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Bishop Barron: As I leave for the Synod on Synodality

“As the pope and his representatives have stressed, over and again, the Synod on Synodality will be about involving the entire Church, the whole people of God, in the fulfillment of Christ’s commission to announce the Gospel to all nations.”

October 3, 2023 Bishop Robert Barron The Dispatch 21 Print

Bishop Robert Barron speaks to tens of thousands of young people at a World Youth Day gathering in Lisbon, Portugal, Aug. 2, 2023. The event, hosted by the U.S. bishops’ conference, culminated in a eucharistic procession and Holy Hour. / Credit: Nuria Chiccon/EWTN News

Winona, Minn., Oct 3, 2023 / 11:00 am (CNA).

Editor’s note: This article was published at Word on Fire on Sept. 26, 2023, and originally appeared in The Courier, the newspaper of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota. It is reprinted here on CNA with permission.

I would like to begin with an apology, for I am going to be absent from our diocese for the next roughly five weeks. Last November, along with four other of my brother bishops, I was elected as a delegate to the international Synod on Synodality, which will take up the entire month of October. The pope has asked all of the delegates to be present for an ecumenical prayer service in Rome in late September and then for a three-day retreat to be conducted just prior to the opening of the synod — so five weeks in total.

I will confess to having some mixed feelings about all this. I love Rome, and October is a beautiful month to be in the Eternal City, and I’m certainly excited about participating in a high-level discussion regarding some important matters in the life of the Church. But I don’t like the prospect of being away from the diocese for such a long stretch of time. That said, I’m leaving our local Church in good hands. Father Will Thompson, my vicar general, will keep a steady hand on the tiller, as will Father Mark McNea, my vicar for clergy, and through my faithful assistant Leandra Hubka, I will stay in close contact in case of any emergencies.

I was a delegate to the Synod on Young People five years ago, so I have a feel for what to expect at this monthlong meeting. We will work six days a week — Monday through Saturday — deliberating in plenary sessions and in small language groups. The workday will last from 8:30 in the morning until 7:30 in the evening, with a couple-hour break in the afternoon for a siesta in the Roman manner. There will be delegates from all over the world, this time including a large contingent of laypeople.

Our discussions will be based on what they call an Instrumentum Laboris, or “working document,” which for this synod represents the culmination of two years of listening sessions with Catholics from across the globe. At the last synod I attended, we produced and voted on a final document expressive of our convictions. This won’t happen at the October synod, since there will be a follow-up session this time next year. Only when that has played out will, presumably, a final statement be prepared. If this synod is like the last one I attended, the pope will be personally present at practically every session, but he won’t say very much, since he will want all the delegates to feel free to express their opinions. The proceedings will close with a festive Mass in St. Peter’s Square with Pope Francis.

So that’s the form and structure of the synod, but what about the substance?

As the pope and his representatives have stressed, over and again, the Synod on Synodality will be about involving the entire Church, the whole people of God, in the fulfillment of Christ’s commission to announce the Gospel to all nations. It will be about all of us — clergy and laity — walking together (“syn-hodos,” “on the way with” in Greek) under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

In this measure, the synod will be very much in continuity with Vatican II’s universal call to holiness and the consistent postconciliar emphasis on a “new” evangelization. It will embody Pope Francis’ oft-stated desire for a Church that goes out from itself all the way to the margins in order to bring Christ to everyone. There is plenty of material in the Instrumentum Laboris along these lines, and I am eager to participate in conversations that will give rise to ever more effective strategies to accomplish the Church’s evangelical purpose. As I have often said, the Church should be deeply interested in sending great Catholic lawyers, physicians, business leaders, investors, educators, writers, and entertainers into the world as leaven.

If I might, I would also like to share a concern about the synod. Based upon the hundreds of interventions I read when I was monitoring the pre-synodal process in my pastoral region in California, upon the findings of the Continental stage, and upon the Instrumentum Laboris itself, I would say that the dominant concern of those who participated is to provide a greater sense of welcome to those who feel alienated from the life of the Church. The people they have in mind include especially women and those in the LGBT community.

