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Entries from November 2024

What Should a Synodal Church Look Like?

Pope Francis is clearly of the opinion that synodality is the future of the church. But here’s the problem we need to address in the United States: while the rest of the world, especially Asia, Africa and Latin America, is working hard to implement synodality, even at the level of bishops’ conferences, here at home it seems to have little or no purchase. Estimates vary but it appears that no more than about 1% (yes, that would be “one” percent) of American Catholics have had any direct involvement with the synodal process, and very few at all followed up the 2023 Synod’s parting request that we all digest their preliminary findings in synodal gatherings. In my home diocese, I am assured, only one parish (mine, as a matter of fact) took seriously the request to gather in dialogue and debate.

Why are American Catholics, historically pro-papal, ignoring Francis’s insistence that we practice synodality? One explanation is the deplorable level of leadership on the topic from bishops and pastors, probably because it doesn’t suit their understanding of authority. A second is the well-documented passivity of major segments of the 47% of Catholics who attend mass at least once a month (the other 53% are Christmas and Easter Catholics, if that). And a third is the suspicion of the Francis papacy, once again led by an episcopate that is so hung up on the pro-life issue that it provided zero leadership in the pre-election period over the last few months on other serious issues, especially on immigration and climate change. Perhaps even they will finally have to respond to the expected amoral excesses of the incoming administration. But don’t count on it.

But the major drag on the possibility of converting our parishes into hotbeds of synodality is the American disease of excessive individualism, which is a cultural rather than an ideological phenomenon. Democrats are as likely to be guilty of this as Republicans, churchgoers as nones. Individualism belongs in the past, you know. The problems that beset our world today are so gigantic that only concerted communal discernment and action have a hope of solving any of them. What can you or I do as an individual to address gun control, arms sales, drug abuse or climate change?

This brings us to the question of what a synodal parish needs to look like, and the clues to this are to be found in the final document issued by the 2024 Synod on Synodality, a document so pleasing to Pope Francis that he declined to write the customary papal response. No need, the document says it all.

The first clue to answering this question is to look at the photographs of the gatherings of the Synod on Synodality in October 2023 and 2024. At any table you can see cardinals, bishops and young lay Catholics sitting together and given equal time to speak of how the Spirit is moving them. Maybe not everyone had equal power in the church, and certainly not everyone had equal knowledge of the tradition, but everyone’s contribution was treated with equal dignity. The phrase that summarizes this in the final document is “a differentiated co-responsibility of all for mission.” Pope Francis saw these assemblies not only as discussing synodality but also, and perhaps more importantly, modeling it for the global church.

We need to expect our bishops to practice and model synodality. Synodality is also expected of the clergy, which is a more challenging call for them. They are locked in a career structure with top-down accountability as the norm and obedience to that kind of authority is the path—perhaps the only path—to what is unfortunately called “advancement.” Synodality is also expected of the laity. In their case, it is not only a matter of being open to conversations among lay Christians, but also requires the courage to insist on remaking structures of the church in a more synodal way, so that, as the final document clearly states, we are all called to mission, and we are all accountable – even bishops. As section 99 of the final document so eloquently puts it, “While accountability to one’s superiors has been practiced over the centuries, the dimension of authority’s being accountable to the community is in need of restoration.” So, look out bishops: the people of God expect moral leadership that is timely, courageous and most definitely not “single issue.”

The last word is mission, which is where a synodal church can have a prophetic function in the wider world. God knows we need less polarization and more compassion. As Francis has said so well, the traditional image of Christ is one knocking on the door of our hearts, wanting to be welcomed in. No longer! Christ is already with us. Now he is knocking on the door of the church, begging to be let OUT! Synodality leads to mission, and the mission is simply to spread the love of God in the world, to carry Christ out into the world. And that’s a job for all of us.


Paul Lakeland is emeritus professor of Catholic Studies at Fairfield University.


Hold on to Joy

For one brief, shining moment, we allowed ourselves to talk about joy.

Those of us living north of the 49th parallel are always heavily invested in American politics, and likely never more so than in the election just passed.

When Kamala Harris and Tim Walz emerged as the Democratic ticket, we were initially surprised—and then delighted—to hear people use words like joy and joyful in describing Harris’s laugh and Coach Walz’s corny dad jokes. Suddenly, joy became a topic people were discussing in the public arena, and it was a refreshing change. Joy is something we welcome, but in a tired, troubled world it is not something we allow ourselves to value or take seriously as a political topic.  

Of course, the economy is critically important and, as the leader of the free world, the United States needs to be concerned with world events and other weighty issues. But the right to be happy—to laugh and to smile—should never be discounted, even though we rarely talk about it as an issue of any importance.

That doesn’t mean the type of laughter heard and smiles seen at the Al Smith dinner but a healthy appreciation for the simple, positive pleasures of life, and the happiness that comes from building connections and community.

Ultimately, joy was not enough to carry the day for the Democratic ticket. Still, I hope the issue doesn’t fade away but remains a serious goal to underpin healthy societies in these dark times.

