An academic congress — “From the Council to the Synod: Rereading a Church’s Journey, 60 Years on Since Lumen Gentium (1964–2024)” — was hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–30, 2024. (Credit: Pontifical Gregorian University)
Vatican City, Oct 30, 2024 / 15:25 pm (CNA).
Theologians and others involved in the October gathering of the Synod on Synodality met this week to offer their expert opinions on the synodal process as it moves into the “reception” or implementation phase.
The academic congress — “From the Council to the Synod: Rereading a Church’s Journey, 60 Years on Since Lumen Gentium (1964–2024)” — was hosted by the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from Oct. 28–30.
“We are still in this synodal process, and with the approval of the final document, in fact, the third phase of the synod opens, which is that of reception,” said Father Dario Vitali, a theology professor and theological coordinator at the Synod on Synodality assemblies.
Speaking during the conference’s opening Oct. 28, Vitali said: “It will be the Churches above all that will do the work [of implementation], but it also becomes important to have an event like this in which theological experts and canonists who participated in the synod sessions can offer their reflection after having served in the assembly, a reflection based on expertise.”
The congress, which immediately followed the monthlong gathering of the second session of the Synod on Synodality at the Vatican, featured many of the experts who presented at four theological forums during the synodal assembly.
Those included theologians Father Gilles Routhier, Father Carlos Galli, Cardinal-designate Archbishop Roberto Repole, Thomas Söding, and canonists Myriam Wijlens and Father José San José Prisco.
Synod leadership also participated in the three-day academic event, including the synod’s general secretary, Cardinal Mario Grech, and the synod’s special secretaries Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa and Father Riccardo Battochio.
“It is urgent to foster dialogue between pastors and those engaged in theological research,” Grech said in his opening remarks Oct. 28.
“We could say that for something that closes, there is something else that opens,” he continued. “The final document that is the mature fruit of the consensus reached is now returned to the holy people of God, because there is circularity between the universal Church and local Churches.”
“The stage of celebration ends and the stage of reception begins,” he said.
On the second day of the conference, which was focused on the theme of synodality and the role of the bishop, French Canadian theologian Routhier highlighted how “bishops’ conferences are not simply a grouping of hierarchs,” that is, bishops, “but express the ‘communio ecclesiarum,’” the communion of Churches.
Wijlens said in her presentation that “with this synod, Pope Francis has invited us to enter into a process of reconfiguration of the active principles of the Church,” and “the people of God have entered into this new path,” which represents a “Church on the move where canonical norms must provide for the implementation of this path and not stifle it.”
The third day of the conference was titled “The Church and Her Institutions: A Reinterpretation from a Synodal Perspective.”
Grech spoke at length about the connections between the Second Vatican Council and the Synod on Synodality and said he was joyful that Pope Francis chose to approve the synod’s final document, allowing it to participate “in the ordinary magisterium of the successor of Peter.”
“It seems to me that I can say that Vatican II has been the inspirational model, the certain horizon for the path accomplished until today, a sort of compass to orient the path of the Church, our path,” the synod leader said.
“It is not out of place,” he continued, “to speak of the synod as a moment of mature, or at least more mature, reception of the council.”
“It could be said that the final document re-proposes the ecclesiological doctrine of the council. In fact, one catches here an advance in line with the council but one that significantly advances the council’s doctrine,” Grech said.
“But the final document does not just take up the council: It rethinks it, translates it, embodies it in processes,” he added. “As in the case of the third part, devoted to the conversion of processes, here participation in decision-making processes is a matter that the council had not intended to touch.”
Veronica Giacometti, Antonio Tarallo, and Marco Mancini of CNA’s Italian-language news partner ACI Stampa contributed to this report.
If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!
Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Pallbearers carry the wooden coffin of Pope Francis, marked with a cross, into St. Peter’s Square for the funeral Mass on April 26, 2025. / Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Vatican City, Apr 26, 2025 / 05:03 am (CNA).
More than 200,000 people filled St. Peter’s Square for the funeral of Pope Francis on Saturday as the world said goodbye to the first Latin American pope who led the Catholic Church for the past 12 years.
Under the bright Roman sun and amid crowds extending down the Via della Conciliazione, the funeral Mass unfolded within the great colonnade of St. Peter’s Basilica. Heads of state, religious leaders, and pilgrims from across the globe gathered for the historic farewell.