Now, addressing feelings of alienation and trying to make the Church as welcoming as possible is always a legitimate pastoral concern. Always.

But some have been suggesting that the synod ought to consider a change in the Church’s moral teaching and sacramental discipline in order to make alienated Catholics feel more included. And here I hesitate, precisely because feelings, however intense, do not in themselves constitute a theological argument. There are a variety of reasons — some good, some bad — why a person might feel unwelcome in the Church. If that alienation is the product of hatred or stupid prejudice, then the situation must be addressed immediately and directly. But if the estrangement is caused by a deep disconnect between what the Church legitimately demands and the manner in which someone is living, then the needful thing is for that person to change his attitude.

The point is that we cannot adjudicate the matter by remaining at the level of feelings. We have to move to the level of real argument based on the Bible, the theological tradition, and the natural moral law. My very real hope is that the engagement of both the pastoral and properly theological dimensions of this issue of inclusivity will be a key work of the synod.

Could I ask you please to pray for me and for all of the delegates to the synod as we commence our work? And might I ask that your prayer take the form of a simple invocation of the Holy Spirit?

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About Bishop Robert Barron 205 Articles
Bishop Robert Barron has been the bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in Minnesota since 2022. He is the founder of www.WordonFire.org, a nonprofit global media apostolate that seeks to draw people into—or back to—the Catholic faith.

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Cardinal Farrell nixes LGBT advocates from Vatican-hosted conference

February 2, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Vatican City, Feb 2, 2018 / 12:00 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Cardinal Kevin Farrell has reportedly barred several speakers set to address an annual women’s event inside the Vatican over concerns about their LGBT positions, prompting organizers to find another venue.

First held in 2014, the “Voices of Faith” (VoF) event has taken place inside the Vatican’s Casina Pio IV, headquarters of the Pontifical Academy for Sciences, every March for the past four years.

Established in 2014 in response to Pope Francis’ call to “broaden the space within the Church for a more incisive feminine presence,” the event is scheduled each year to coincide with the March 8 celebration of International Women’s Day, and typically draws speakers from various backgrounds to give testimonies and speak on a specific theme.

Organizers have relocated the 2018 conference, titled “Why Women Matter,” to another location outside Vatican grounds, after two high-profile speakers didn’t meet Vatican approval: Mary McAleese, former president of Ireland, and Ssenfuka Juanita Warry, who runs a non-profit advocating for LGBT Catholics in Uganda.

According to Chantal Gotz, founder and managing director of VoF, the list of speakers required approval from Cardinal Farrell before they could move forward with planning. When he returned a list of approved names, McAleese and Warry were not included.

Farrell heads the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the office in charge of organizing the World Meeting of Families this August and the 2019 international World Youth Day in Panama. Given the topic of this year’s Synod of Bishops, which will reflect on “Faith, young people and the discernment of vocation,” Farrell’s office is also a key player in organizing that event.

In comments to CNA, Gotz said the conference organizers were not given a reason for having the speakers barred, so “we engaged in dialogue with the cardinal and asked him for an explanation for blocking the names,” however “we were not able to go further since an explanation was not forthcoming.”

While an official reason for blocking the speakers might be lacking, it is widely believed Farrell made the decision because of the proposed speakers’ controversial stances on the question of homosexuality.

McAleese has a son who is gay, and according to the Irish Independent, at one point said her son had gone through “torture” when he learned about the Catholic Church’s position on the issue.

McAleese has previously advocated for same-sex marriage, accusing the Catholic Church of “hypocrisy” for its stance on marriage. She has also publicly advocated for the ordination of women to the priesthood, in opposition to the teachings of the Church expressed in Pope St. John Paul II’s Ordinatio Sacerdotalis.

According to a Feb. 2 press release from VoF, as the former president of Ireland McAleese “is no stranger to the Vatican, having held the highest position in public office in a predominantly Catholic country.”

“She is known for her staunch support for gay and women’s rights and has often spoken publicly about her frustrations with her Catholic faith.”

Warry is also an active campaigner on issues related to homosexuality.

Gotz told CNA she was “stunned” by Farrell’s decision, as such issues have never been a problem in the past.

