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Cardinal Zen publishes new critique of Synod on Synodality

Cardinal Joseph Zen preaches a sermon during a Mass at the Holy Cross Church on May 24, 2022, in Hong Kong, China. (Image: Anthony Kwan/Getty Images)

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has released another critique of the Synod on Synodality, arguing that the ongoing discussion and discernment process offers “two opposing visions” of the nature, organization, and role of the Church.

“On the one hand, the Church is presented as founded by Jesus on the apostles and their successors, with a hierarchy of ordained ministers who guide the faithful on the journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem,” the 92-year-old cardinal observes in a nearly 3,600-word commentary posted on Feb. 15 titled “How will the Synod continue and end?”

“On the other hand, there is talk of an undefined synodality, a ‘democracy of the baptized,’” he continues, interjecting “Which baptized people? Do they at least go to church regularly? Do they draw faith from the Bible and strength from the sacraments?”

“This other vision, if legitimized,” he warns, “can change everything, the doctrine of faith and the discipline of moral life.”

Going into a deeper examination of these visions of ecclesiology, the cardinal writes that “in order not to see a contradiction in it, we must understand this invitation to synodality not as having to do something completely new but as giving a new impulse to something that has always existed in the Church.”

Zen acknowledges that synods have been a “historic reality” of the Church. Yet while earlier synods took place within the framework of the apostolic tradition and were guided by the “hierarchy of ordained ministers who guide the faithful on the journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem,” the current synod is characterized by an “undefined synodality” and a “democracy of the baptized,” he argues.

“They tell us that synodality is a fundamental constitutive element of the life of the Church, but at the same time they emphasize that synodality is what the Lord expects of us today. Participation and communion are obviously permanent characteristics of the one holy catholic and apostolic Church. But doesn’t saying that synodality is ‘the thing that the Lord expects of us today’ mean that it is something new?” he writes.

“In order not to see a contradiction in it, we must understand this invitation to synodality not as having to do something completely new but as giving a new impulse to something that has always existed in the Church.”

One of the cardinal’s main concerns is how the Synod on Synodality is being conducted at the universal level, beginning with the initial assembly at the Vatican in October 2023 and culminating later this year with a final assembly in October.

Referring to the Synod on Synodality’s call to “walk together,” he asks: “What is the goal of this journey? Is there a guide that ensures the right direction?”

In his essay the cardinal also takes issue with the synod’s incorporation of the “conversation in the Spirit,” a dialogic process he says was initiated by the Jesuits in Canada. “Imposing this method on the synod proceedings is a manipulation aiming at avoiding discussions,” he argues. “It is all psychology and sociology, no faith and no theology.”

The cardinal has already expressed his concern over the trajectory of the Synod on Synodality in a letter addressed to bishops that was sent out just days before the start of the first session of the synod in October.


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8 Comments

  1. So we have two visions: “On the one hand, the Church is presented as founded by Jesus on the apostles and their successors, with a hierarchy of ordained ministers who guide the faithful on the journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem”, which is a very top down approach, and then we have: “an undefined synodality, a ‘democracy of the baptized”, a bottom up approach.

    But could there be a third option? How about a hierarchical Church that is at the same time a listening Church?

    When the Pope issues a document like Fiducia, conservatives complain that it was “top down”, that there was no consultation. When the Synod was on, conservatives complain that that consultation is unnecessary.

    I’m reminded of a philosophy professor who was a good critic of postmodernism. Mocking its many ironies, he said: “I’m opposed to censorship, unless it is the censorship of something I’m opposed to”.

    • Your third option has been going on since Vatican II. The Church has listened to and responded to everything from women priests to opposition to Humane Vitae to married priests to abortion to liturgical practices to the role of women to liberation theology to……..If one does like the answers, one’s conclusion would be that the Church is not listening.

      • Excellent points. Especially re one’s complaint and conclusion about NOT BEING HEARD. This is a ubiquitous phenomenon in virtually all relationships of all kinds —– spouses, parents & children –– everywhere. The problem often arises from a perceived lack of respect & acknowledgement, not just the difference of opinions or decisions.
        The simplistic bifurcation of leadership styles between top–down & bottom–up seems unhelpful when trying to bridge the two for a better, commonly acceptable outcome. One size/solution does not fit all and the leadership approach must be tailored to the context. In the Church, with God’s Will as the primary guide, there is no “bottom–up” way. As we are taught in James, chapter one, verses 5–6, the bottom members are still children of God needing Heavenly guidance. The mortal “top members” must listen and help all to see the Lord’s way, the one way He knows will be of greatest benefit to His Children.
        Mankind’s social organizations & clubs can make up their own rules & notions. Those who agree can join & work toward change & improvement. In the Church, we follow & obey God’s teachings. It’s not up for debate. The Lord decides & specifies, not by committee or majority vote. We repent, exercise faith and obey.

      • Not even the pope or bishops possess the truth. All human thoughts and formulae always fall short of God’s fullness. The truth is entrusted to the whole Church and the sum total of the Church’s teaching will never exhaust the mystery that is God. God is the only source of authority and thus, all reflection on faith is a ministry, a service of the Word. A council is the Church in action at a given time and a given place in history. A dogma is not an endpoint as much as a new beginning and must be reinterpreted in dialogue with the sensus fidei.

        Father Pieter Fransen, S.J.

  2. The belief that the early church was democratic is a Protestant invention to discredit the priesthood and papacy. For the current church hierarchy to push the Protestant lie in the synod speaks volumes about the real crisis in the church.

  3. When I read the words of leaders like Cardinal Zen, I am inspired and uplifted. However, there are others that leave me confused and conflicted. Hearing and listening to the servants of God that truly shepherd the flock, rather than leave them wandering, is what is needed. God bless him to be able to continue to call out to the Church and lead all to Christ.

  4. Cardinal Zen appears among us as a type of Elijah. Our wilderness is not the Advent supernatural to nature reference distinct from the City of Man. Rather ours is the dark wilderness of deceit and deception. Zen’s remarkable eyesight pierces the machinations, shattering them with plain scriptural based theologic. An odyssey of which he asks, “What is the goal of this journey?
    Our Elijah references, parody like, Jezebel’s prophets hopping and shouting to awaken Baal. Whilst Ahab, monarch of God’s Israel, he doth sitteth in quiet approval.

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