An aerial view of St. Peter’s Square filled with thousands of mourners, clergy, and dignitaries gathered for Pope Francis’s funeral Mass under clear blue skies in Vatican City on April 26, 2025.`. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, presided over the Mass, delivering a homily that paid tribute to Francis’ missionary vision, human warmth, spontaneity, witness to mercy, and “charisma of welcome and listening.”
“Evangelization was the guiding principle of his pontificate,” Re said.
Pope Francis “often used the image of the Church as a ‘field hospital’ after a battle in which many were wounded; a Church determined to take care of the problems of people and the great anxieties that tear the contemporary world apart; a Church capable of bending down to every person, regardless of their beliefs or condition, and healing their wounds.”
As bells tolled solemnly, the funeral rite began with the intonation of the entrance antiphon: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon him.”
The late pope’s closed plain wooden coffin lay in front of the altar throughout the Mass.
A view of the coffin of Pope Francis resting before the altar at the funeral Mass on St. Peter’s Square, April 26, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
“In this majestic Saint Peter’s Square, where Pope Francis celebrated the Eucharist so many times and presided over great gatherings over the past twelve years, we are gathered with sad hearts in prayer around his mortal remains,” Re said.
“With our prayers, we now entrust the soul of our beloved Pontiff to God, that he may grant him eternal happiness in the bright and glorious gaze of his immense love,” he added.
View of St. Peter’s Basilica during the Funeral Mass of Pope Francis on April 26, 2025. Peter Gagnon / EWTN
Among the more than 50 heads of state present were U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, alongside former President Joe Biden. Also in attendance were Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Argentine President Javier Milei, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, French President Emmanuel Macron, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva joined the throng of international dignitaries along with representatives of religious traditions from around the world.
Royal families also paid their respects, with Prince William representing King Charles III and Spanish King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia seated near the altar.
Pilgrims arrived before sunrise to claim their spots in St. Peter’s Square for the Mass with the first in line camping out the night before.
The funeral followed the Ordo Exsequiarum Romani Pontificis, the official liturgical order for papal funerals, which was updated at Pope Francis’ own request in 2024. Scripture readings included Acts 10:34-43, Philippians 3:20–4:1, Psalm 22, and the Gospel of John 21:15-19 — a passage in which the risen Christ tells Peter: “Feed my sheep.”
More than 200 cardinals and 750 bishops and priests concelebrated the funeral Mass. More than 4,000 journalists representing 1,800 media outlets reported on the event. All told, the Holy See said more than 250,000 mourners attended.
In his homily, Cardinal Re reflected on key moments in Pope Francis’ pontificate from his risk-defying trip to Iraq to visit Christians communities persecuted by the Islamic State to his Mass on the border between Mexico and the United States during his journey to Mexico.
“Faced with the raging wars of recent years, with their inhuman horrors and countless deaths and destruction, Pope Francis incessantly raised his voice imploring peace and calling for reason and honest negotiation to find possible solutions,” the cardinal said, causing the crowd to erupt in spontaneous applause.
Pope Francis’ coffin lies in St. Peter’s Square during the papal funeral Mass on Saturday, April 26, 2025. Credit: EWTN News
“Pope Francis always placed the Gospel of mercy at the center, repeatedly emphasizing that God never tires of forgiving us. He forgives, whatever the situation might be of the person who asks for forgiveness and returns to the right path,” Re reflected. “Mercy and the joy of the Gospel are two key words for Pope Francis.”
The cardinal presided over the final commendation and farewell for Pope Francis, praying: “Dear brothers and sisters, let us commend to God’s tender mercy the soul of Pope Francis, bishop of the Catholic Church, who confirmed his brothers and sisters in the faith of the resurrection.”
“Let us pray to God our Father through Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit; may he deliver him from death, welcome him to eternal peace and raise up him on the last day,” he said.
After the crowd chanted the Litany of Saints in Latin, Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar general of the Diocese of Rome, offered a final prayer: “O God, faithful rewarder of souls, grant that your departed servant and our bishop, Pope Francis, whom you made successor of Peter and shepherd of your Church, may happily enjoy forever in your presence in heaven the mysteries of your grace and compassion, which he faithfully ministered on earth.”
A poignant moment followed as Eastern Catholic patriarchs, major archbishops, and metropolitans from the “sui iuris” Churches approached the coffin while a choir chanted a Greek prayer from the Byzantine Funeral Office.
