Rome Newsroom, Oct 27, 2022 / 04:20 am (CNA).
At the heart of the synodal process is “a Church capable of radical inclusion,” according to a key document released by the Vatican on Thursday to guide the Synod on Synodality.
Titled “Enlarge the space of your tent,” the 44-page working document for the Synod on Synodality’s Continental Phase is meant to spark dialogue and arouse feedback.
“It is not a conclusive document because the process is far from being finished,” it says.
Catholic dioceses around the world have been asked to respond to the document by highlighting what intuitions resonate and what divergences emerge with the reality of the Church in their continent.
Here is what the document has to say about the ordination of women, LGBT inclusion, and the liturgy:
Ordination of Women
64: “After careful listening, many reports ask that the Church continue its discernment in relation to a range of specific questions: the active role of women in the governing structures of Church bodies, the possibility for women with adequate training to preach in parish settings, and a female diaconate. Much greater diversity of opinion was expressed on the subject of priestly ordination for women, which some reports call for, while others consider a closed issue.”
The document says that “almost all reports raise the issue of full and equal participation of women. … However, the reports do not agree on a single or complete response to the question of the vocation, inclusion and flourishing of women in Church and society.”
61: “The Church faces two related challenges: women remain the majority of those who attend liturgy and participate in activities, men a minority; yet most decision-making and governance roles are held by men. It is clear that the Church must find ways to attract men to a more active membership in the Church and to enable women to participate more fully at all levels of Church life.”
The document also quotes the Holy Land’s report: “In a Church where almost all decision-makers are men, there are few spaces where women can make their voices heard. Yet they are the backbone of Church communities, both because they represent the majority of the practicing members and because they are among the most active members of the Church.”
LGBTQ and polygamous inclusion
39. “Among those who ask for a more meaningful dialogue and a more welcoming space we also find those who, for various reasons, feel a tension between belonging to the Church and their own loving relationships, such as: remarried divorcees, single parents, people living in a polygamous marriage, LGBTQ people, etc.”
The document also includes a quotation from the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference report, which summarizes the challenge facing the synod of reducing many different views on Church teaching within a community into “a definitive community stance”:
“Southern Africa is also impacted by the international trends of secularization, individualization, and relativism. Issues such as the Church’s teaching on abortion, contraception, ordination of women, married clergy, celibacy, divorce and remarriage, Holy Communion, homosexuality, LGBTQIA+ were raised up across the dioceses both rural and urban. There were of course differing views on these and it is not possible to give a definitive community stance on any of these issues.”
Polygamous marriages are mentioned twice in the document. Paragraph 94 said: “many summaries also give voice to the pain of not being able to access the Sacraments experienced by remarried divorcees and those who have entered into polygamous marriages.”
Liturgy
91. “Many reports strongly encourage the implementation of a synodal style of liturgical celebration that allows for the active participation of all the faithful in welcoming all differences, valuing all ministries, and recognizing all charisms. The synodal listening of the Churches records many issues to be addressed in this direction: from rethinking a liturgy too concentrated on the celebrant, to the modalities of active participation of the laity, to the access of women to ministerial roles.”
The document cites the U.S. report, which describes division regarding the traditional Latin Mass: “The most common issue regarding the liturgy is the celebration of the pre-Conciliar Mass.’ The limited access to the 1962 Missal was lamented; many felt that the differences over how to celebrate the liturgy ‘sometimes reach the level of animosity. People on each side of the issue reported feeling judged by those who differ from them.’”
93. “The reports do not fail to point out the main shortcomings of the actual celebratory praxis, which obscure its synodal effectiveness. In particular, the following are emphasized: the liturgical protagonism of the priest and the risk of the passivity of the wider liturgical community; poor preaching, including the distance between the content of the sermon, the beauty of faith and the concreteness of life; and the separation between the liturgical life of the assembly and the family network of the community. The quality of homilies is almost unanimously reported as a problem.”
38. “Longing for a home also characterizes those who, following the liturgical developments of the Second Vatican Council, do not feel at ease.”
