Appeasing the world?

How will the Synod on Synodality affect the Church, asks Dr F. Andrew Wolf

“...a new vision that overturns established practices.” – Synod on Synodality

The words above may well come back to haunt the Church. This past October in Rome the Vatican concluded years of gatherings by bishops, clergy and laity initiated by Pope Francis. The hierarchy within the Catholic Church called it a “process” – more specifically, the Synod on Synodality. This multi-year series of meetings (2021-2024) aimed to reconfigure how the Church operates by utilizing the model of a synod – one in which clergy and laity alike engage in open dialogue.

Synods have long served as consultative bodies of bishops, clergy, and laity assembled to consider significant concerns of Church discipline. However (and this is critical to understand) synods are not democratic, deliberative bodies that decide doctrine or discipline by ballot or any other means; they are purely advisory in their function. Synodality, itself, is merely the principle of collegiality and communion in the Church.

The leadership of this particular synod largely consisted of figures known for their progressive positions. Both spiritual directors of the synod, Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe and Sister Maria Ignazia Angelini, articulate more progressive views.

One wonders if this synod and the results of its deliberations are tied to Pope Francis’s more liberal vision for the church – an orientation which at times seems beyond the limitations imposed by the promulgations of Vatican II. Its goal, as put forward by the pontiff himself, was to make the Church more effective at evangelization by making it more participatory and inclusive.

Does “synodality” allude to the possibility of the Magisterium (at some future point) being open to novel interpretations as a result of synodal consensus? Does the current pontiff believe the function of the church should be that of appeasing the world of secular modernity – surrendering beliefs and traditions that were instrumental in building Western civilization and which allowed the church itself to be sustained amidst two thousand years of struggle and conflict?

At this juncture in the process, it is a fait accompli – a document was produced in October 2024, and the pontiff (curiously enough) adopted it without “apostolic exhortation” – meaning no further comment or alterations in the text were deemed necessary. The document emphasizes the church's “mission, with a concrete proposal of a new vision that overturns established practices”.

But after three years of work, it turns out there was much deliberation but little declaration. The language employed was novel, but broad and general. While it declared a “greater role for women in the church,” it did not specify how. Moreover, it sought “greater lay participation” in decision-making, but was nonspecific as to the means of effecting it.

It would appear the more controversial issues discussed in the deliberations will remain such for the balance of this pope’s pontificate.

Precedent

There exists today a way to fashion the significance of this synod and get a better understanding of what can happen to the universal church by considering what has already happened to the church (in a specific context) at the micro level.

A similar synodal process to that just discussed has been underway for some time in Germany – the Synodaler Weg (Synodal Way).

Over the preceding five years, it is no secret that pressure from the latter was exerted on the synod in Rome to influence some of the church’s most difficult issues: the role of women, concerns regarding sexuality, priestly celibacy and decentralizing church authority through collegial forums (like synods). Since then, the Synodal Way has deemed it appropriate to approve advocacy for same-sex union blessings, women in the priesthood and marriage of the clergy.

The circumstance in Germany provides a provocative illustration of what occurs when the church relents to cultural trends and begins to see its purpose as accommodation to others rather than sanctification of the faithful.

German Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck, a central participant in the Synodal Way, acknowledged the near collapse of the priesthood in his diocese. He reported that in just 14 years the latter lost (through death) 300 priests while ordaining 15. Meanwhile, the church in Germany overall has witnessed an enormous flight in membership, with almost three quarters of a million-faithful leaving in recent years.

As the German church seeks to adapt itself to the progressive cultural trends of a secular society, it risks losing what defines its character and thus the meaning and purpose it brings to the world. In trying to make itself more “inclusive,” the church in Germany appears to be experiencing a crisis of meaning and purpose.

With its precipitous falloff in clergy and faithful, the church in Germany must (at the very least) give us pause. As it seeks to appease the expectations of secular culture and yet continues to decline, its relevance in German society is brought into question.

If the Catholic Church is to remain relevant in the face of modern critique, it must seek an informed response. But it must respond with reason – not react with emotion – to the winds of critique. It must remain open to dialogue and hear new voices, but it must do so while it refines (not changes) its teaching to make it and its traditions more comprehensible to the modern world.

The Tridentine Mass, priestly celibacy, papal infallibility, the Marian Dogmas and more – all must be maintained in the face of the secular winds of change. And above all, it must never lose sight of its core identity and purpose which comes from Mathew 16:18 and the ecumenical councils which followed.

To do otherwise is to cease to be the Church of, “the way, the truth, and the life” (Jn 14:6).

Dr F. Andrew Wolf, is director of The Fulcrum Institute and holds graduate degrees in philosophy and theology. His books include  Discovering the Essay, Our Sense of Relatedness and a forthcoming text this year, LogicforGod'sExistence