The above photo is my favorite of all! I love the determination on the faces of these women! The future is bright friends!
During the press briefing, Sheila Pires explained that each language group contains participants from difference geographic regions which makes the sharing richer. She also explained that women’s roles are a priority at the synod with a woman religious opening with prayer at the synod today.
Forming Men
Some of the topics that are coming up are formation of priests and seminarians, the church being a welcoming home, the plight of migrants, ecumenicism, and inter-religious dialogue. Sheila also explained that the topic of women’s participation was also discussed and that a religious woman opened the synod today. There are also discussions about young people and the concerns they share.
Ruffini explained that there were reports from the Small Groups and generally, there was agreement that the atmosphere of fraternity, but there were also fears.
What to Do with Mueller
During the Q & A, Christopher Lamb of The Tablet asked if Cardinal Gerhard Mueller’s interview with EWTN was a break in the rules regarding confidentiality that Pope Francis laid out on the first day. Ruffini answered saying that Mueller’s interview falls within the realm of discernment. Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter asked if there would be a punishment for participants, like Cardinal Mueller, who speak about the synod in public. Ruffini replied that there was no policeman, and that compliance was more along the lines of trust.
Another reporter asked if the participation by women was felt by others and by Ruffini himself. He said that he did experience the difference and that the notion of being a welcoming church was especially expressed by the women present.
A synod skeptic, Diane Montagna of the Catholic Herald asked if the synod is being led by the Holy Spirit or another spirit. Ruffini’s answer was short, and as expected, he defended the process at the synod.
Can you hear the women marching?
On Friday, a group of women and their allies marched from the church of St. Giovanni dei Fiorentini to the Vatican holding signs calling for women’s ordination. The church of St. Giovanni dei Fiorentini was a worthy starting point for these prophetic women because it contains a relic of the foot of St. Mary Magdalene, the “Apostle to the Apostles.” Like Mary Magdalene, who courageously proclaimed the Word of God in the face of doubters, these women faithfully proclaim God’s word even in the face of those who would scoff.
During the press briefing, the head of Vatican media, Dr. Paolo Ruffini explained that the participants introduced themselves today, and voted for the person in their group who would report to the wider body. The person who is chosen to report is important. There was a total of three votes taken within the small group to determine who that person would be.
A Shero
One of our sheroes at the synod, Sheila Pires was appointed by Pope Francis as Secretary of the Synod on Synodality Commission
for Information. She is a veteran Mozambican journalist who serves in the communications office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). FutureChurch was fortunate to have her join our 2020 Pilgrimage to Greece where upon returning to South Africa, she shared what she learned about Early Christian women during her show on Radio Veritas.
Small Groups
Sheila explained that the Small Language Groups met in the morning and discussed their experience of synodality prior to coming to Rome. Participants had about 4 minutes (each) to share their experience. After this sharing, there was silence, prayer, and then a kind of feedback where participants shared what touched them.
In the third round, the Small Groups made notes on areas that stood out, areas where they agreed and areas where they heard differences. A report was drafted of this summary and shared with all the participants by the reporter from each group.
Finally, if a participant feels their comments were not taken into account, they can submit them directly to the Secretariat of the Synod. Here is a link to the powerpoint that was given today showing the methodology used at the synod: https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly/0510/ENG-Methodology.pdf
An Accuser
Q & A
During the Q & A period, Diane Montagna who writes for the Catholic Herald and used to write for the notorious LifeSite News started her question by asking why participants will be bound to silence, even after the synod. A good question to be sure, but then she went on to cast aspersions some of the women who have been invited to participate in the synod because they “hold positions that are contrary to the Catholic faith.” She went on to identify one such women, Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, a synod participant
from Switzerland who supports the ordination of women.
Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my.
I have sat next to Montagna at former synods, and she never fails to get on my last nerve with her manufactured outrage and her mean girl attitude. The sound of fingernails on a blackboard is easier to bear than these brittle and often brutal comments.
God bless the women, and especially sheroes like Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler.
