1300 Inside the Vatican: Inside the Synod - for the very last time, at least in this capacity, our expert says!
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Inside the Vatican: Inside the Synod - for the very last time, at least in this capacity, our expert says!
Read on!

VATICAN CITY: 22nd October 2005 -- And so we come to the end of the Eleventh Synod of Bishops, during which we celebrated the 40th year of this particular instrument of the Church’s Magisterium.  We have considered The Eucharist: The Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church.  The Synod of Bishops and the International Theological Commission were established by Paul VI, to continue the presence of Bishops from all over the world (the Synod) and the presence of different theological perspectives from all over the world (the Theological Commission), so richly visible at Vatican II.  I have now had considerable experience on both bodies, and I am grateful that I have been blessed with these opportunities, however ambiguous these institutions ultimately prove to be.  You have read my earlier reflections … there is little need to comment further on the “ambiguity” inherent in such institutions.  More of that below, and my opinions have also been made available for all concerned on Zenit, The National Catholic Reporter, and Vatican Radio.
    This week has seen a change in method.  Much of the first two weeks was given to the response of the Bishops to the Instrumentum Laboris and the reflection of Cardinal Angelo Scola upon that document.  Over 230 Bishops spoke.  There was a lot of repetition, but each one had his chance to reflect on some aspect of the Eucharistic life of the Church.  Their interventions were followed by further prepared reflections from invited members of Churches not in communion with Rome.  The experts had the task of trying to find traces of unifying issues through these interventions, and eventually provided Cardinal Scola with suggestions that he merged into a further major discourse that brought the interventions to an end, and sent us off into small language groups (Circuli Minores).  We had started that process when I wrote last, but these groups worked to generate the Propositiones (Proposals) that went back to the Synod as a whole.  This week has been dominated by work on the Propositiones and the evaluation of the work of a smaller group, some nominated by the Holy Father and others elected, to prepare a Nuntius (Message) from the Synod to all of good will.
    More than 250 Propositiones from the small groups were forged (by the experts!) into a document of 50 proposals, and the Synod was presented with these proposals on Wednesday afternoon.  Traditionally, this is the list of recommendations that the Synod makes to the Holy Father, that he might eventually formulate his Post Synodal Exhortation.  I will mention below that Benedict XVI has changed this process.  Many were disappointed with the Propositiones, and we went back into the small groups to propose amendments (all day Thursday).  Again the experts worked late at night (and early morning) to collate and evaluate the suggested amendments to the Propositiones (called modi in this Latin-speaking world).  Friday was “decision day.”  The Nuntius, which we had all seen in an earlier version, in French (original), English (translation by FJM), German, Italian and Spanish, was submitted to a final reading and approval.
    This was an extremely disappointing session.  There is nothing “magisterial” about the message (Nuntius).  It is a word of enthusiasm and hope to the world at large about the work of the Synod.  One after the other, the Curial Cardinals rose and asked that it be changed.  It was too “open,” there was too much “hope,” and it did not reflect the tradition of the Church.  I will share two comments interventions that disturbed me a great deal.  "We must not speak of the 'suffering' of those who are divorced and remarried. Such people are in that situation because of their own ill-willed rejection of the teaching of the Church".  "We should not speak of the suffering of the AIDS victims in Africa, as this too reflects indiscriminate sexual activity, and the world might think we are encouraging the use of condoms between married people".  This was an extremely “low” moment, and many of us – including many of the Bishops – left that session very discouraged.  Both of these interventions came from Curial Cardinals; and they are only the worst examples of what was a terrible display from our Ecclesiastical leadership.  “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Mark 2:17); “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, for when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor 12:10).  If only we could be guided by the Word of God!
    The final version of the corrected Propositiones was put before us on Friday afternoon.  There are disappointments here, as one might expect, and the subsequent vote upon them has shown that not all 50 can go ahead, but they are the result of hard arguing.  I personally find that more satisfying: you fight … and you lose!  We voted for a document that was to be given to the Holy Father.  At the end of this difficult session (this morning – Saturday, October 22), the Holy Father announced that he wanted these Propositiones published, so that the world will know what the Synod proposed to him, and will be able, eventually, to decide how he has responded to them as he writes his Exhortation.
    We closed with a quite wonderful dinner for over 300 people.  The Holy Father presided, and spoke beautifully of the importance of shared meals as the source of Jesus’ own experience … that is where Eucharist receives its inspiration.  Tomorrow is the Pontifical Mass (along with 5 canonisations [left over from John Paul II’s era] and the celebration of World Mission Day.  It promises to be long; let’s hope it does not rain!  It has rained most of the three weeks of the Synod.
    I could reflect further on what I regard as the contemporary Church’s most serious challenge: the need to return to the spirit of Gaudium et Spes and engage with the world.  I do not see it happening.  More on this as we go further (and for those who have resources, a close reading of E. Fouilloux, “Intransigeance Catholique et ‘Monde Moderne’ [19e – 20e Siècles],  Revue d’histoire ecclésiastique 96 (2001): 71-87, is a powerful point de départ).
    But this moment in the Church’s history is over.  I was privileged to be part of it.  I said to the Secretary General of the Synod (Archbishop Nicholas Eterovic) that the only way he would get me back to a Bishops’ Synod was to make me a Bishop, and impose my presence.  That, fortunately, will not happen.  This is hard – and often discouraging – work.  I now have 6 weeks ahead of me in Washington, DC, during which so much has to be done … not the least saying farewells.  But my first farewell must be to the wonderful community here at the Polyglott Press.  I have loved my time with them … and wondered at the remarkable and unthanked service they render to the Church.  Keep them (and me) in your prayers.
Francis J. Moloney, S.D.B.
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