Bishop Tobin on Synod: “Pope Francis is fond of ‘creating a mess.’ Mission accomplished.”

Bishop Thomas J. Tobin of Providence, R.I. has posted some short—curt?—”random thoughts” on the recently concluded extraordinary Synod on the Family. He offers a warning about capitulation to the dominant culture:

 In trying to accommodate the needs of the age, as Pope Francis suggests, the Church risks the danger of losing its courageous, counter-cultural, prophetic voice, a voice that the world needs to hear.

Suggests some hesitance about the structure and approach of the Synod:

The concept of having a representative body of the Church voting on doctrinal applications and pastoral solutions strikes me as being rather Protestant.

Asks a question that has been on the mind of many observers:

Have we learned that it’s probably not a good idea to publish half-baked minutes of candid discussions about sensitive topics, especially when we know that the secular media will hijack the preliminary discussions for their own agendas?

Praises a fellow American:

Wherever he serves, Cardinal Burke will be a principled, articulate and fearless spokesman for the teachings of the Church.

And, most interesting to me, tosses this out there:

Pope Francis is fond of “creating a mess.” Mission accomplished.

One hopes, of course, that the goal was not to create a mess. One admits, however, that what transpired was messy and more. Read Bishop Tobin’s entire post.