Re blessed the coffin with holy water and incense as the choir sang in Latin: “I know that my Redeemer lives: on the last day I shall rise again.”
At the end of the Mass, the traditional antiphon “In Paradisum” was sung in Latin, asking for the angels to guide the pope’s soul to heaven.
“May the angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs come and welcome you and take you to the holy city, the new and eternal Jerusalem. May choirs of angels welcome you and with Lazarus, who is poor no longer, may you have eternal rest.”
In keeping with his wishes, Pope Francis will not be buried in the Vatican grottoes alongside his predecessors. Instead, his body will be taken in procession through the streets of Rome in a vehicle to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, a church he visited over 100 times in his lifetime to pray before an icon of the Virgin Mary, “Salus Populi Romani,” particularly before and after his papal journeys.
Pope Francis’ wooden coffin is transported on the popemobile through the streets of Rome as crowds of faithful line the procession route from St. Peter’s Basilica to the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore, April 26, 2025. Credit: Daniel Ibáñez/CNA
In Rome’s most important Marian basilica, Pope Francis will be laid to rest in a simple tomb marked with a single word: Franciscus.
Remembering Pope Francis
Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on Dec. 17, 1936, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and entered the Society of Jesus at age 21. Following his ordination in 1969, he served as a Jesuit provincial, seminary rector, and professor before St. John Paul II appointed him auxiliary bishop of Buenos Aires in 1992. He became archbishop of the Argentine capital in 1998 and was created cardinal in 2001.
The surprise election of Cardinal Bergoglio on March 13, 2013, at age 76 marked several historic firsts: He became the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, and the first to choose the name Francis, inspired by St. Francis of Assisi’s devotion to poverty, peace, and creation.
His 12-year pontificate was characterized by a focus on mercy, care for creation, and attention to what he called the “peripheries” of both the Church and society. He made 47 apostolic journeys outside Italy, though he never visited his native Argentina.
During his tenure, Pope Francis canonized 942 saints — more than any other pope in history — including his predecessors John XXIII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. He published four encyclicals and seven apostolic exhortations while promulgating 75 motu proprio documents.
Throughout his papacy, Francis significantly reshaped the College of Cardinals through 10 consistories, creating 163 new cardinals. His appointments reflected his vision of a global Church, elevating prelates from the peripheries and creating cardinals in places that had never before had one, including Mongolia and South Sudan.
Health challenges marked the pope’s final years. He underwent surgery in July 2021 and in June 2023. In November 2023, he suffered from pulmonary inflammation, and in February 2025, he was hospitalized at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital for bronchitis and a respiratory infection.
His papacy faced unprecedented challenges, including the global COVID-19 pandemic, during which he offered historic moments of prayer for humanity, notably the extraordinary urbi et orbi blessing in an empty St. Peter’s Square in March 2020. He also repeatedly called for peace amid conflicts in Ukraine and the Holy Land.
Francis convoked four synods, including the Synod on Synodality, whose second session concluded in October 2024. He implemented significant reforms of the Roman Curia and took several steps to address the clergy abuse crisis, including the 2019 motu proprio Vos Estis Lux Mundi.
Pope Francis’ funeral marks the first day in the Catholic Church’s traditional nine-day mourning period that will include nine days of requiem Masses to be offered for the repose of his soul.
“Pope Francis used to conclude his speeches and meetings by saying, ‘Do not forget to pray for me,’ Re recalled at the end of his homily.
“Dear Pope Francis, we now ask you to pray for us. May you bless the Church, bless Rome, and bless the whole world from heaven as you did last Sunday from the balcony of this Basilica in a final embrace with all the people of God, but also embrace humanity that seeks the truth with a sincere heart and holds high the torch of hope.”
Vatican City, Apr 20, 2018 / 03:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- Speaking in the southern Italian town of Alessano on Friday, Pope Francis said that we should be on fire for our faith, combining prayer and action after the example of the Italian bishop Tonino B… […]
Vatican City, Jun 4, 2018 / 02:48 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Luis Fernando Figari, a layman accused of physical, sexual and psychological abuse, has launched a second appeal against a 2017 Vatican decision prohibiting him from living with the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, the society of apostolic life he founded.
