If you want to know why synodality will not gain the sensus fidelium of 99.9% of the Church, clergy, religious and laity, all you have to do is read Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese's opinion piece in the National "catholic" Reporter:
Synodality demands transparency and accountability from bishops
I won't quote anything in his article as you can read it for yourself by pressing the opinion piece's title.
Most commentators are saying that the Synod on Synodality was an exercise in Catholicism Lite, and vapid "spirit" of Vatican II thinking placed on steroids.
The walking together and listening to each other seems to have omitted the primacy of listening to God first, through Scripture, Tradition and the 2000 year history of the Magisterium of the Church, especially the early Church Fathers.
The final document, now added to Pope Francis papal magisterium, is embarrassingly vapid and not worth the paper or electronic medium on which it is read.
But let's get back to Fr. Reese's opinion piece. If you read it, you will note that he says nothing about synodality enabling all the baptized to hear the Word of God in Scripture and Tradition, to be converted by God's grace alone to Divine Truth and to be saved from the fires of hell by fidelity to the Divine Person of Jesus Christ and all that He has revealed consistently to the Church since His public ministry to the current day.
There's nothing about morality based upon our Judeo-Christian patrimony. There's nothing about the Blessed Mother and the other saints. Nor is there mention of the angels.
There is nothing offered as to how Catholics can be evangelizers in their homes, work places and the public square. It is only about power in administrative things of the Church and manipulating the defined teachings of the Church to please the worldliness of heterodox Catholics who are power hungry politicians seeking to implement their own worldly ideological points of view upon the entire Church of Christ.
Rather, for Reese, and evidently for the pope too, synodality is about going to meetings only and making sure the laity are consulted and have power through parliamentary means, to control what happens in the parish, the diocese, the national Church and the Universal Church.
It's like the Seinfeld TV show of old, it really is about nothing, except administration and more meetings for bishops and priest to attend, which in the USA, is already on steroids.
What a crock synodality as promoted by the current magisterium is and will be. It will die a merciful and happy death as soon as this papacy is over, God willing!
2 comments:
One problem with this 'walking together' malarkey, is that it makes people look so miserable: like jogging!
Meeting for the sake of meeting. Talk, talk and more talk.
To me, this process presupposes that all is well elsewhere, the liturgy, engagement, vocation levels and governance are mostly where they should be just needing tidying around the edges. It was never presented as problem to be solved - recommend solution thus ensuring overall survival.
Agree, this process interests a limited percentage of Catholic membership. I'm reminded of a question posed years ago by a Catholic college student seeking advice on how to remain engaged as a Catholic during their time of study. The response from one: "Find a GOOD guitar mass." Yas, the invention of man, the guitar, will solve all by providing authenticity and focus enabling the sacraments and scriptures to pour forth.
So my question: How does one, or the Church-at-large compete with such a mentality of "x" percentage drawn to such engagements relative to the 1,969 years of organic tradition that preceded their era of focus? Let's ignore finance committees, art/environment committees that are either purely consultative, or largely unnecessary.
My conclusion, it doesn't reconcile and only proliferates such.
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