Synodal theologian says that Christianity should never have become a religion

The Spanish theologian Cristina Inogés, who participates in the Synod of Synodality by appointment of Pope Francis, defended in a recent article that “Christianity should never have become a religion.”

In a text titled From the Synod to the Jubilee: building community in dialogueInogés argues that Jesus sought to transmit a way of life and human relations based on fraternity, not to found an institutionalized religion with hierarchies and “separate a minimal part from the others, the priests – the clergy -, although with influence, a lot of influence on the rest.”

“Jesus carried out his mission in everyday life, in the reality of every day and away from the temple where he only comes close to star in the only monumental anger that he has in the entire Gospel: an episode linked to the abuse of power and which had as consequently the expulsion of the merchants,” he said.

Inogés, who studied at the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Madrid (SEUT), considers that the origins of the Synod of Synodality lie in the Aparecida Conference held in 2007 and, singularly, in the greeting of Pope Francis after his election in which “there were no gestures of triumph.”

For Inogés, the Synod of Synodality, which will hold its second assembly in October, must be based on the idea that Jesus Christ “did not leave us a designed Church structure, but a way of life.”

Reflections on the Eucharist

In another part of the article, Inogés makes an interpretation of the evangelical story of the celebration of Easter before the Passion in which he relegates the sacrificial meaning of the Eucharist.

For the author, “in the story of the Passover festival that Jesus celebrated with all those who accompanied him – although the gospels only speak of the Twelve – and that we have converted into the Last Supper, we see that the core of the celebration is not It is centered on the body and the blood. The most important thing is that whoever is going to give up his flesh and blood lowers himself once again to show that his logic is that of service and not that of power.”

In his dissertation, he also considers that “The Table is for everyone. The only one who could create rules and laws for someone to approach her is Jesus, her owner. And he didn’t. And it doesn’t. And he won’t.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church develops the essential teachings on the Eucharist in numbers 1322 to 1419in which it is presented as the central sacrament of Christian life, instituted by Christ, in which He Himself is truly present to feed and strengthen the faithful on their path to eternal life.

The Code of Canon Law addresses the issue between canons 899 and 933. They establish that “every baptized person who is not prohibited by law can and must be admitted to Holy Communion.” It also specifies that “those who have been excommunicated and those who are in question after the imposition or declaration of the penalty, and those who obstinately persist in a manifest grave sin, should not be admitted to Holy Communion.”

Furthermore, the possibility of taking communion despite being in serious sin is restricted to “a serious reason and there is no opportunity to confess” and to perform an “act of perfect contrition” that includes the purpose of attending the sacrament of Forgiveness. as soon as possible”.

In his argument, Inoges also states that “Jesus is not obligatory like the ten commandments; “Jesus presents a program in the Beatitudes.” The Catechism, for its part, points out in the point 2072 that “the ten commandments, by expressing the fundamental duties of man towards God and towards his neighbor, reveal in their primordial content obligations graves. They are basically immutable and their obligation is valid always and everywhere. No one could dispense with them. The ten commandments are engraved by God in the heart of human beings.”

“Sacramental Officials and Meeting Men”

In a section dedicated to priests in the extensive 30-page article, Inogés points out that “all the baptized, but even more so priests, are called to proclaim liberating news and not sets of rules and prohibitions.”

Furthermore, he exposes his vision that the initial formation of seminarians and the permanent formation of priests after their ordination is too focused on “that the priest must continue to configure himself to Christ the servant, Christ the shepherd, Christ the priest and Christ the head,” in view of which He asks himself: “Where is the man Jesus?”

The theologian then reproaches that “the figure and being of the priest tends to be very spiritualized and pointed towards the cult, running the risk of ending up being sacramental officials and men of meetings to have more meetings.”

On the other hand, Inogés explains that “transforming pulpits into spaces for dialogue and confessionals into spaces of reception is not something that only challenges you as priests, but must touch all the spaces of our temples, all the parish spaces. ”.

Synodality and Vatican Council II

In the last pages of the text, the theologian maintains that the next Jubilee called by Pope Francis is a kind of extension of the Synod of Synodality “so that we continue enjoying the reconstruction of that Church that the Second Vatican Council designed so well, although It soon became blurred to end up unrecognizable and, on many occasions, contrary to the Council itself.”

For Inogés, with the Synod of Synodality “the time has come for the possibility of beginning to give shape to the conciliar dream of Vatican II.”

“The generation that led that council is in its last days. If we lose their memory, we will really lose our memory and we will be able to repeat the mistakes made,” he adds.

The Second Vatican Council was the most important ecclesiastical event of the 20th century. Promoted by Saint John XXIII, it aimed to update the way in which the Catholic Church should position itself in the modern world. It began in 1962 and was divided into four stages, which concluded in 1965, when Saint Paul VI became Pope. Around two thousand council fathers from all over the world participated.

Proposal for reformulation of the Creed

As a corollary to her entire exposition, the theologian proposes a reformulation of the Creed in the following terms:

“Help us Lord to learn to be a church of people in a world of people, with people, for people. With everyone without exception. I wish in our confession of faith we could say: ‘I believe in a holy, catholic, apostolic Church for everyone, everyone, everyone. Amen'”.