Fr. Jon Bielawski on the Synod

Fr. Jon Bielawski was Ordained in 1990 and is a Parish Priest of the Plymouth Diocese in the UK. Fr. Jon’s first experience of evangelising was with the Franciscan Friars of Renewal in London when they took to the streets handing out prayer cards and engaging people in conversation. “I found it exhilarating and it made me realise that the biggest hurdle to overcome in reaching out to others, is no greater than the sum of our own fears and pre-conceived ideas”. In 2015, Fr. Jon combined the role of Episcopal Vicar for Evangelisation and Catechesis with running a busy parish. Haunted by the phrase “the church exists to evangelise” Fr. Jon recognised there is a huge gap between knowing we should evangelise and how to go about it.

Fr. Jon’s mission in making disciples is to work on the God given potentiality of the person and to group them within a parish to be the core of dynamic outreach.

“We are all looking for full parish renewal and in the meantime there is a whole world that is spiritually dying because it has not heard or seen the relevance of the Gospel message. We need to address both of these issues simultaneously. Parish renewal is inextricably linked with the formation of missionary disciples who have learned to evangelise by evangelising.” -Fr. Jon

Here he gives us his thoughts on the Synod on Synodality:

Over the past 18 months the words, Synod and Synodality have swept into our thinking and

language within the church at a great speed. As always, we must reflect deeply and objectively, and be precise in what we say in order to see what the Spirit is truly saying and this must always be done in the light of the gospel, the teachings of the church and our 2000 years of living Tradition.

When talk of the Synod first arose from the Vatican, we did not have much idea as to what it

was about. A Synod about synod?! What is the agenda: what is the core purpose? Gradually, the information and understanding started to emerge and questions/reflection points were duly sent around the world for every diocese and parish for a, ”total involvement”.

What was at first very vague, gained a bit more clarity as Pope Francis clearly stated that this synod and synodal process was to be clearly based on the principles of, “communion, participation and mission”. He also stated that it was not to be a platform for personal opinions and agendas but a prayerful exercise invoking the Holy Spirit for discernment. This latter point, I regard as a spiritually high level request which the majority of the faithful would struggle to comprehend or carry out. (In this country, at least, good efforts were made to educate people on these points but it is something that cannot be accomplished in one good talk or exhortation).

Despite these good intentions, in practice, the synodal process was carried out in random

manner and method across the country with varying levels of competency and neutrality. Also, it was carried out in the absence of many priests, who perceived their presence would restrict the process. (In my own parish, 20 took part – each person was allowed to speak on the 4 points but there was no discussion. Notes on the points were recorded. For each point we had some quiet prayer time before the Blessed Sacrament).

Due to this reality, the National Synthesis Document (NSD) was, to a great extent, a compilation of opinions and agendas which is exactly what it was not meant to be.  

Although not claiming itself to be as such, some believe this document and process expresses a certain, “sensus fidei” of the people of God, but that is not the case (see Lumen  Gentium 12. stating the criteria for the People of God sharing in Christ’s prophetic office). It is at best a “sensus sententia” (sense of opinion) expressed by a whole range of people. 

Interesting as that may well be, most of the opinions and views recorded have been repeatedly expressed over the past fifty years through various forums, media platforms, parish meetings and one to one conversations. I believe this is why the individual diocesan reports had many points of similarity and convergence. (A similar outcome happened at the National Pastoral Conference way back in 1980).

A few good points were raised in the NSD regarding formation or certain aspects of clericalism etc. However, notwithstanding theses points, as a compilation of opinions on church practice, matters of faith, pastoral issues and approaches etc in the NSD, it cannot be ignored that for a lot of people those opinions are shaped and influenced by many secular and modern day ideologies and trains of thought that are detrimental to the life of the church and the apostolic faith we profess. It is of vital importance that we do not fudge the damaging impact of these opinions by imprecise language or ambiguous general statements that try to have a superficial conciliatory tone that says everything and nothing at the same time. For example, a ”welcoming church” can simply be that; where a church is, for example, open all day for anyone to enter and has a good “welcoming team” for masses and services. This is quite different to another understanding of, “welcoming” which is wanting to be open and inclusive to LGBT ideology and practice which abandons Catholic morality and attacks our very humanity and reason, causing havoc amongst the youth.

The Bishops of England and Wales, in response, navigated carefully a number of issues

contained in the NSD without endorsing them (“..heard sincerely.”- was one of those diplomatic phrases they used). They highlighted formation/catechesis and they also put back the vital missionary aspect of the whole endeavour which was woefully lacking in any deep sense in the NSD, and reminded us all of the call to holiness which is integral to authentic missionary discipleship and evangelisation.

Where do we go with all this? This is the CRUCIAL QUESTION. Something has been stirred that cannot be put back in the box, on a worldwide level as a church. It has highlighted the theological divide that has existed in the church since Vatican II, and has now been exposed at the highest levels. I express this in the simplest of ways by referring to the statement added to the end of the creed that a person makes when being received into the church: “I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic church believes, teaches and proclaims to be revealed by God”. Many within the church, on all levels cannot, in sincerity, say this and mean it.

A counter opinion that tries to avoid the reality of this confusion and division is to say, “It is

the process that counts”, and Synodality is a way of being. Again, what does that imprecise language mean? A group conversation with no aim or goal or agenda can be a very futile operation. It can give the false impression of activity and that something is happening when it is not and this can subsequently result in disillusionment. Likewise, the word “accompaniment” is often linked to process but again, what is the intention behind it? If it is simply getting alongside someone to be a compassionate, loving, listening and friendly presence? Does not a kind, loving and compassionate Humanist do exactly the same thing? Is there something much more we wish to offer?

Concluding thoughts:

I know it is easy to ask all the questions and find faults and negatives, so I finish on a

different tone and propose a way forward that focuses on the third principle of the synod which is

mission.

Synod/Synodality/accompaniment can, if used properly, be a platform for engagement, connection and communication and the starting point for true mission and evangelisation. What is needed is the explicit intention that the Lord calls for in the gospels, which is to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. We are called to use all our human gifts and resources and powers of speech in making a clear proposal of the saving truth of Christ. We need to put into action the statements we have heard so often: “The church exists to evangelise…..the church evangelises when it seeks to convert…. There is no true evangelisation unless the name, life, teachings, promises, kingdom and mysteries of Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God are proclaimed” (St. Paul VI. Evangeli Nuntiandi). “Conversion is a personal decision to accept the sovereignty of Christ and become his disciple” (St. John Paul II. Redemptoris Missio). Synod/Synodality has to be at the service of mission and evangelisation and as a means to initiate it. Otherwise it becomes a displacement of, and distraction from the essential mission of the Church. Likewise, it must not provide a platform for a voice which contradicts and undermines the teachings of Christ which are integral with that mission/evangelisation.

Jon Bielawski