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LifeSiteNews has put together a helpful overview of the summaries of the 10 working groups working on the final document of the Synod in Rome. Remember, the full summaries of these documents were only released because a significant number of bishops inside the Synod revolted against the enforcement of restrictions on Synodal communications by those controlling the Synod. The words of Luke 12: 2-3 can instruct and console us: 'There is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the darkness will be known in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed on the house tops'.Â
It must be said that the picture emerging from these full summaries is very different to the impression given by the official - and troublesome -Â Relatio text. The summaries demonstrate a deal of alarm and concern amongst the Synod Fathers in their responses to the mid-term Relatio report - which they had not even seen prior to its release into the public sphere and which did not represent their contributions.
LifeSiteNews notes that there did remain in the group discussions and summaries a vague openness from some to giving Holy Communion to remarried Catholics in specific circumstances. It is important to note that the CDF issued a letter to the world's bishops on this issue on 14th October 1994; a communication which restated and affirmed the traditional pastoral teaching of the Church. The issue of 'valuing homosexual orientation' was totally rejected by the working groups at the Synod. Indeed, there was consternation and emotion expressed that the Relatio had been made public under these terms. It is becoming clearer from various sources that perhaps only two - out of the large gathering of bishops at the Synod - had voiced any discussion of homosexual 'partnerships' at all. There were also calls for Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI's encyclical reiterating the Church's traditional teaching on contraception, to be reasserted. Other orthodox voices at the Synod called for Christ's teachings on the need for conversion from sin to be cleary affirmed. Still others spoke in condemnation of abortion and 'assisted fertilization techniques'. None of this clarity would have been grasped beyond the Synod had the revolt against the sterile controls being put on the Synod Fathers occured at the eleventh hour. For this we can thank God and Cardinal Pell for his leadership and openness.
This Synod teaches in ways that perhaps it was never intended to. Some of its lessons our readers likely knew anyway, but it does no harm to have them reaffirmed.Â
We can learn from it that, no matter what man-made machinations, manipulations or enforced silences are attempted, God is still in charge of His Church. And He can truly be the God Who surprises us by bringing resistance to error when all seems lost and at times this resistance can come in unexpected ways and from unexpected quarters.
We can also learn that, in spite of several decades of confusion, dissent, infiltration and a widespread reluctance to teach on sexual morality, a great number of the bishops remain orthodox on moral issues, at least when push comes to shove.
We can also learn that a significant number of cardinals and bishops are now in increasingly bold and open dissent from the true teachings of the Church. Cardinals Marx, Kasper, Schonborn and others have really committed themselves in public to affirmations of positions gravely at odds with the true teachings of the Church. This demands a response from the Church - from the Papacy down to the people in the pews. Even the more orthodox men, like Cardinal Pell, give evidence of their formation in a culture of Modernism. For example, even in his encouraging video interview, he praises Pope Francis for desiring all voices - ''left, right and centre'' - to speak freely. The fact that these labels, which more properly belong to the sphere of politics, are applied to the Church, and that there is no public indignation against heresy and the promotion of immorality and sacrilege reveals that the best of men, like the rest of us, are formed in a cultural mileu which has turned from the full content of the Faith. Growing and living in a post-modern environment has taken its toll on all of us and, if we are honest, many of us have become 'soft' on sin for a quiet life. The answer here is for each of us to pray more for our leaders and to go deeper into our own learning of the Faith.Â
We've also learned a great deal about Pope Francis which only his long awaited statement about the Synod can clarify.
Perhaps many of us have also learned something of our own sinfulness, littleness, lack of faith and radical need for God's grace in trying times. In these circumstances, we see how quickly our concupiscent nature is exposed and we are tempted to rebel or get into a rage. This can teach us important lessons in self-knowledge for the coming trials for the Church. Confession, humilty, constant vigilance and prayer are the antidotes here. More positively, many will have learned something of the depth of their love for Christ and His Holy Law.Â
A key lesson for the days ahead is to notice how publicly Satan is now challenging Christ - right at the heart of the Holy Church. If he is this strong in his public assaults on the the House of God, we can be sure he is strong in these times against each and all of us. The more rebellion spreads in the Church and wider society, the more faithful we must be. So we need to keep close to Christ and pray without ceasing.
The most important lesson to remember is that Jesus Christ founded His Church and the gates of the underworld will not ultimately prevail against it.
Keep the Faith! Â Â Â Â Â Â