A May 25 letter from the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life said that the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, which functions as the Holy See’s supreme court, rejected Figari’s initial appeal Jan. 31.
The congregation also denied charges that it has been protecting Figari, who currently lives in Rome, from criminal investigation in Peru.
“Figari has never been hidden, sheltered, or protected in any way by the Apostolic See, and it considers unfounded the claim that Mr. Figari is prevented from defending himself or responding to accusations formulated against him in Peru,” the congregation wrote in its letter, which was made public June 1.
The congregation stated that its prohibition on Figari returning to Peru “is not in fact absolute”, and written permission for his return may be given by the pontifical commissioner of the Sodalitium.
Regarding Figari’s second appeal, the congregation wrote, “We are awaiting the final decision which, we hope, will be delivered as soon as possible and, above all, will confirm what was previously handed down.”
The Sodalitium Christianae Vitae is a society of apostolic life which was founded in 1971 in Peru, and granted pontifical recognition in 1997. CNA’s executive director, Alejandro Bermúdez, is a member of the community.
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life decreed in January 2017 that Figari may not have contact with members of the Sodalitium. It directed the community’s superior, Alessandro Moroni Llabres, to order that Figari be “prohibited from contacting, in any way, persons belonging to the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae, and no way have any direct personal contact with them.”
The congregation also directed Moroni at that time to order that Figari not return to Peru, except for very serious reasons and with written permission; that he be placed in a residence where there are no Sodalits; that a member of the Sodalits be entrusted with the task of referring to Figari, for any eventuality and request; and that Figari be prohibited from granting any statement to the media or from participating in any public demonstrations or meetings of the Sodalitium.
The congregation said an apostolic visitation had resulted “in the conviction that Mr. Figari … had adopted a style of government excessively or improperly authoritarian” and that he had “committed acts contrary to the sixth commandment”, at least one with a minor. The congregation wrote that they consider it credible that Figari committed the crime of abuse of office, as outlined in canon 1389.
In January Bishop Noel Antonio Londoño Buitrago, C.Ss.R., of Jericó was appointed pontifical commissioner of the Sodalitium. Londoño will oversee the leadership of order as they continue to reform their governing policies and formation procedures, while Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, who has been papal delegate to the Sodalitium since May 2016, will focus on reforming the community’s economic matters.
Figari stepped down as superior general of the Sodalitium Christianae Vitae in 2010, after allegations of abuse surfaced in Peru.
The community was investigated after the publication of a book in 2015 by journalists Paola Ugaz and Pedro Salinas, chronicling years of alleged sexual, physical and psychological abuse by members of the SCV. In addition to Peru, the community operates in Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, the United States, and Italy.
In February 2017, a team of independent investigators commissioned by the Sodalitium reported that “Figari sexually assaulted at least one child, manipulated, sexually abused, or harmed several other young people; and physically or psychologically abused dozens of others.”
“It could be said that the final document re-proposes the ecclesiological doctrine of the council.”
Um, I don’t think so, Cardinal.
Respectfully, Vatican II’s teachings are so clear, so undeniable, so beautiful. Nothing I’ve seen from this bureaucratic Synodolytrous blather-fest can even begin to compare.
What’s this, a victory chant for the laity, but with the laity not invited? Walk the talk…
One is almost reminded of synodal ineptness on the bridge of the Titanic, with the hireling orchestra still playing on deck even as the ship slipped into the sea. Memories differ as to whether the lyrics were “Nearer my God to Thee,” or “Autumn,” or Songe d’ Autumne…”
Your antagonism towards the band that tried to provide some comfort in the face of certain death speaks very poorly of you, in addition to being wildly off topic.
An important comma, the ineptness was on the bridge. Going too fast in iceberg waters (the owner overriding the captain); the officer-of-the-deck restricting too-few binoculars to the bridge and away from the higher-up lookouts; and then ordering a turn to the LEFT (!) enabling the 300-foot long gash instead of a more survivable head-on collision, and then reversing the left propellers which causes cavitation bubbles such that the blades have no traction at all. And, the presumption that the ship–any ship–is unsinkable. The orchestra and the entire ship’s company all sorta sailing together, synodally.
But, I agree that there should be a better analogies…On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle CHALLENGER broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. The cause of the disaster? The failure of external “O-ring” seals rendered brittle by the weather…A significant detail—foreseen and reported by an underling, and then ignored by “hot-button” potentates in the launch center.