Synodal governance
71. “The synodal journey has brought out a number of tensions … We should not be afraid of them, but articulate them in a process of constant communal discernment, so as to harness them as a source of energy without them becoming destructive: only in this way will it be possible to continue walking together, rather than each going their own way. This is why the Church also needs to give a synodal form and way of proceeding to its own institutions and structures, particularly with regard to governance. Canon law will need to accompany this process of structural renewal creating the necessary changes to the arrangements currently in place.”
In particular, the document recommends: “Economic, diocesan and parish councils should then be added, taking note also of the episcopal and presbyteral councils around the bishop. Many reports show the need for these bodies to be not only consultative, but places where decisions are made on the basis of processes of communal discernment rather than on the majority principle used in democratic regimes.”
82. “The overwhelming majority of reports indicate the need to provide for formation in synodality. Structures alone are not enough: there is a need for ongoing formation to support a widespread synodal culture.”
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Utterly creepy.
” …we also find those who, for various reasons, feel a tension between belonging to the Church and their own loving relationships, such as: remarried divorcees, single parents, people living in a polygamous marriage, LGBTQ people, etc.”
“many summaries also give voice to the pain of not being able to access the Sacraments experienced by remarried divorcees and those who have entered into polygamous marriages.”
Too bad St. Paul didn’t take the synodal approach. He just condemned immorality. I’m feeling tension myself about this whole thing. I don’t believe it will go well. That the Church is using phrases like “loving relationships” to describe LGBTQ people and those in polygamous marriages is, I believe, a sign of bad things to come.
Spot on! The same type of complaints could also have been written by nominal Jews and Samaritans in the Old Testament who were upset that they could not participate in sacrifices to Baal and Moloch, create a Golden Calf, etc. and not be welcomed in the Temple. The Church has discussed these issues and provided answers. The miscreants will demand “dialogue” until the get the answers they want. Shame on all the bishops who have, or are tempted, to tell them what they want to hear. Faithful shepherd do not lead their flocks to poison pastures.
First rate! I was roundly criticized today because I spoke against Drag Queen Story Tellers. Apparently, to protect one’s children means you are full of hatred. I don’t feel friendly toward Moloch either as he devours our unborn. What kind of prelates, what kind of pope, wants to erase the rules our Lord has given us for healthy, joyful, obedient living? As I wrote earlier today, the Left lives for power. They must be opposed or they will destroy everything they touch.
I absolutely agree that some leaders in the Catholic church using phrases like loving relationship instead of gay or lesbian is creepy and scary. Why all the confusion, when God said in the beginning of The Old Testament, ” It is an abomination” in His Eyes.
This direction could not be clearer for those who have their eyes open, and care what clear direction the Lord God has already given long ago. And as His own word has told us, He is unchanging. He IS and His word is Law.
“Enlarge the space of your tent,”
Oh, barf.
I think HR and marketing department heads went to school to learn how to create these types of slogans.
You see the same stuff in corporations.
On the whole I agree with you, but I would prefer “Ralph”.
“Enlarge the space of your tent. At the heart of the synodal process is a Church capable of radical inclusion” (Vat Synodal Document).
A Catholic Church that has traditionally opened its doors to all regardless of practice, has true to its founder Christ’s call to repentance, appealed to the non practicing to convert, enter formally by pronunciation of the Credo and baptism. To live the faith in spirit and in truth.
Radical inclusion means none other than to offer the sacraments to the neglect of the commandment to repent.
Risking a venial sin, I was proposing extreme betting odds to my liberal Catholic friends insisting that nothing but infantile idiocy would result from this whole synodal process. They insisted I was wrong even though they refused to take me up on the fifty to one odds I was offering.
Someone might explain to these prelates that the aftereffects of sin are supposed to include pain.
“places where decisions are made on the basis of processes of communal discernment rather than on the majority principle used in democratic regimes” = “We intend to implement decisions that the majority of people won’t agree with.”
I’m wondering about something from this “report.” I know there are many good women in Church life, but on the other hand… When I went to a local rosary society I found that I wasn’t too enamored to listen to the ladies chat about Hollywood celebrities at length before and after squeezing in an actual recitation of a rosary. And when the pastor made a friendly visit, they were proud to inform him of their plans to open a house of prostitution with the long vacant convent on Church grounds. This was supposed to be funny. I decided to go back to praying my rosaries in private. There is only so much of the “new Catholicism” a heart, mind, and soul can endure.
