SINODO: L’IDEA È SUPERIORE ALLA REALTÀ (SYNOD: THE IDEA IS SUPERIOR THAN THE REALITY)
By denying the axiom contained in Evangelii gaudium, according to which reality is superior to the idea, reading the Instrumentum laboris of the Synod next October and listening to the press conference of presentation of last June 20, one gets the distinct sensation that in the Vatican someone lives in a fairy world, which persists in believing true, perhaps not to have to deny the dreams of youth. Some factual considerations to think about.
The hot spots of the Universal Synod are the same as those of the Synod of the German Church. Either the whole Church thinks like the Teutonics, or the agenda is already written. One of two. A simple observation. If the first hypothesis were true, then the bishops and elderly members of the Germanic synod really have the pulse of the situation. They are smart, brilliant and prophetic: let us be governed by them!
In the Instrumentum Laboris there is much talk of discernment: one would think that since the Pope is a Jesuit, this is more than natural. It is a pity that the proposed discernment does not have much to do with the Ignatian one. In fact, the latter never has as its object the sacramental practice of the Church, much less her doctrine. The object of Ignatian discernment is election, that is, the way of serving Christ and the Church by imitating more closely the poverty and humility of Christ. Furthermore, true discernment - as Ignatius wants - does not lead to synodal conclusions, but must be submitted only to the hierarchical Mother Church, which sifts through the feelings of the individual on "feeling with the Church". Those who do not believe in it should read the text of the Exercises.
There is a model of community discernment in Ignatius, and it is contained in the 1539 text entitled Deliberation of the first fathers. When Basque and his companions arrived in Rome to place themselves at the Pope's disposal, they had to decide whether to disperse or remain united as a body of the Company. To elect this they started a community discernment made up of fasting and personal spiritual direction (each with a different director). They came unanimously - without having first consulted - to the choice of remaining united to offer themselves in the service of the Church. This community discernment has nothing to do with the method proposed by the Synod.
It is more than evident that the Instrumentum Laboris has not kept everyone's voices in mind. We have personally seen the synodal proposals of a highly qualified ecclesial body: there is no trace of what is written in the Instrumentum Laboris. Perhaps because there was talk of conversion, listening, silence and the worldly drifts of the Church.
The instances of moderate Catholicism have not been taken into any consideration. Much less those of more traditional or traditionalist Catholics. The latter have always denounced the possible drifts of the Synod…. In light of the events it is increasingly difficult to blame him. When a courageous journalist dared to ask the reason for these absences at a press conference, she was told: "We listen to everyone". Which is as if I were answering those who ask me "how is your health", that "the doctors are actually very good"!!! You can't figure out if the people on the secretariat are stupid or smart.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned all the time. But that this Spirit is the Spirit of Christ who remembers what the Master taught us is never said. At the theological level there is a deliberate and guilty manipulation of the function of the Third Person (as a practice among the adepts of the Dominican brothers Philippe and in Jean Vanier in France). The function of recalling the radical nature of following, proper to the Spirit, is deliberately ignored. It would not be functional to the 'new course'. Do you want to deny what we are writing? Prove it.
The secretariat of the Synod - no one has highlighted this yet - is not actually based in the Vatican but on Mars. There is a Church there where lines of gay couples are asking for sacramental marriage pressing on the doors of the parishes; where women slip under the hands of the bishops to be ordained and transsexuals are the most assiduous at the Holy Rosary in the evening. It may be true... but we on planet Earth don't see these things. The LGBTQ+ people don't care about having the priest's blessing to make their own life.
Refrain: “the Church must welcome and not judge”. Hoax! Our parishes in the vast majority have been welcoming the poor, the marginalized, the migrants, the many for decades. Only those who live on ecclesiastical careers have never noticed it. Study the social sanctity of the Piedmontese nineteenth century where charity and truth never came into conflict. But study seriously. We forget that Truth is the greatest form of charity.
“Only in truth does charity shine forth and can it be authentically lived. Truth is the light that gives meaning and value to charity”, wrote Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate.
The Instrumentum Laboris is a clear denial of Pope Francis' will to see the Church from the point of view of the peripheries of the world. Because it is precisely the young local Churches of the Asian and African suburbs (the only continent where Catholics are growing significantly) who are absolutely not interested in the Synod's questions. The Synod - let us have the courage to deny it - is strongly Eurocentric.
The people of our parishes, at least in Italy, don't care at all about the Synod: Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi himself, in an interview with L'Osservatore Romano, admitted that participation in the synodal process was less than expected. So in Rome, Milan, Palermo, Naples… all the diocesan curias know this very well. Just make a phone call and ask them. Some have registered a slight interest because they have themed topics that are valid for their local reality. Nothing more.
But then: who is behind the Synod? Freemasonry? The Smurfs? Disappointed 68-year-olds? We couldn't answer. But it is evident that there is a very aggressive minority who want to condition everyone, silencing large groups of God's people.
PP
Silere non possum