Might we be REMINDED of the also forwardist 2024 Synod on Synodality almost breaking apart four years into its flight?..But, then, jettisoning the explosive “LGBTQ” slogan (removed from the Final Report)…And, too, rediscovering the synodal course trajectory from the ignored 2018 International Theological Commission. Especially this:
“…It is ESSENTIAL that, taken as a whole, the participants give a meaningful and balanced image of the local Church, reflecting different vocations, ministries, charisms, competencies, social status and geographical origin. The bishop, the successor of the apostles [not “primarily as facilitators”!] and shepherd of his flock [!] who convokes and presides over the local Church synod, is called to exercise there the ministry of unity [!] and leadership with the authority [!] which belongs to him” (Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church, 2018, n. 79).
QUESTION: Yes, how to “listen” to significant technical details from the laity or whomever, but without a new tribe of “hot-button” clericalists aborting coherent governance/doctrine into an inverted trajectory—the “inverted pyramid” (c)hurch? From the Final Report: Church authorities in the Barque of Peter “may not ignore” conclusions (“conclusions”?) reached by consultative, participatory bodies…“May not ignore” meaning what?
Surely not meaning the square circle of “may not reject”? Surely not double-speak voice overs against the successors of the Apostles of Lumen Gentium, nor deafness to the voice of Dei Verbum? Surely not local-option colonialism under continental red and purple hats? Think “continental drift” of Africa and others under the divisive Fiducia Supplicans…
So, this from so-called “rigid bigots”: Isn’t constant change the deepest rut of all?
This Synod has just caused confusion, and has harmed the understanding of Catholics from around the world by causing conflict with and to Tradition and doctrine. It has been without any degree of listening to the Holy Spirit, but rather the imposition of a preset end point. Though I think the pope and his entourage of progressives are disappointed that they are consistently met by the those who still value Tradition, doctrine, and scriptural foundations.
The Church does not create doctrine out of whole cloth! This pope is determined to follow after the world at the expense of what should be our focus – Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected.
It seems that the purpose of bishops conferences in the US and Europe is to suppress and suffocate the voice of good shepherds, and decapitate and dismember the Body of Christ, and replace it with a “queer church.”
Exhibits: these “Eminences” of the queer-royal-court: Hollerich, McElroy, J. Tobin, Cupich, Radcliffe, Schonborn, Grech, etc, etc.
As Pope Benedict XVI observed, these conferences have no authority from Jesus.
They are concocted by men who prefer to preach “a different gospel.”
My advice: Give the Church 25 years to digest this Synod and then make whatever conclusions the Church wishes to draw from it. And before that time, refrain from making changes that are ill-considered and which we might regret. After all, 25 years is a drop in the bucket considering that the Church has been around 2,000 years.
Addendum to my post about waiting for 25 years before drawing any conclusions about this Synod: The Church waited almost 400 years before codifying Sacred Scripture as definitive at the Council of Rome. Obviously, the Church had at its disposal Scripture in the interim years but all was not settled for a long, long time (and that was during a time when the eschaton was believed to be imminent).
That’s the model for “decapitating the Body of Christ” (to use the theme created by Fr. Robert Imbelli).
“Sojourners” who have “moved beyond Jesus” (to quote the neo-pagan “nun” Ms. Laurie Brink of the LCWR) are simply looking for a bishop or pontiff who will sacramentalize their “queer ideology.”
That’s the purpose of McElroy and Hollerich et al.
Ends not with a bang but rather a whimper. The hot air is slowly seeping out of the already deflated, limp balloon 🎈. Meanwhile the barque sails on, its course unaffected.
Rereading a Church’s Journey may read rewriting a Church’s journey. CNA offers nothing substantive except to describe a process of implementation that doesn’t identify what should be implemented, rather a vague reference to the need for pastors to consult with “those engaged in theological research” (Cdl Grech). It reminds me of Queen Esther telling King Ahasuerus that she and her people were in mortal jeopardy, the King responding, Who and where?
The analogy is meant to underline the gravity of referring to what a pastor [and bishops, and bishops conferences] should teach, instill, educate his parishioners [what happened to Christ?]. Nothing can have greater import for the parishioners and the Church. Or as Bob above apprehends with clear vision that “It will be the Churches above all that will do the work”, clearly not the One, Holy, Apostolic Catholic Church.
