When Father lets go
While the synodal process is starting to transform the Church in Ireland, priests are often those most resistant to change.
FROM THE START of his pontificate, it has been evident that Pope Francis is determined to restore the teaching of the Second Vatican Council. It has gradually become clear that he is using synodality as his modus operandi. What he is doing is something very different, and quite radical.
Synods are as old as the Church. We knew about synods of bishops, which Pope Paul VI had established to keep the positive spirit engendered by the Council alive. There had been one or two interesting ones while Paul VI was still alive. Though they were almost exclusively gatherings of bishops, some genuinely open and interesting discussions took place. An effort was being made to follow through, to some extent, on the topics and the spirit of the Council.
Two things put a stop to this. First, Humanae Vitae, Paul VI’s encyclical confirming the traditional ban on artificial contraception. It showed that no matter how much consultation and discussion there might be, in the end the Pope alone decides, whatever the expert advice of those he might have asked to study the matter or where the sense of the faithful might lie. Then along came John Paul II, and while meetings of the synod of bishops continued, there was little real discussion. The agendas were fixed and all the indications are that the findings had been decided before any of the bishops had spoken. There were synods; but there was no synodality.
What Francis is attempting is very different. Synods are no longer just for bishops. Bishops predominate but now they are joined by priests, Religious and lay people, men and women. This is an acknowledgment of a fundamental aspect of our faith, that the Spirit is present in and speaks to the Church through the lives and experiences of all believers, not just those in the clerical and episcopal state. Francis sees synodality as a process that involves prayer, listening, silence and discernment. It is only when the gatherings are conducted in this way, Francis believes, that they will be open to the promptings of the Spirit.
I share the disappointment that few decisions were made at the Synod in Rome last October. A number of the contentious issues which figured prominently in the pre-synodal gatherings around the world – including in Ireland – did not feature in the final report. Francis is focused on embedding the synodal process in the life of the Church. He seems to have felt that there was a better chance of delegates leaving after having had a good experience of that process if the discussion of difficult questions – which would inevitably lead to divisions and rancour – was avoided.
If Francis is successful in making the Church more synodal before his papacy ends (either in retirement or death) it would be a remarkable legacy. He would have left in place a process that would allow development and change to continue. The challenge for him will come in October. If the second and concluding Synod passes without any real decisions having been made it will be hard to resist the conclusion that the whole lengthy and complex project was a waste of time. Given Francis’ understanding of “discernment”, when there is entrenched opposition to change it is difficult to see how it will ever be possible to make difficult decisions. The impasse between the Vatican and the German synodal process has brought the question of who exercises authority in the Church to a head. If the lay group in Germany, which has been in partnership with the bishops in decision-making from the beginning, is sidelined, it might lead to a widespread loss of faith in the process in advance of the synod in October.
IN THE MEANTIME, six of the 12 months assigned to move the process forward in Ireland and to prepare the Irish Church’s input to the gathering in October have passed. Work is ongoing, but it is very much under the radar. Two prominent US cardinals, Blase Cupich and Robert McElroy, said after the synod last October that there could never again be a synod of bishops without the involvement of lay people. I hope they’re right. But synodality has to be embedded at every level of the Church. And we must see that some steps to implement this new way of being Church have been taken before October.
Can the Irish Conference of Bishops continue to meet in Maynooth or elsewhere without the presence of lay representatives? I don’t think so. Can diocesan priests’ councils continue to meet while excluding lay people?
Absolutely not. It would be completely contrary to Francis’ idea of synodality. Parish Councils? Up to now they have been purely consultative. This has to change. Decisionmaking at parish level from now on needs to be made by the whole council. Even if it might not be possible to implement all these changes before October, the Irish Church must make it clear that this is the direction of travel.
All of this will demand big changes. Lay people will need to change, to be willing to be more active in the life of the parish, and to take on more responsibility. But I think the changes will be especially difficult for priests. We are mostly old, we have been trained and lived the bulk of our lives in a very different way of “being church”. We are used to making all the decisions at parish level. Letting go of power is always hard. The system in which we were formed as priests has led us to assume that women are somehow secondary.
It doesn’t surprise me to hear from people who have worked closely in the synodal process that they are finding that priests are often the biggest block in implementing this new way of being Church. I am glad I am not a parish priest at this hour of my life. They are being asked to do what might be the hardest thing in their life, something they have not been trained or prepared for. It won’t be easy. The temptation will be to keep their heads down and carry on as normal. But those who find the humility and courage to be open to the working of the Spirit, to let go of their habits of command and control, will find real fruit emerging, not only for the Church but for them as priests and as individuals.
Tony Flannery is an Irish Redemptorist priest. He was suspended from public ministry by the Vatican in 2012.
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