This is very concerning to me. As a young, lay Catholic who converted from non-denominationalism in 2014, I am disturbed to hear the bishops even entertaining these ideas. Discovering the Mass, the Tradition of the Church, etc. was a truly beautiful experience that has changed my life and brought me closer to Jesus than I ever thought possible. I will never understand why so many bishops, men who dedicated their lives to Our Lord and His Bride, seem to disregard the riches Christ has secured for us in favor of cheap secular values and aesthetics. Very often, the populations they are attempting to cater to generally have no interest in becoming Catholic, and attempting to change the Church’s image will only affirm their idea that Catholicism is false and not worth their time. No one likes being sold a lie. I have seen more healing and conversions among young people (as well as older people) at parishes that honor and love the Mass, most often ones that celebrate the Latin Mass &/or a reverent Novus Ordo. I think that we would do better to nourish, strengthen, and imitate these parishes and the people who attend Mass there. They are often the most heartfelt, honest, and pleasant people I have ever met, and the way they carry themselves and treat others is far more fruitful in terms of evangelization than any manufactured program, poll, or program that endless board meetings could ever hope to achieve. If the Catholics who attend these parishes truly are so rigid and bitter and repulsive, I wonder why the Holy Spirit has moved so powerfully among them? I pray that the Holy Father and the Bishops truly listen to the Holy Spirit and “hold firm to the traditions [taught] either by word of mouth or by letter” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). The Church does not need “teachers who suit [the world’s] own likings, who turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths,” but faithful clergy and laypeople who are “steady, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill their ministries” (2 Timothy 4:3-5). The Catholic Church is my home, and the home that Christ has prepared for all people- it does not need to adopt Protestant, secular, and pagan practices. “Christ must increase, and I must decrease”- that is the Gospel and the call of each person.
Well said, my friend. tgb
CatholicOsteopath – well said. Please don’t lose heart. The Church has had misguided and even heretical Priests, Bishops and, yes, even Popes throughout Her history. Christ’s promise is that the gates of hell will not prevail. Take solace in the fact that there are millions of “true” Catholics walking this journey with us. All we can do is pickup our cross daily, and follow our Lord.
All are welcome in our Church. The only “price for admission” is a sincere desire to turn away from our sins. We are called to become saints, by turning away from sin and to strive to live piously. If one chooses to pursue the path laid out by their own concupiscence rather than the “narrow path” of the Lord, then they choose not to enter into our “tent.” That is their choice. There are only volunteers in hell…and that path is wide. As for me and my family, we will follow the Lord.
Your words bring blessings and yet, should there be a point of clarification?
You write, “it does not need to adopt Protestant, secular, and pagan practices.” The Lord speaks convincingly against the secular and pagan, we find common ground, though where does the Lord speak against Protestantism in Holy Scripture? The verses below are not necessarily in reference to your well worded post, however perhaps they may not go amiss!
John 16:12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
John 16:13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God bless you and thank you.
Oh dear. If you study Church history you will see the basic mistake of adapting to the world… the Apostolic Faith is eroded and eventually you have the chaff blown away by the winds of secularism. Look at the church of England or any of the liberal Protestant sects…all melting away into a gooey pool of well being.
I believe he told the one woman, “Go and sin no more”
His teachings will still be after Heaven and Earth have passed away.
To even consider any of this, to me, it is evil and sinful. That is just my opinion
How long, oh Lord?
Polygamous relationships???? LBGQxyz stuff??? ???? So what this bunch wants is for their dins to be ok’d as legit. “Love” does not excuse sinful actions as most priests will tell you. Its disturbing they are even wasting time sounding like they are considering approving this. Also, as a woman i have never felt second class as a person in my church. I am not in favor of women priests and have zero interest in hearing them give a homily. This whole synod is giving the devil a dangerous opening to destroy the church.
So, if the Church is no longer about following the truth of Jesus Christ but rather about “radically” allowing any disordered whim or appetite or peccadillo any individual might experience, then what is the Church?
Certainly not the Mystical Body of Christ.
More like a swingers’ club, I’d say.
In which case, we should change the spelling of Bergoglio’s favored term from “synod” so that it can serve as this new club’s rallying cry for its members:
“Sin Odd.”
Because that’s clearly what those bishops are advocating for.