In previous years the conference has invited a host of speakers who hold opposing views to the Church’s position on major issues such as abortion, contraception and women’s ordination, she said. Some of them have spoken openly about their positions during the event, however, this marks the first year that any of the speakers have been rejected.

“We have always been respectful of the viewpoints of the Church,” Gotz told CNA, “yet we, like Pope Francis, recognize there is a critical need to open the church to more dialogue.”

In the press release, the purpose of the VoF event is to “empower and advocate for Catholic women to have a seat at the table of decision making in the Catholic Church.”

The statement also voices the organization’s belief that a key solution to various problems the Church faces “lies in having a diversity of thought, expertise and education at the leadership level, skill sets they say can be brought by women and lay people if only they were more welcomed into these structures.”

The conference, she said, “allows us to not only celebrate the wonderful work Catholic women are doing across the globe, but also create discussion and dialogue on the current power and leadership structures of our Church today.”

More than anything, “we hope it will help create a bridge to dialogue between those who have feared that dialogue for too long,” she said.

“Women are willing and ready to share their faith and their gifts. They should be afforded a seat at the table so that women’s voices and perspectives become an integrated part of decision making within the Church.”

Rather than taking McAleese and Warry off of their list of speakers, organizers of VoF opted for a change of location, and the conference will now take place at the Jesuit Curia in Rome.

“The Jesuits, in true form, have welcomed us and our speakers,” Gotz told CNA, explaining that she is unsure if the rift with Cardinal Farrell will affect future VoF events.

Cardinal Farrell could not be reached for comment.

CNA’s Perry West contributed reporting for this story.

[…]

19 Comments

  2. Well, with PF’s answer to the dubia regarding the place of homosexuality, even before the synod opens, it’s official. The church is now downstream of the culture, not the reverse. In its effort to appeal to modern man, it has taken his grotesque form, his lost gaze, his empty heart and mind. The NO Church is no longer “Gods” now – it’s no longer made in the image and likeness of His majesty, His bride; under PF, it’s become his harlot.

    Reply

  3. I like Bishop Barron and I wish him the best at the SOS, but I fear that I detected more than a little ‘yada yada yada’ in his article.

    Let’s keep our fingers crossed and pray and hope.

    Reply

  4. Bishop Barron hit the nail right on the head when he wrote:

    “And here I hesitate, precisely because feelings, however intense, do not in themselves constitute a theological argument.”

    Bishop Barron,
    Thank you, and I will pray for you during the Synod.

    Reply

  8. I would like to begin with an apology. You have to be deprived of me for five weeks. I was elected (because I’m popular). The Pope needs me to act out Kabuki Theatre for five weeks. I will confess to having some mixed feelings about leaving Minnesota for Rome. Alas, I must have high-level, hoity-toity discussions with popular people like me regarding some important matters you wouldn’t understand, dear donors. But I don’t like the prospect of being away from you. Honestly.

    I was a delegate on vacation to the Synod on Young People five years ago. We blathered on about nothing then, before we napped each day. This waste of time will be based on what they call an Instrumentum Laboris. Ketman requires that I say it is a good read. Final documents have been written, irregardless of our convictions. The Pope is expected to say nothing. His role is to take notes on what others say. We make sure he likes what we say so none of his friends visit us afterwards.

    But what about the substance? How will we walk together under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, which is the Doctrine of the Pope? My hope is that feelings, like my missing you, will not be all we discuss. Besides the crucial feelings of women and those in the LGBT community, it would be nice to consider a bit about the Bible, the theological tradition, and the natural moral law. My very real hope is that the engagement of both the pastoral and properly theological dimensions of this issue of inclusivity will be a key work of the synod. But I promise I will be nice and not upset the papal guests. I promise to send a postcard. XOXO

