Consulting all the baptized
The synod on synodality’s handbook urges dioceses to include “all the baptized” in the process.
It says: “Special care should be taken to involve those persons who may risk being excluded: women, the handicapped, refugees, migrants, the elderly, people who live in poverty, Catholics who rarely or never practice their faith, etc.”
Ruddy said it made sense to consult those who no longer take part in Church life, just as a company would seek to listen to dissatisfied customers so it could improve its service.
“You’d be like, ‘OK, what are we doing wrong? What can we improve? What are we missing here?’” he said.
“But if it’s used as a way to almost privilege those voices, as the document says, I think, in a couple of places, that can lead in a problematic direction.”
Weinandy, the former executive director of the U.S. bishops’ secretariat for doctrine, also expressed concern about this aspect of the process.
He said: “It would appear that everyone, even non-Catholic, can express their various opinions on a whole variety of topics both concerning doctrine, liturgy, and morals. However, if such opinions are contrary to the faith of the Church, and these opinions are loudly proclaimed, then chaos will ensue.”
He offered the German “Synodal Way” as an example of what happens when Church teaching is put up for debate.
“As the Synodal Path in Germany has created a mess, so the global synodal path could create an ecclesial worldwide mess. I hope that this does not happen, but this is what I fear,” said Weinandy, who has previously criticized the German initiative.
The role of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is critical to Pope Francis’ understanding of synodality. As he put it last weekend, “the synod is an ecclesial event and its protagonist is the Holy Spirit. If the Spirit is not present, there will be no synod.” The 60-page handbook mentions the Holy Spirit 50 times.
Ruddy noted that the Spirit is often spoken of nowadays as the impulse for change in the Church, but that the Third Person of the Trinity also acts in other ways.
“Sometimes the Holy Spirit makes something clear that we didn’t see before and that the Church can develop in that sense,” he reflected.
“But there’s another way in which the Holy Spirit is something that is given to the Church. Both, I’d say, to all the faithful to awaken the sense of the faith and also to the Church leaders, to teach and lead.”
“And so the Holy Spirit can’t always be associated with ‘Oh, something new is happening,’ a kind of rupture.”
“It’s also in this sense that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus,” he said, “and that it has not just this sort of disruptive role but a confirming role as well. The Spirit is not a spirit of disorder, of chaos. It’s a spirit of peace and of order as well.”
Weinandy encouraged Catholics to pray that the Holy Spirit guides the synodal process.
“We must pray that the Holy Spirit enlightens all who attend these meetings, and especially the bishops, clergy, and faithful laity (the sensus fidelium) so that these gatherings do not get hijacked by the devil,” he said.
“Of course, we must remember that the Lord works good in all situations for those who love him. Some may see this as an opportunity to undermine the Church and her faith, but it could be an opportunity for all faithful believers to bear witness to the faith and be strengthened in so doing. The crucified and risen Jesus would then shine gloriously throughout the world.”
A missing call?
Ruddy added that he was interested in “what’s not being said” in the synod texts.
For example, he said, the Second Vatican Council emphasized the “universal call to holiness.” A whole chapter of Lumen gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, was dedicated to the notion that “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity.”
While the preparatory document rightly stressed participation and co-responsibility, he said, “I don’t think it really took up the fact that the Vatican II spoke very essentially about the universal call to holiness.”
“Participation is a part of that holiness, but it’s not just trying to get people more active in the Church, it’s that we want them to do all this because we want them to be more closely united to God and sharing God’s life,” he said, while acknowledging that “no document can say everything.”
Practical challenges
Writing at the National Catholic Register, Fr. Raymond J. de Souza noted that the Vatican is asking dioceses to organize “the most massive set of meetings ever conducted in the history of the Catholic Church” during a global pandemic.
“No one had heard of this idea 120 days ago, when it was first announced, and the official guidance comes less than 60 days before launch,” he wrote on Sept. 17.
“Most sacramental-preparation classes are more extensively prepared than that.”
Ruddy said that dioceses already conducting some kind of synodal process — such as the archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis — would have a head start in responding to the Vatican’s requests.
He suggested that the coronavirus pandemic’s toll on parish life should not be underestimated.
“People are wiped out by COVID,” he observed. “I don’t even mean just physically but, you know, people are weary. People are just trying to get back on their feet, trying to keep parishes open and do all of that. And the idea of now organizing meetings when we don’t even have social hours in our parishes anymore…”
“How are you going to have listening sessions, and so forth? It’d be hard to begin with, but I think the COVID situation makes things a lot trickier right now.”
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