“’When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all'” (Lewis Carroll, “Alice in Synodaland”).
These gentlemen need be yanked from their desk jobs and given something constructive to do…a few years occupancy at La Grande Chartreuse or a decade in the South Bronx might wake them up. Anything to get them off there seats — to their knees or on their feet. Presently they serve no purpose but to substitute the New World Order for the One True Faith.
Using the phrase “the people of God” when actually meaning “synod delegates in lockstep with ‘progressive’ secular ideology” is not just an example of hubris at its finest, but an insult to those of us who see this entire synodal process as less than inspired or inspiring. Speak for yourself, Ms. Wijlens, and keep “the people of God” out of it.
I’ll go with Catholic Unscripted, Oct. 29, 2024.
Cardinal Grech is quoted as saying:
“It could be said that the final document re-proposes the ecclesiological doctrine of the council.”
Um, I don’t think so, Cardinal.
Respectfully, Vatican II’s teachings are so clear, so undeniable, so beautiful. Nothing I’ve seen from this bureaucratic Synodolytrous blather-fest can even begin to compare.
What’s this, a victory chant for the laity, but with the laity not invited? Walk the talk…
One is almost reminded of synodal ineptness on the bridge of the Titanic, with the hireling orchestra still playing on deck even as the ship slipped into the sea. Memories differ as to whether the lyrics were “Nearer my God to Thee,” or “Autumn,” or Songe d’ Autumne…”
But, as for today and the Barque of Peter, here with the clear ring of truth is a post-synodal dirge from layman George Weigel at First Things–“Overhyped, Overmanaged, Underwhelming—and Providentially Heartening” (10-28-24): https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2024/10/letters-from-the-synod-2024-12
Your antagonism towards the band that tried to provide some comfort in the face of certain death speaks very poorly of you, in addition to being wildly off topic.
An important comma, the ineptness was on the bridge. Going too fast in iceberg waters (the owner overriding the captain); the officer-of-the-deck restricting too-few binoculars to the bridge and away from the higher-up lookouts; and then ordering a turn to the LEFT (!) enabling the 300-foot long gash instead of a more survivable head-on collision, and then reversing the left propellers which causes cavitation bubbles such that the blades have no traction at all. And, the presumption that the ship–any ship–is unsinkable. The orchestra and the entire ship’s company all sorta sailing together, synodally.
But, I agree that there should be a better analogies…On January 28, 1986, the Space Shuttle CHALLENGER broke apart 73 seconds into its flight. The cause of the disaster? The failure of external “O-ring” seals rendered brittle by the weather…A significant detail—foreseen and reported by an underling, and then ignored by “hot-button” potentates in the launch center.
Might we be REMINDED of the also forwardist 2024 Synod on Synodality almost breaking apart four years into its flight?..But, then, jettisoning the explosive “LGBTQ” slogan (removed from the Final Report)…And, too, rediscovering the synodal course trajectory from the ignored 2018 International Theological Commission. Especially this:
“…It is ESSENTIAL that, taken as a whole, the participants give a meaningful and balanced image of the local Church, reflecting different vocations, ministries, charisms, competencies, social status and geographical origin. The bishop, the successor of the apostles [not “primarily as facilitators”!] and shepherd of his flock [!] who convokes and presides over the local Church synod, is called to exercise there the ministry of unity [!] and leadership with the authority [!] which belongs to him” (Synodality in the Life and Mission of the Church, 2018, n. 79).
QUESTION: Yes, how to “listen” to significant technical details from the laity or whomever, but without a new tribe of “hot-button” clericalists aborting coherent governance/doctrine into an inverted trajectory—the “inverted pyramid” (c)hurch? From the Final Report: Church authorities in the Barque of Peter “may not ignore” conclusions (“conclusions”?) reached by consultative, participatory bodies…“May not ignore” meaning what?
Surely not meaning the square circle of “may not reject”? Surely not double-speak voice overs against the successors of the Apostles of Lumen Gentium, nor deafness to the voice of Dei Verbum? Surely not local-option colonialism under continental red and purple hats? Think “continental drift” of Africa and others under the divisive Fiducia Supplicans…
So, this from so-called “rigid bigots”: Isn’t constant change the deepest rut of all?
Third phase “reception?” The Vatican can tie me to the rack. I refuse to join yet another denomination of Protestantism.