Recently, I took part in a panel of women discussing the Synod on Synodality, and one of the themes that emerged was that this synod revealed a new way of being Church in a manner that means there is no turning back.

I hope it will be the same with the recognition of joy, and especially so for Catholics. Our faith is rooted in the ultimate joy and so we shouldn’t be afraid to seek it—or offer it to others. We have a responsibility to work against the rising tide of negativity and selfishness we are witnessing take hold around the world.

Joy can be found in gestures as basic as the simple kindness of smiling at a stranger or offering a seat on the bus to someone who is obviously exhausted after a long day at work. It is egalitarian in our ability to engage.

But joy can also flow from government policy, whether in helping migrants find safe haven or offering quality healthcare to an impoverished single mother in spite of her lack of funds or any number of supports that improve lives. Working across the aisle for the sake of the common good should bring joy, as should civil, respectful conversations.

It feels as if we are a long way away from attaining this, and I am in no way downplaying the complexity involved in issues of maintaining a social safety net.

Something, however, must change. We emerged from the pandemic warier, angrier and more fearful of the world. Not exactly a healthy way to live, and no way for people who proclaim the gospel to approach the world.

As Pope Francis has reminded us so often, joy matters. The gospel is a story of joy, and we are called to reflect that. In a cynical world, it is easy to discount the importance of happiness, but from happiness flow health and creativity and innovation, all building blocks of a successful society.

As Canada awaits a federal election call at some point in the next year, I can only hope that joy becomes an issue for us, too. We need it!

In the meantime, as our border braces for a flood of migrants fleeing the new reality in the U.S., I pray that our government can continue to find reasonable ways to be able to answer the timeless questions the disciples asked Jesus: “When was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food…and when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you?”

May the scales fall from the eyes of those who cannot see what matters and may those of us who will no doubt be dismissed as Pollyannas continue to seek the presence of joy and share it as widely as possible.

After all, happiness is not a government policy but a basic human right.


Catherine Mulroney is a communications officer at the University of St. Michael's College in the University of Toronto.


Synodality and the Election

The past month, I have been swamped writing about two major events, the election and the synod. In many ways, these events were distinct. The election was a national event that, like all elections, involved endless negative advertising and drawing distinctions between the parties and the candidates. The synod was a global event aimed at fostering much-needed conversations across a range of demographic and ideological divisions. And not just any conversation, but one whose real objective was to listen attentively to the always soft whisper of the Holy Spirit!

The synod is now complete and the election results are in. If the Church is to play any constructive role in American society, our first task must be to make synodality an intrinsic quality of ecclesial decision-making and missionary activity. We must find ways to reach across the divides within the church, to build solidarity among the members of the Body of Christ and to remind ourselves that our common baptism has conferred on all of us a far deeper and greater affinity than any other point of division.

This will not be easy. People now go parish shopping. Catholics tune in to Catholic media that reinforces their prior attitudes and ideologies. Children learn at an early age that they are consumers of what they want to hear, their earphones bringing them information from within whatever silo they find comforting. Broadcasting is a thing of the past; narrowcasting is the coin of the realm in the world of media.

Overcoming such hurdles will require leadership, starting with the bishops. I have seen dioceses that embrace synodality and the effect that embrace has on both people and pastors. I have also seen dioceses that paid lip service to synodality. Only if the bishop takes the lead and requires pastors and others in ecclesial roles to embrace synodality will it be a success. Now is the time for everyone to get on board as the synodal process moves from the global to the local, national and continental levels.

Then, and only then, can the Church bring to the ambient culture the balm of the Gospel. Then, and only then, can the Church help our polarized society learn how to talk to one another again.

The most important statement about Catholic social teaching to come from the Second Vatican Council is not found in the three texts most closely associated with our social magisterium: Gaudium et Spes, Dignitatis Humanae and Nostra Aetate. No, the most vital statement is found in Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. There we read that the Church is “in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign and instrument both of a very close-knit union with God and of the unity of the whole human race.” If we Catholics remain at each other’s throats, we cannot be a sign and sacrament of unity. Or charity for that matter.

The nation and the Church are both at a fork in the road. Powerful interests thrive on division and the status quo. Deeply held attitudes are not lightly set aside, even for a greater good. Half the country was thrilled with the election result and a little less than half is despondent. There is no easy roadmap that will help us overcome polarization in our society. But if the Church follows the lead Pope Francis has charted and pursues a synodal path in which the unity of the whole is always more important than any particular agenda, we might, just might, provide a real service and witness to the nation. That may be just a prayer, but it is a fine prayer.


Michael Sean Winters is a journalist and writer for the National Catholic Reporter.


The Church’s Fetish for Forgiveness

On the eve of the 2024 Synod for Synodality, the pope led the delegates on a prayer of forgiveness for the sins of the Church. While I appreciated the gesture, after reading the final document, I couldn’t help but think of this opening ritual as some kind of fetishized performance of forgiveness-seeking.

