For progressive Catholics hoping for dramatic changes in the Church, the Synod of Synodality was supposed to usher in a new spring.
Instead, with the final document set to be approved this Saturday, those who have advocated for things like female deaconesses and the acceptance of same-sex relationships are preparing for a “final cold shower”.
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That is the image used by Vatican journalist Franca Giansoldati to describe the widespread disappointment among progressives that seems to be settling in and around the Synod hall.
Stories of disillusionment within the Paul VI Hall have leaked to the media, including a minority of delegates who support women’s ordination, tearfully pleading for change and aggressively challenging those they perceive as resistant. Abroad, reformist groups have issued critical statements about the fact that major changes seem unlikely to occur.
And some criticize the Synod organizers for setting synodal expectations that have not been met by reality.
“We are repeatedly told that this synod is about a new way of being Church,” wrote Zac Davis in America magazine, the flagship publication of the American Jesuits. “I worry that many Catholics will come out of this process disappointed if the new path leads to the same results.”
The disappointment for more progressive Catholics has been accentuated by Pope Francis’ decision to remove “hot” issues related to women and sexual education from the last session’s agenda and give them to dedicated study groups.
Discontent turned into near dissent when Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and leader of the group studying the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, did not show up for a meeting with delegates on October 18. , after having previously told them that “there is still no room for a positive decision” on the issue.
But the Vatican’s decision to postpone the controversial issues only came after organizers had initially given many the impression that all issues would be up for discussion and encouraged group contributions who openly dissent from the teaching of the Church.
During the early stages of the 2021-2024 Synod, progressive Catholic activists and theologians repeatedly presented the Synod as an opportunity to usher in important changes. Synod organizers and their communications partners tended not to correct these narratives, while labeling those who raised concerns about this version of synodality as driven by fear.
In a notable example of creating dramatic expectations, Sister Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod Secretariat, frequently repeated the claim that the Synod of Synodality “is the most important ecclesial event after the Second Vatican Council.”
That statement about its importance I had already done it in 2021 the progressive theologian Massimo Faggioli, who said it is “hypocrisy” that the Church does not have deaconesses, and Sister Nathalie repeated this in articles and presentations throughout 2022.
On other occasions, the organizers of the Synod have spoken of the process as a representative consultation of the People of God, capable of measuring the “feelings of the faithful”, despite that in several countries less than 1% of Catholics participated in the listening sessions.
Since then, Synod organizers have attempted to tone down grandiose expectations, but hopes that the event will bring about dramatic changes have persisted.
As noted by Andrea Gagliarducci on the pages of National Catholic Register As the final session of the Synod begins, the real challenge facing organizers this month will be “how to manage the expectations of those who hope and push for radical changes.”
Even in October 2023, Stephen White of the Catholic University of America pointed out that “a communications and marketing strategy of the Synod that promises novelty and presupposes change” had already made some feel that they had been “sold a fictitious product.”
“Expectations for the Synod—expectations both hopeful and fearful—have grown so high that it is increasingly difficult to imagine an outcome for the Synod that does not leave large parts of the Church feeling cheated,” White wrote at the time.
Perhaps anticipating the discontent of some with the direction the Synod appears to be taking, New Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe gave a reflection on October 21 to the assembly, calling on everyone to have “inner freedom” in the face of a possibly unsatisfactory result.
“We may feel disappointed with the decisions of the Synod,” said the Pope-appointed spiritual guide of the Synod. “Some of us will consider them unwise or even wrong.”
Father Radcliffe added that “the providence of God is working gently and quietly,” even when things seem to go awry.
The former master of the Dominican order, whom Pope Francis will create cardinal on December 7, followed this reflection with comments at a press conference that discouraged those who will read the next final document from looking for big changes.
“I think maybe the temptation for a lot of people, including the press, is to look for surprising decisions, headlines,” he said. “But I think that’s a mistake. Because I believe that the Synod is a profound renewal of the Church in a new situation.”
However, Davis in America questioned this orientation after years of Synod organizers attempting to promote the event as a seismic shift.
“At the end of a multi-year process that has asked the entire Church and beyond to contribute time and resources,” he wrote, “is it really too much to ask for a headline or two?”
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in National Catholic Register.
Jonathan Liedl
Jonathan Liedl is a senior editor at the National Catholic Register. He studied Political Science and Arabic Studies at the University of Notre Dame and has a Master’s Degree in Catholic Studies from the University of St. Thomas. He is currently completing a Master’s Degree in Theology at Saint Paul Seminary. He lives in the Twin Cities of Minnesota.