As the synod opened, Pope Francis released his most pointed climate challenge to the world, but especially to the United States. The hope is that this straight talk will spur U.S. bishops and all Catholics, many who are climate change deniers, into new ways of caring for our common home.
If we consider that emissions per individual in the United States are about two times greater than those of individuals living in China, and about seven times greater than the average of the poorest countries, we can state that a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact.
Opening Eucharist: Laity First
The synod opened with a formal procession and Mass with Pope Francis presiding. While there was still a lot of overdressing from our ordained members, it was symbolic to witness women and laity processing into the Eucharistic celebration before the prelates.
Introductions
Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, one of 10 delegate presidents, gave the first speech of the day. Pope Francis’ remarks were followed by speeches from synod Secretary General Cardinal Mario Grech and synod Relator General Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich who recapped the goals, spirit, and method of the three-year synodal process launched by the Pope in 2021.
“To guarantee the freedom of expression of each and every person regarding his or her thoughts and to ensure the serenity of common discernment, which is the main task entrusted to the assembly, participants are bound to confidentiality and privacy both with regard to their own interventions and other participants’ interventions. This duty remains in effect even after the synod assembly has ended.”
It added that “recording, filming, and disseminating” speeches is prohibited.
Pope Francis made it clear that he wants to preserve the confidential atmosphere of the synod and asked that participants “fast” from speaking about what they know publicly. But, of course, this makes it very difficult to learn what is actually happening inside the synod hall. Journalists are rightly frustrated because, as with all such events, it is important to learn about the actual experience of synod participants, and not just what the Vatican wants to project. My guess, is that there will be leaks and interviews that come our way despite the lock down.
Cardinal Mario Grech explained that, as in the past, there has been a Commission for Disputes created composed of three members appointed by the Pope.
He further explained that working groups will begin tomorrow. Each working group has a facilitator, recorder, and reporter. Also, the fraternal delegates and experts will join. These delegates have a right to speak but not to vote.
Finally, Grech explained that each person must stay in their assigned place at the table and use the assigned tablet throughout.
Following Grech, there were two witnesses at the opening session, one by a newly appointed cardinal and one by a layman.
Especially touching was the witness of Cardinal-elect Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś of Lotz, Poland,. He spoke of those who came to his synodal gatherings, and especially of one who had not participated in the church for decades. He explained that after a whole day of listening, this person shared that he did not understand anything that had been discussed. This informed the cardinal elect most. For Ryś, the heart of the synodal work is to move far beyond talking to those who are already involved, and to reach out to those who have been excluded. Let’s hope his words become action!
It is Sunday, October 15, 2023. Last week’s open-heart surgery on my beloved family member was successful. God is good. After the surgery, we rode the inevitable ups and downs of post-surgery complications and spent most nights at the hospital. But then things began to look up. On Thursday, after an extensive test, we received good news that we could go home. From his hospital bed, my favorite patient sang, “Tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak” by Thin Lizzie. Everyone else in the room was dancin’. On Friday, he was released into the arms of his children, the youngest who clung fiercely to him. And he had his first good night’s sleep in weeks. God is so good.
With the most critical part of this journey behind us, I am returning to my work reporting on the synod. This first report will be a long one since I am catching up on what has been happening in the synod hall. I will try to recap other important events as well in other blogs. So, dear friends, please read what is helpful and leave the rest. I’ll give you my best and point you to some of the best articles, blogs, and podcasts out there.
SynodWatch, Roundup Style
One of my favorite podcasts is The Daily Beans, News with Swearing. Dr. Allison Gill offers a roundup of the news each day followed by good news – photos of dogs, cats, and other cute animals. It is informative, humorous, and, at times, raucous. Given my changed circumstances, I thought it might be a worthy format for reporting on the synod.
