For most earthlings, the Oct. 27 closing of the Roman
Catholic Church’s synod on synodality will have been a tinier blip on the radar
than the outcome of the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
Whatever your feelings about that election – and I have
plenty, as you might – I suspect that over time the synod will be exponentially
more consequential. Why? Because the synod operates in a completely different
field of vision than our political dramas.
The election divided us into camps; the synod drew us closer
in communion. The election force-fed us a nauseating diet of vitriol and lies;
the synod laid a welcoming table of prayerful contemplative dialogue and the
wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The election convinced us that our divisions are our
identities; the synod reminded us that we become our deepest selves in
relationship with one another, our Earth and our trinitarian God.
Here’s my early take on what I perceive as synodal
highlights. A caveat: the English translation of the final document was not
available before my deadline, so I’ve not read it. I’m relying on reports from
Vatican News Service, analysis from mainstream Catholic media outlets and
commentary from synod participants.
The first bit of delightful news was Pope Francis’
acceptance of the final document as the final word. If he’d wanted, he could
have negated any part of the document by writing his own post-synodal
exhortation. That he didn’t is consequential. Here are some other highlights
I’m excited about.
Women. While many were disappointed when the synod
didn’t approve the diaconate for women, that was not the purpose of the synod,
and the question remains open. There will be further dialogue and theological
reflection, which is a hopeful sign. What the synod says clearly is “There is
no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership
roles in the church,” while acknowledging that “Women continue to encounter
obstacles in obtaining fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation, and roles
in all the various areas of the Church’s life.”
As a woman who has made public vows in the church and spent
a lifetime navigating unfriendly systems of clerical power, I was not surprised
that the section addressing the concerns of women received the most “no” votes,
evidence that at least some of the men aren’t ready to relinquish domination in
favor of collaboration. Still, it passed the two-thirds threshold. There is
cause for hope.
I’m skeptical that ordaining women can solve the many
problems of clericalism, and have found a kindred soul in Cardinal Jean-Claude
Hollerich, SJ, one of the synod facilitators, who said “If women do not feel
comfortable in the church, we have failed our living as Christians,” and “… if
this full equality of women and men means that they must also be ordained
ministers, I do not know. But what is important for me is that ordained
ministry should not be lived as the point where power is.” Amen. We should not
be concerned with power, but with service, he goes on to say. I am in complete
agreement. I very much favor women’s ordination, but not if women are simply
co-opted into the existing disordered power structures of the church.
Communion. The document calls on the Church to
perceive itself, and to be organized as, a communion of churches in union with
one another, rather than as a corporation with branches around the world. In
other words, unity amid diversity, not uniformity. This is clearly a movement
begun at the Second Vatican Council and gives renewed energy to local churches
through the synod.
Consultation. “Those with pastoral authority are
obliged to listen to those who participate in the consultation and may not act
as if the consultation had not taken place.” (91) Laity and religious who have
an authentic love for the Church and a desire for its progress in this regard
will need to draw on all courage and wisdom to help bring this process of
consultation to fruition.
Formation. I believe formation, that is, provision
for ongoing “intellectual, affective, relational and spiritual” growth for all
the baptized, is the key to our successful growth into a Church that walks
together. The laity, men and women religious, men in seminaries, and the
bishops tasked with the spiritual and temporal leadership of the church all
need ongoing formation, as the synod acknowledges, so that together we grow “in
knowledge and mutual esteem and in the ability to collaborate.”
Becoming a truly synodal church will require time and
attention, an acknowledgement of failure, asking for and offering forgiveness
and reconciliation and reliance on the movement of the Spirit. The same could
be said of the need for our nation in light of the brutal political contest
we’ve just endured. Perhaps those of us committed to creating a synodal church
can direct our skills toward the protection and healing the nation as well.
Sister Beth Murphy, OP, is the communication director for
the Dominican Sisters of Springfield.
This article appears in Winter 2024 November 2024.