    Reply

  9. Dear Bishop Barron,

    You say you have some “mixed feelings” about this gathering? If that is the case, then I strongly suggest to you that you read and pray over your fellow Bishop Strickland’s response to this questionable gathering. Now that Bishop is a a true “profile in courage”. As a layman clear out here on the plains in South Dakota, I can see clearly that what Bishop Strickland has to say is “TRUTH TO POWER”. And do do you know why? It’s because what Bishop Strickland has to say is the TRUTH! So, please, take to heart what this Sheperd of Christ is saying in this moment in time, as predicted by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ said 2000 years ago, “In the end, white will become black and black will become white”. And yes, I will pray for you that you will have a courageous heart, mind and backbone, just as our Lord Jesus had when he faced Pilate and the people who were calling to “Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” You are a very erudite man, and you know what is being said here. So, simply put, Bishop Strickland has it right. Will you get it right, too? And remember this, “Remember man, thou are dust and to dust thou shall return”. And a great Saint said, “the road to hell is paved with Bishops heads”.

    Reply

  10. Yes Bishop Barron, I pray this for you and all faithful Bishops and other faithful participating in the so-called Synod-on-Synodality :

    “Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts if your faithful, and kindle in them the Fire of your Love.”

    I also pray that there be no tribute paid to ambiguity, but only tribute paid to Christ, who commands: “Let your YES be YES, and your NO be NO.”

    Reply

  11. My prayer for Bishopp Barron is that he reads his fellow Bishop Strickland’s letter of “truth to powers” and take it to heart. That’s my prayer for him.

    Reply

  12. Did he take the privileged path to Rome by flying on a plane? Or did he decide he could walk to the coast and swim the Atlantic and then finish the journey by foot? Perhaps he took a boat across the Atlantic and then hiked, rode horses or whatever else to get to Rome?

    No matter, the plane is simply a privileged path.

    Reply

  13. We read: “And here I hesitate, precisely because feelings, however intense, do not in themselves constitute a theological argument.”
    “Hesitate”? What, instead, about that key line in “The Sound of Freedom:” “When God tells you to do something, you cannot hesitate!” Or, St. Paul: “Do all things without murmuring and without questioning [hesitation?], so as to be blameless and guileless, children of God without blemish IN THE MIDST OF A DEPRAVED AND PERVERSE GENERATION….” (Philippians 2:14-15).

    Above the bubble-universe Instrumentum Laboris, is there even one bishop at the synod who could at least proclaim and enforce a simple (and helpful!) Friday night curfew on a teenage girl?

    Theological argument? Hesitate?

    Reply

  14. Well Bishop, if you prove as spineless as many, and go along with the pope’s kooky ideas to change the Church’s teachings on sexuality ( as appears to be all the rage among the “cool folk) I predict a very bad long term outcome.People will leave the church and take their wallets with them. It might behoove you to take a look at the Protestant churches who have welcomed this nonsense with open arms. Their numbers (in both attendees and CASH) are way DOWN. REAL Christians are able to be fair-minded to gay folks. BUT!!!! That is NOT the same as the church giving their life-style the OK just to be “nice. Ah, the tyranny of “niceness”. It is a red herring and a false path. There are in fact, more important things than NICE. One of them is TRUTH. Its never easy to tell people their sexual behavior is sinful ( include in this MANY behaviors from adultery to living together, or having serial sexual partners, or trans/ homosexuality stuff). Its difficult to call a person out on their behaviors, and nobody of course wants to be told they are in sin and have their fun spoiled. That is what has made it suddenly not nice to tell the truth. Well, nice or not, it is what the church has taught for thousands of years, and for good reasons too long to go into here. I suggest that the Bishop steel himself for what is going to come his way at the synod, because the pressure will be enormous to rubber stamp all sorts of nutty stuff because of whining about fair, nice, “womens rights” or whatever jargon this group will use. Like the recent attempts to eradicate and change American history, this will be an attempt to do the same to the church. I will pray the synod will fail. Then I hope the pope will have the grace and smarts to resign before he does anymore damage.

    Reply

  16. You won’t have to tell your neighbor or your brother to know God, because everyone will know God, from the least of them to the greatest. — See Jeremiah 31.34

    looks like we need to preach to people to seek to know God.

    Reply

2 Trackbacks / Pingbacks

  1. Bishop Barron: As I leave for the Synod on Synodality – Via Nova
  2. VVEDNESDAY EVENING EDITION – BigPulpit.com

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