This year, all journalists in Rome are facing significant barriers in reporting on the synod. As the synod began, Pope Francis issued a formal request that participants “fast” from talking to journalists. He apologized to the journalists because it creates a kind of media grey-out. Francis’s worthy goal is to create a space that is more retreat-like and prayerful and where participants can speak freely in their conversation circles without it ending up in a headline. Yet, it also means that we won’t know many of the details of what is happening between October 4 – 29, or get those up-close-and-personal perspectives that journalists obtained in the past.
Happenings
Even before synod participants gathered for the opening Mass on October 4, Catholics witnessed some strange shenanigans, and surprisingly, some significant breakthroughs.
September 30, 2023
Discerning Deacons Go To Rome
Photo by Tracy Kemme SC
A number of women, including Tracy Kemme, SC from my Sister of Charity community represented Discerning Deacons as they travelled to Rome to raise awareness about one of the big issues on the table, ordaining women as deacons. Since 2015, when Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher first uttered the suggestion that synod participants should be talking about women deacons, to 2019 when bishops from the Amazon region asked that the issue be studied, to today, the issue has gathered lots of steam thanks to groups (including the pioneering work of FutureChurch, Voice of the Faithful, Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, Women’s Ordination Conference, etc) and many women including Phyllis Zagano, Sr. Carmen Sammut and the leadership at the International Union of Superiors General who prodded Pope Francis into developing the first study commission in 2016, and more. The progress that has been made at the synod rests on the shoulders of many pioneering women.
Anna Robertson wrote a blog about some of the Discerning Deacons adventures and they were mentioned in an AP news article.
It is clear that this topic will be coming to the top again and again as synod participants gather. And I think many who care about this issue are filled with hope that a new day is dawning in the Church for women!
October 2, 2023
Calling Out the Doubters
On October 2, Pope Francis published a response to a dubia sent to him in July from Cardinals Raymond Burke, Walter Brandmüller, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, Robert Sarah and Joseph Zen. Their letter containing misgivings or doubts about the synod process focused on five areas; a) the interpretation of Scripture, b) the blessing of same-sex unions, c) the assertion that synodality is a “constitutive dimension of the Church, d) the ordination of women, and e) whether repentance is necessary for a person to receive absolution. While the cardinals had published their dubia, they had not published Francis’s response. Thus, the Vatican made the Pope’s response public.
The five hand-wringing cardinals who have long opposed the pope’s pastoral vision for the Church, expressed their concern about the way authority would flow at the synod. Francis used it as an opportunity to teach and to invite them more deeply into the synodal process.
Francis not only reminded the five about the long interpretive tradition of the church, but, also signaled that the church could be open to blessing same sex relationships, a monumental softening of the church’s position.
And in almost the same breath, Pope Francis signaled openness to studying the ordination of women to the priesthood. If you read the dubia, the five cardinals were seeking assurances that the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood would remain closed. While re-iterating John Paul II’s definitive statement, he suggested that even the notion of a “definitive statement” deserved to be studied and developed.
On the other hand, to be rigorous, let us recognize that a clear and authoritative doctrine on the exact nature of a “definitive statement” has not yet been fully developed. It is not a dogmatic definition, and yet it must be adhered to by all. No one can publicly contradict it and yet it can be a subject of study, as with the case of the validity of ordinations in the Anglican Communion.
That is a stunning admission making it possible to imagine a church that is no longer crippled by Pope John Paul’s 1994 Apostolic Letter freeing all to recognize God’s call to ordination.
October 3, 2023 Troublemakers about town: The good, the bad, and the ugly
Two events occurred on October 3rd – one with a tragic dystopian vibe, the other inspiring.
As the synod participants were finishing their three-day retreat, Cardinal Raymond Burke helped lead a nifty little retreat of his own. In the Ghione Theater near the Vatican about 200 people including Cardinal Robert Sarah came together for an anti-synod rally. Lovingly called, “The Synodal Babel,” the group clamored other’s fears about ordained men losing their special status, “decadent Western sexual mores” and “radical feminist claims about the equality of women.” In similar fashion, the Catholic Identity conference that took place in Pittsburgh at about the same time featured embattled prelates Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano and Bishop Joseph Strickland leading sessions like, “Francis’s Missionary Genocide,” “and “Pope of Surprises: Chaplain to the New World Order.” You can’t make this stuff up.
