Synod – A few thoughts.

Synod – A few thoughts.
Brendan Butler
At a recent press conference in Rome by Archbishop Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the promotion of the new Evangelisation, stated that he saw ‘hope for the Irish Church’ especially in the ‘great participation of the laity in the Irish Church‘.
However this recognition is mere rhetoric and sounds very hollow judging by the non-selection of any lay married person to represent the challenges facing Irish families in their day to day struggles in living out their Christian commitment in the forthcoming Synod of the family in Rome.
In all the other national representative groups to attend the Synod there are Catholic family people. Why the absence for Ireland?
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin as Vice president of the Irish Bishops’ Conference will represent the Bishops and Sister Margaret Muldoon of the Holy Family of Bordeaux will be the sole ‘auditor’ representing Irish families. Indeed the Latin word ‘auditor ‘is a suitable word for the lay observers with its emphasis solely on listening. It is also significant that no Irish priest has been selected.
The clerical secrecy surrounding the selection of observers to the Synod is at total variance with Pope Francis’ call for a more inclusive Church.
Indeed the composition of the Synod is further skewed in favour of the status quo or even a backward lunge by the inclusion of the Curia Cardinals. Can anyone imagine the courage it would take for a Bishop seeking change to stand up to the power and status of a Cardinal Mueller and his fellow Cardinals at such a Synod.
Unless the Holy Spirit acts like a Samson at this Synod then there is little hope for such Synods to bring about the necessary renewal and reform to speak to a new generation looking for enlightenment and hope.

Similar Posts

Gender Balance – It seems that most Irish Catholics have seen the light for gender balance, justice for women and the urgent need for power sharing…

Blog
0 Comments

GENDER IMBALANCE – SICK CHURCH One hundred years since brave women won the vote, Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels rightly attempts to achieve gender balance in the College of…

The Christchurch Massacre – social media another tool of bigotry and terror

Blog
2 Comments

Brendan Hoban writes in his Western People column about the murder of worshippers in a Christchurch mosque and how social media meant “the world wide web was bringing live to the eyes of the world the personal holocaust he [the murderer] was inflicting on his victims.”
“Uncontrolled and, it would seem, uncontrollable media have added to the effectiveness of those who can – apparently with impunity – inflict their warped ideologies on the public by perpetrating indefensible outrages, in an effort to publicise their malign philosophies.”

A Time to Dream

Blog
0 Comments

Chris McDonnell, in the Catholic Times, lets us know that it is good to have dreams to aim for … that when “memories begin to fracture .. the dreams we once had remain.”
“a Synod called to listen to the voices of South America, is in session. It will have repercussions for the whole Church. Not only will it consider issues specific to that community of our Church, but it will tell us a story of how our dreams are shaped and cared for. We must listen, we must respond, we must care for each other.”

One Comment

  1. Con Carroll says:

    We have to ask will the socio political issues, which many families have to live with in reality in Europe and other continents, be open to debate and discussion at the Synod or is it a talking shop for white, middle class, heterosexual, families. Will the power of the Holy Spirit be present?

    Reply

Join the Discussion

Keep the following in mind when writing a comment

  • Your comment must include your full name, and email. (email will not be published). You may be contacted by email, and it is possible you might be requested to supply your postal address to verify your identity.
  • Be respectful. Do not attack the writer. Take on the idea, not the messenger. Comments containing vulgarities, personalised insults, slanders or accusations shall be deleted.
  • Keep to the point. Deliberate digressions don't aid the discussion.
  • Including multiple links or coding in your comment will increase the chances of it being automati cally marked as spam.
  • Posts that are merely links to other sites or lengthy quotes may not be published.
  • Brevity. Like homilies keep you comments as short as possible; continued repetitions of a point over various threads will not be published.
  • The decision to publish or not publish a comment is made by the site editor. It will not be possible to reply individually to those whose comments are not published.