To offer more context: at the end of September, the city of San Francisco (where I live) hosts the annual Folsom Street Fair, which is an internationally known BDSM and sexual kink festival that spans several blocks and takes place over an entire weekend (BDSM stands for bondage, domination, sadism and masochism). As I witnessed people walking around the city wearing leather and all sorts of sexually provocative attires, I began to think about the meaning of these sexual performances which, rather than intending to hurt or oppress, are reenacted by the kink community as a form of liberative sexual expression, exploration and enjoyment.

A few days after the 2024 Folsom Street Fair, I read the news that Pope Francis had led the synod delegates in a prayer for forgiveness and I could not help but think about the BDSM of it all.

By making this claim, I don’t wish to minimize the importance of forgiveness or of BDSM. Forgiveness is an important and incredibly meaningful part of the healing journey—interpersonally, intrapersonally and communally—so I am happy to see that the Church is readily and openly admitting that it has sinned and is asking for forgiveness. Similarly, BDSM, for many people, is a meaningful and pleasurable exploration of their sexuality through consensual relationships that subvert sexual norms and make room for things society deems “indecent.” In other words, when intentionally practiced, BDSM can serve as an avenue for sexual liberation. Both forgiveness and BDSM can be good things!

However, without the right framing or intentions, both practices can become problematic and oppressive.

BDSM becomes oppressive when it focuses on the pleasure of one partner while disregarding the well-being of the other, or when one partner seeks pleasure at the total expense of the other. Consent and consideration for the other’s well-being (to a reasonable extent even in the most “extremely painful scenarios”) is at the heart of the BDSM experience, and that—I believe—is where the virtue of the practice lies. Even in these “extreme” cases of sex-pain performances, the masochistic partner (who enjoys receiving pain) has voluntarily opted to engage in that practice and finds the pain pleasurable up to a certain limit which should be clearly communicated to the sadistic partner (who enjoys inflicting pain) beforehand.

Without consent, BDSM is a heinous crime. However, even if there is consent, without concern for the well-being of the other, it can perpetuate oppression by erasing a person’s humanity (often women’s) for the sake of sexual pleasure. This hedonistic disregard for the other’s well-being, though it may be pleasurable, represents an empty and disingenuous practice of BDSM by removing one of its central virtues: consensual solidarity between the partners grounded in communication and concern for each other’s enjoyment and well-being.

Similarly, when forgiveness is performed without a genuine concern for the human beings being hurt and without an intention to change, it can become an empty gesture that can bring about some sort of psycho-spiritual pleasure without the desire for transformation.

To expound on this observation, I go back to my 3rd grade catechism lessons in Puerto Rico, where a nun taught me the five steps for a good confession: 1) examination of conscience, 2) contrition, 3) intent to not sin again, 4) telling your sins to the confessor and 5) completion of penance. From my lessons, I recall the nun’s insistence that the most important part of this reconciliation process was “contrition.” However, as I grow older, I have come to realize that there is far more value in the “intention to not sin again” than in internal “contrition.” Without an intention to change, especially when the sin involves hurting another person, feeling sorry for one’s sins seems like an empty or disingenuous gesture. Furthermore, intention to not sin again should spark within the penitent a curiosity for the ways in which one can avoid continuing the hurt. Therefore, the third step to a good confession, in my view, is the true measure of and the foundation for the contrite heart.

When the Catholic hierarchy celebrates a ritual of forgiveness before a synod, pious as it may be, but shows no other sign of intending to change, it resembles an oppressive form of BDSM where a performance of pain (of asking for forgiveness) and pleasure (of feeling forgiven by a merciful heavenly Father figure) disregards the actual well-being of those hurt by the sin.

As I read through the final document produced by the synod, I was encouraged by the emphasis on the sensus fidelium, the openness to have diversity in the Church as different local contexts grow in different ways, the encouragement to go to the margins and include all voices through active listening, the call for accountability and transparency in the synodal process and the explicit mandate to ongoing listening and consultation on behalf of Church leaders. However, I also noticed that some of the most controversial issues, incidentally involving some of the most oppressed members of our Church (e.g., inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons—especially transgender persons—and women’s ordination), were not mentioned. In fact, there was a regurgitation of the human anthropology of gender that perpetuates hurt against trans folks.

While some of the synod delegates assured Catholics that the synod delegates were more friendly toward these issues than in the previous session, probably due to the interpersonal relationships they had cultivated with each other over the past three years, many Catholics (including myself and many of my Catholic friends) explicitly yearn to see from our leaders a more genuine and decisive concern for the wellbeing of LGBTQ+ persons and the ability of women have equal access to all levels of Church.

Until such concern is made explicit and acted upon, any ritual of forgiveness seems like an empty fetishization of contrition, like a problematic version of spiritual BDSM that might be pleasurable but lacks substantive concern for those hurt by the sins of the Church.


Ish Ruiz is the assistant professor of Latinx & queer decolonial theology at Pacific School of Religion.