This Synod has just caused confusion, and has harmed the understanding of Catholics from around the world by causing conflict with and to Tradition and doctrine. It has been without any degree of listening to the Holy Spirit, but rather the imposition of a preset end point. Though I think the pope and his entourage of progressives are disappointed that they are consistently met by the those who still value Tradition, doctrine, and scriptural foundations.
The Church does not create doctrine out of whole cloth! This pope is determined to follow after the world at the expense of what should be our focus – Jesus Christ crucified and resurrected.
It seems that the purpose of bishops conferences in the US and Europe is to suppress and suffocate the voice of good shepherds, and decapitate and dismember the Body of Christ, and replace it with a “queer church.”
Exhibits: these “Eminences” of the queer-royal-court: Hollerich, McElroy, J. Tobin, Cupich, Radcliffe, Schonborn, Grech, etc, etc.
As Pope Benedict XVI observed, these conferences have no authority from Jesus.
They are concocted by men who prefer to preach “a different gospel.”
My advice: Give the Church 25 years to digest this Synod and then make whatever conclusions the Church wishes to draw from it. And before that time, refrain from making changes that are ill-considered and which we might regret. After all, 25 years is a drop in the bucket considering that the Church has been around 2,000 years.
or for eternity….
Addendum to my post about waiting for 25 years before drawing any conclusions about this Synod: The Church waited almost 400 years before codifying Sacred Scripture as definitive at the Council of Rome. Obviously, the Church had at its disposal Scripture in the interim years but all was not settled for a long, long time (and that was during a time when the eschaton was believed to be imminent).
So now we no longer have One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, but “Churches.” “It will be the Churches above all that will do the work….”
“the Church at….” 🤭
In Laodicea, I think you mean.
Excellent observation.
That’s the model for “decapitating the Body of Christ” (to use the theme created by Fr. Robert Imbelli).
“Sojourners” who have “moved beyond Jesus” (to quote the neo-pagan “nun” Ms. Laurie Brink of the LCWR) are simply looking for a bishop or pontiff who will sacramentalize their “queer ideology.”
That’s the purpose of McElroy and Hollerich et al.
Ends not with a bang but rather a whimper. The hot air is slowly seeping out of the already deflated, limp balloon 🎈. Meanwhile the barque sails on, its course unaffected.
It is impossible to make sense of this mess without reference to the writings of Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre.
“debate welcomed and encouraged”? Perhaps “moderation”should be changed to obliteration! 🫣 God bless
Rereading a Church’s Journey may read rewriting a Church’s journey. CNA offers nothing substantive except to describe a process of implementation that doesn’t identify what should be implemented, rather a vague reference to the need for pastors to consult with “those engaged in theological research” (Cdl Grech). It reminds me of Queen Esther telling King Ahasuerus that she and her people were in mortal jeopardy, the King responding, Who and where?
The analogy is meant to underline the gravity of referring to what a pastor [and bishops, and bishops conferences] should teach, instill, educate his parishioners [what happened to Christ?]. Nothing can have greater import for the parishioners and the Church. Or as Bob above apprehends with clear vision that “It will be the Churches above all that will do the work”, clearly not the One, Holy, Apostolic Catholic Church.
Why “identify what should be implemented”?
“’When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ‘The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all'” (Lewis Carroll, “Alice in Synodaland”).
These gentlemen need be yanked from their desk jobs and given something constructive to do…a few years occupancy at La Grande Chartreuse or a decade in the South Bronx might wake them up. Anything to get them off there seats — to their knees or on their feet. Presently they serve no purpose but to substitute the New World Order for the One True Faith.
That actually is too often the problem of our secular world leaders; no real life experience, never gotten their hands dirty in effect.
Sounds like they had three days of back-patting and celebrating themselves.
“The stage of celebration ends and the stage of reception begins,” [Cardinal Mario Grech] said.
Watch for incoming!
“Reception” stage? I must be skipping ahead.
I’m already at the “upchuck” stage.
Using the phrase “the people of God” when actually meaning “synod delegates in lockstep with ‘progressive’ secular ideology” is not just an example of hubris at its finest, but an insult to those of us who see this entire synodal process as less than inspired or inspiring. Speak for yourself, Ms. Wijlens, and keep “the people of God” out of it.
Disgusting to read the comments! Totally prejudiced and one-sided!