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.

Comments

[Paula Ruddy]

Michael, I missed this profound post because I was busy turning 90. I come back to it on the first day of 2025 because I think you are right, but not quite on the mark. 90 is the age at which it is okay to tell a person smarter than yourself that he is not quite on the mark. The synodal conversation is absolutely necessary for our working toward the reign of God, but unless the USCCB provides a coherent, comprehensive vision for the Church, the polarized sides are not, I fear, capable of talking together. Do you think this may be true? I think the coherent, comprehensive vision could be grounded in Spirit Christology as Roger Haight, S.J., suggests in Faith and Evolution: A Grace-Filled Naturalism. It begins with the evolutionary creation story with the cosmology and anthropology developed by science and grounded in the experience of God with us, faith, and the revelation of God in Jesus.
Could we all accept narrative as our baptismal affirmation? If so, we could get at the problems of humanity in a synodal process among ourselves and in collaboration with people of all faiths and all politics. What do you think?