Across town, at the Basilica of St. Praxedes, a group of women and men, organized by Women’s Ordination Worldwide entered into prayer and prayerful listening as they practiced synodality in real time. Women from various geographical regions shared their sorrows and their hopes for a church that honors and cherishes the gifts, strength, and vocational call of women. Kate McElwee spoke of her experience moving through the synodal process. Calling the synodal path a “synod of surprises,” she recounted the ways her voice and the voices of other women who are called to ordination were officially recognized, for the first time, as part of the synodal conversations.
Before We Begin Spirituality; Technology; and Process
Hall Setup
This year, the synod gathering was moved to a new venue to accommodate the new process. The Paul VI Hall which holds 6300
people for papal audiences, has been revamped for the synod. In past synods, the hierarchical order was evident in the large theater style space. Pope Francis and prelates sat to the front and lay and religious auditors sat in the back. This year, there are 35 large round tables that seat 10 to 12 participants for a total of 365 places and the prelates, religious, and lay persons are interspersed. They are seated according to language groups – Italian, Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese. As they move through the modules, they will also be seated according to topic, a move that is controversial to conservatives who fear this is stacking the deck on issues of women, sexuality, etc.
Attention to Spirituality
For the first time in synod history, there has been an intentional effort to create a spiritual atmosphere. While at past synods, Each morning begins with the Eucharist. This did not happen at previous synods. Moments of prayer and silence are also interspersed throughout the discussions. After three or four people share, there is silence.
Advanced Technology
The technology has also advanced this year with features such as simultaneous translation for each participant in the major
languages.
At each table there are black encased touch-screen tablets for each voting member including Pope Francis (his tablet in encased in white). The device provides access to the Synod assembly’s reference texts such as the Instrumentum Laboris and a record of the discussions throughout the month. These devices will also be used for voting on the final text toward the end of the month – a document that will become the roadmap for the work over the next year. When the participants arrive at their places, the first thing they do is to present the QR code on the back of their badge to the tablet bearing their name. Their tablets remain in the hall.
Each of the first four Modules has as its theme one of the sections of the Instrumentum Laboris (A; B1; B2; B3), while the fifth Module (C) is for drafting and approving (by vote)) the final document. This powerpoint was shared to show how the methodology works.
Module A on the nature, meaning, and experience of synodality, was discussed from October 4 – 7, 2023. Those discussions were structured as follows:
Cardinal Hollerich offers overview of module..
There were two sessions of the Small Groups at the tables which discussed the topic. They then prepared a summary of their discussions, main reflections, and questions which was delivered to all participants in the plenary session.
During the two plenary sessions, participants listened to the interventions of the Small Groups followed by free discussion.
Another session for the Small Groups was provided so they could draft a final report of their discussions. The small group wrote a final report and approved it as being an accurate reflection of their discussions. It was then delivered to the General Secretariat Cardinal Grech.
Modules B1, B2, B3 on Communion, Co-Responsibility, and Participation have a slightly different structure with more plenary sessions. Discussions take place from October 9 – 21, 2023.
Cardinal Hollerich offers overview of module.
There are two sessions of the small groups with a report to be given during the plenary sessions.
There are three plenary sessions where all listen to all the reports of the Small Groups and to discuss what they hear.
The final session of the Small Groups is space to draft a final report, approve it by all the members of the small group, and deliver it to Cardinal Grech.
Module C is the final module for developing the final draft of the Summary Report of the first session of the Assembly, the report that will be used as a roadmap for the following year. This module will take place from October 23 – 28, 2023.
The outline of the Summary Report for Module A will be presented in a plenary session.
The floor will be opened for debate around the outline of the Synthesis Report;
The Small Groups will have further discussion of the Summary Report.
