favor the German path of synodality into a reconstruction of our faith in the model of liberal Protestantism. They did not substantially advance their cause. It appears that the forces resisting that push remain  strong. In my own reading, of admittedly conservative literature, I am heartened by the clarity, energy and strength of the intent to be faithful to our tradition. This "synodal path" seems to be eliciting a pushback in the right direction. Pope Francis himself, predictably confused and confusing, is not committed in a coherent way to this agenda and is a big disappointment to its advocates.

Dark Discontent and the Fantasy of "Synodality." Pope Francis in his obsession with this phantasm is moved by a profound unhappiness with the Church he has received. I can imagine his nightmares: obese clerics in fancy lace castigating fornicators and active homosexuals, canon lawyers obsessing over punishments for sin, hyper-capitalist American Republicans moralizing about abortion, arms dealers gloating in the surge in business with two major global wars, and so forth. This is an emotional pope who hates what he hates. What he wants is not clear. But it involves listening and engagement with those away from the Church, peace and love with the Chinese communists, open borders, some kind of a de-clericalization of the Church, embrace of an Islam that does not know Jihad, a kind acceptance of the sexual revolution of the West. He is placing his hope, not so much in the efficacy of the sacraments and the inerrancy of the Church's Gospel (for which he has a unique responsibility), but with this amorphous, group dynamic process called synodality. 

We have here a shepherd who hates sheep dogs and thinks if they would just stand down, the wolves and sheep will live nicely together!

Happily, the Holy Spirit is with us, even in synodality!😀