"Proclaim the Gospel"

It is hard to tell what Pope Leo is going to do with synodality. I read things all over the internet that show people are trying to figure out what he believes with the goal of determining what he will do in the future. Although this might give some insight, it is not necessarily accurate. In principle, I do not care what the Pope believes; I care what he does and says. He could believe that the moon is made out of green cheese and that motorcycles are bad (ouch! I hurt my fingers to write that!). What matters is that he remains faithful to the deposit of faith given to us by our Lord Jesus Christ.

He might very well like synodality (in the modernist form that Francis promoted it), but what matters is that he stay true to the Church. Years ago, people had no idea what the Popes actually believed, they only knew what the Pope said to do (and they usually tried to do it). The same holds true today. It only really matters what Leo decides to do. If he continues the trajectory that some have taken the synodal practice in (i.e. talking, talking, talking, talking, and talking, with a little more talking that ends up in doctrinal and moral compromise), then we will have to deal with that. We can still stay faithful even if the whole Church seems to turn against us (St. Athanasius did it; we can too).

As a note of hope, there are a few Bishops who are starting to recognize the absolute chaos that much of the synodal practices are leading to and they are speaking out against it. One such Bishop (Marian Eleganti) has written his thoughts on where we are at in the synodal process. You may not agree with every word he says but it is food for thought, so I include excerpts of his letter below (emphasis mine) for your enjoyment:

SYNODALITY AS A CODE WORD

By Bishop Marian Eleganti

For the sake of Christ's love, stop the overload of synodal documents, intermediate steps, guidelines for further synodality, announcements of results, final documents that are not final, extensions into further rounds of synodality, the proliferation of commissions and, in the end, a gathering in canonical wasteland.

...

Instead of proclaiming Synodality, proclaim the Gospel for the sake of Christ's love. Proclaim Christ to a Europe that has turned away from Him. Proclaim Christ to a world that is apocalyptic and constantly at war. Talk about the Way to Jesus Christ instead of the Synodal Way! The way you speak of synodality is not new; others have already spelled it out – the Anglicans, for example, resulting in endless new divisions in the ranks.

Stop keeping the Church in a never-ending synodal frenzy. While you speak of mutual enrichment, the real problems in the Church are not being discussed: the mass apostasy of the baptized from essential tenets of the faith such as the divinity of Jesus and his bodily resurrection; the problem of liturgical formlessness and widespread abuses in the Novus Ordo; no priestly vocations in many countries; widespread heterodox preaching in catechesis and university theology; Pastoral practices that contradict Catholic teaching and canon law.

This list is incomplete, but you understand my meaning.

I can no longer listen to your propaganda, and I suspect that I am not the only one. Before Pope Francis, the Church was never governed in such an authoritarian and manipulative manner, with this never-ending synodal attempt to achieve pre-determined results.

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What is new is the Synodal illusion that this work of discernment can be carried out with 1.4 billion Catholics—many of whom hold utterly heterodox views— only with the process of listening being politicized, instrumentalized, manipulated, or steered in a particular direction and possibly derailed, as has happened in Germany. Fiducia supplicans and Traditionis custodes are highly controversial documents, and yet they came about against all the rules of Synodality and listening that you preach.

Where are the supporters of tradition, mostly young people and families, in this synodal process? Where is their vote in this much-vaunted, sui generis synodal process? So far, they have been left out. In some countries (France, England), many young adults want to be baptized. Young people interested in the faith study the catechism and want a reverently celebrated liturgy. They are asking for more mystery in the celebration of Holy Mass. Who in your Church of Accompaniment is listening to them?

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Why is this happening? In secular organizations, hierarchical structures are not questioned and undermined like this. Decisions are made by management or CEOs, and those decisions must be followed and implemented. Not so when it comes to the Synodal Church, where synodality has become a code word for the opposite (a flat hierarchy; so-called power control; democratic, church-political processes; a functional understanding of office; replacing the good shepherd with collectives) and, last but not least, non-priestly forms of worship.

The shepherd follows the sheep. The teacher learns from the student. Actions determine what should be done (morality by praxis). The majority determine the truth. The priest obeys the laity. The bishop sits on the sidelines. And "the spirit" hovers above it all. The question is -- which spirit is it?

For the sake of Christ’s love, stop it. Proclaim the Gospel. Proclaim Christ to the world once again. Enough with Synodality!