Synodality can only fail, if it has not already done so.

 My latest article in the Catholic Herald, published here.

Early this month, a colloquium was held at Boston College called “The Way Forward: Pope Francis, Vatican II and Synodality”. The gathering was the second meeting of this particular group of 80 participants to discuss synodality, the amorphous call by Pope Francis for the Church to “walk together”, to continue the reception of Vatican II.

 In an article about this in America Magazine, the author captured my attention with this comment:

“I confess that I was not as enthusiastic about the synod process as some of the participants when I first arrived…the concept of synodality is a bit confusing, even to seasoned Catholics, and the global synod process has struck me as unwieldy and ultimately not as representative of Catholic opinion as it is sometimes argued. One fact: Only 1 per cent of Catholics in the United States took part in the process.”

This is the reality of a process which has been broadly criticised as unworkable from the beginning. I know many faithful Catholics who took part because they felt they had something valuable to contribute and wanted their perspective to form part of the discussion.

Notwithstanding this, from my own years working in the vineyard as a catechist, I considered that it could only turn into a whinge-fest for disgruntled Catholics. The only way to resolve these whinges, in my experience, is to properly form the whingers, to gift them the understanding of the issues which they misunderstand. Because this, I find, time and time again, lies at the root of such whinges.

Some key observations from the Boston College colloquium included: “Our communion is unsure of itself”; we must “recover a sense of what holds us together”, we have to find a way to “walk and work together” and “in listening, I make myself accountable to real communities”. Apparently listening to one another is the first step on a much longer journey. Several participants argued that this is Pope Francis’ “long game”: he is trying to teach us a new way of relating to one another, one that is embraced in much of Latin America, but is foreign to the Church in most of the world.

The Church has always existed deep in the heart of communities reflecting the mission of Jesus which was deeply relational, engaging with real people and real, often difficult situations. Jesus brought that agape compassion and healing, restored dignity and set people free from the trap of sin. Our parish communities and parish priests reach deep into communities and deal with all these issues every day. Is synodality saying that is not a reality then?

A Pew research study reports that in a majority of the countries surveyed, at least half of Catholics think the Church should alter its stances against divorce and the use of artificial means of birth control. The same study, however, also reports that the more religiously observant are less supportive of changes to the Church’s teachings on these matters than Catholics who attend Mass less often. Surely this is the key insight? Some want Christ to change them, others seek to change Christ.

The other focus of the synodal way discussion sees synodality as a way out of the polarisation prevalent in society today, but I would argue that the synod process itself has become a source of polarisation.

The colloquium recommended that it will require many more gatherings, at all levels of the Church, for the process to start to work. And that will mean including people who disagree and those who may have serious questions about the course set by Pope Francis.

But I am not sure I agree with this analysis. Yes, the Church is the agent to overcome polarisation, but only because it offers a clear elucidation of what is holy and what is profane. It divides the secular from the religious, showing us a better way to be. It cannot perform that function if it does not believe a common creed. 

If the synod on synodality offered an opportunity to listen to grievances and then explain how God has revealed the answers to those questions and why those answers are better for us, this would resolve polarisation. If, however, it is a vehicle to give secular ideas more voice and more weight within the Catholic Church, then it will do the exact opposite: it will introduce confusion where clarity exists.

At a time when polarisation runs deep in all levels of society, the Church is one of the few places where people of all backgrounds regularly gather under one roof to share a common hope in a greater reality and act to make a better world, a world which is not caught in an ever-accelerating downward spiral focused on the world, the flesh and the devil, but instead lifting humanity up to focus on the good, the true and the beautiful. The deeper our own conviction is in the truths of the faith, the more the world will be influenced by the Gospel truth we seek to share. That represents a rich opportunity, one we should be making every effort to capitalise on.

(Synod delegates listen to presentations at the European Continental Assembly in Prague on Feb. 7, 2023. | CNA)