There will be another plenary session for the presentation and debate of the outline of the Summary Report relating to Modules B1, B2 and B3.
The Small Groups will further discuss the Summary Report for those modules.
Finally, after all discussions and amendments, there will be a reading of the full text of the amended Summary Report to all members in a plenary session along with a vote for approval of the final report.
As dioceses across the country continue to issue dangerous and discriminatory policies regarding gender identity and sexual orientation, many Catholics are seeking a way to speak out and stand up for the LGBTQ+ community. FutureChurch has prepared this template letter for you to make your own and send to your bishop, chancellor, pastor, or other officials. Please feel free to adapt this template as necessary beyond the areas (indicated in red) where we have created space for you to personalize/customize to your particular situation.
Yesterday, the 2023 Synod on Synodality began in Rome. This historic gathering of 54 women and 365 bishops and other lay, religious, and ordained is the first of two large meetings. According to the Instrumentum Laboris, or the working document, participants will discern which issues related to communion, participation, and mission will be studied over the next year with more decisive action to be taken in 2024. Pressing issues like climate change, women’s roles and ordination, LGBTQ inclusion and rights, and opening the priesthood to married men will certainly be raised in these discussions and discernment.
This is my second SynodWatch blog. I will be sending more, but not from Rome as I had originally planned. My circumstances have changed. Just a few hours after I arrived in Rome, I received a call and learned that my beloved family member (I wrote about him in my first blog) is back in the hospital, seriously ill again, and, at this moment undergoing open heart surgery. I am writing this from the hospital waiting room as the doctors perform a six-to-eight-hour surgery. I have my rosary in hand and many family and friends are praying for him. I feel deep gratitude for this outpouring of love and care. Love heals.
And although I am disappointed that I cannot serve as one of your eyewitnesses from Rome at this historic time, the decision was not a hard one. I must be here.
So, as the days unfold, I will be reading, listening, interviewing, and writing about major events, especially as they pertain to the women who are participating inside and outside the synod hall.
Thank you all for your understanding as I move into my primary role as a mother and grandmother as my beloved one heals.
For the past several weeks I have spent a lot of time in a hospital room helping a beloved family member recover from a very serious illness. He is home now and on a steady path to regaining his health. Thus, as I have over the past 10 years, I will pack my bag and head to Rome to cover the synod. Since this is a historical year for women, I will pack lots of pink – the “dismantle patriarchy” color (you have to see the Barbie movie to understand). And each day, I’ll be spending a lot of time listening to women – 54 of them. For the first time in our history, they will be discerners, deciders, and voters regarding the future of the Church.
As I recall our history, I am sure Loretto Sister Mary Luke Tobin, one of the first women to attend the Second Vatican Council, will be smiling down.
Still, as I sat in the hospital, in between the beeping of infusion pumps, antibiotic drips, and the movements of nurses taking vitals, I read articles and blog posts that focused on the synod. Some of the writing made me smile – either overly romantic or tragically removed from reality, as if the Holy Spirit acts independently of the actual physical people who will be in the room.
But it was the chiding that really blew me away.
Michael Sean Winters appropriately condemned the unhinged tirades and tactics of Bishop Strickland. But he runs off the rails when he equates Strickland to Miriam Duignan of Women’s Ordination Worldwide.
Miriam Duignan, a member of the leadership team at Women’s Ordination Worldwide, recently told NCR, “the synodal dialogue will be painfully incomplete and dishonest if it does not adequately address the widespread
calls to open all ordained ministries to women.” Dishonest?
How is that any less undermining of the principal need of the synod —
to surrender and listen to the Holy Spirit — than the rantings of
Bishop Strickland? Clinging to a particular understanding of how
the Catholic Church should organize itself to fulfill the mission entrusted
to it by its head and founder, Jesus Christ, and insisting all other
understanding are wrong or counterfeit, betrays a lack of humility that
will kill the synod before it starts.
Reading this, I nearly spit out my hospital coffee.
