A recent article from the Society of St. Pius X noted that although the Synod on Synodality’s October session in Rome avoided the approval of female “ordination” to the diaconate, there were nonetheless serious problems with the session:
We are almost relieved that the final text of the synod avoided the worst. It is a small consolation that should not obscure the fact that this session did, after all, outline a shift, under the control of the bishops, toward a greater supervision of the laity. The session also contemplated a change in the relationship between the Holy See and the local Churches that could ‘eventually upset the current balance of the Catholic Church, which is highly centralized in the Holy See, where many things are decided,’ as noted by the head of Le Figaro’s religion section.
This observation brings to mind two of the main manipulative tactics of the Synod on Synodality: (a) using more egregious proposals to give cover for seemingly less egregious assumptions, and (b) persuading serious Catholics to debate the merits of the Synod’s topics rather than call into question the legitimacy of the Synod itself. Both tactics are worth considering in some detail.
Throughout the Synodal process we have heard about certain headline issues under consideration, including the ordination of women and blessings for same-sex unions. At the same time, though, the Synod’s documents have consistently discussed topics that have received comparatively little attention, such as structuring the Synodal Church to better attain ecumenical goals.
As one prime example of this, we can consider the following excerpts from the Synod’s final document:
- “From Baptism in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit comes the identity of the People of God.” (final document, 15)
- “In the holy People of God, which is the Church, the communion of the Faithful (communio Fidelium) is at the same time the communion of the Churches (communio Ecclesiarum), which manifests itself in the communion of the Bishops (communio Episcoporum), due to the very ancient principle that ‘the Church is in the Bishop and the Bishop is in the Church’ (St. Cyprian, Epistle 66, 8).” (final document, 18)
So according to the first statement, it appears that the sole criteria for inclusion in the “People of God” is baptism — and indeed many of the Synodal documents reinforce this interpretation. In the second statement, we learn that the People of God is the “Church.” In other words, according to the Synod, all the baptized (including Protestants) are already members of the Synodal Church. This is, of course, not true with respect to the Catholic Church. However, relatively little attention has been given to this rather monumental issue because the Synodal documents have treated it as an operating assumption, and directed debates to the more obvious matters such as ordination of women. Thus, they have sold us on seemingly “minor heresies” by getting us to focus on their debate of more egregious proposals.
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