I tried to understand how he could make such a grotesquely unfair comparison. I may not know his motives, but I do recognize the tone and pattern. It is familiar to Catholic women, and especially those who have spent their lives at the prophetic edge, working for Gospel justice and Spirit led reform in our Church.
In defending his harsh take, Winters also cites Thomas Reese, SJ who is more certainly more nuanced, yet seems to agree there are troubling voices that are getting an inordinate amount of media attention.
According to the media, the most important issues facing the Synod on
Synodality are the possibility of married priests, women deacons and
the blessing of gay couples. … For the instrumentum laboris and Pope
Francis, the priority issues are communion, participation and mission.
Given these kind of remarks and criticisms, here are my rather practical questions.
How would participants and the faithful even talk about communion, participation, and mission in any meaningful way without getting into particular issues? And aren’t these three ways of “walking together” intimately and inextricably bound up with Gospel justice including gender and LGBTQ justice?
The listening session documents up to and including the final Continental Assembly reports are chock-full of very particular concerns, sorrows, and hopes that Catholics share over seven regions. Catholics across the world agree that we need to discern new roles for women and ordination for women. Many Catholics from around the world also agree that now is the time for LGBTQ justice. The Instrumentum Laboris states it was drafted “on the basis of all the material gathered during the listening phase, and in particular the final documents of the Continental Assemblies (3).”
The questions that will be posed in October will require ongoing and honest discussions about women’s ministry and authority, including ordination, LBGTQ rights, and yes, as the Amazon bishops signaled in 2019, married priests.
While some may cast a stern gaze on those of us who have spent our lives working for justice within the Church, since 2021, we have been invited to share our concerns and keep the dream of a more just Church alive as we walk together. Be reminded that the Vatican continues to encourage us inviting us to, “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent.” That means making room for those whose voices have been ignored, disparaged, silenced, or excluded.
Scroll down their webpage and you will see in big letters, “The Church is Listening.” I hope those who are troubled by women’s words will take to heart the word “listen.”
Finally, follow Pope Francis on this one. He has asked all to speak with “parrhesia.” That means speaking boldly and with freedom. That goes for Miriam Duignan. That goes for the rest of us.
May our synodal journey this October and beyond continue to be blessed, authentic, bold, and fruitful.
Author Shannon K. Evans joins FutureChurch to discuss the origins of her new powerful book of prayers, to share a few prayers with us, and to take questions from the audience. Evans wrote Feminist Prayers for My Daughteras a gift to mothers and women everywhere. It offers short prayers that affirm the unique challenges and embrace the natural abilities embodied by our daughters, young and old alike. Categories of prayers include embodiment, relationships, wholeness, justice, equality, and milestones. This book encompasses all of life from birth to death while imagining God in ways that resonate with the feminine experience.
About Our Presenter:
Shannon K. Evans is the spirituality and culture editor at the National Catholic Reporter and the author of the books Feminist Prayers for My Daughter: Powerful Petitions for Every Stage of Her Lifeand Rewilding Motherhood: Your Path to an Empowered Feminine Spirituality.
With interest in ecofeminism, social change and contemplative practice, Shannon leads workshops and retreats across the country that spark curiosity and compassion. She has partnered with the Jesuits of Canada and the U.S. and is a frequent contributor to Franciscan Media.
Having previously lived in Indonesia for two years, Shannon loves to travel, but is happiest at home on the Iowa prairie with her family and beloved chickens.
Images of God Offered During the Presentation:
Lover of all; Creator, Mother; O Weaver of Worlds; Great mystery; Sanctifying One; Wisdom Sophia; Mother pelican; Creator, Mother/Father; Source-Sojourner- Spirit; “She Who IS!”; Spirit of Love; Oh tender lover, who ever touches and caresses us to life; God of Love, Living Word and Bond of Love; God beyond our naming; Oceanic Oneness; Baker and Her Yeast; Mama Bear; Coastal Mangrove Forester of Shelter; God as pregnant mother; Breath; Breath of Life; Shepherdess; Womb of Life
