In the Vineyard :: August 7, 2024 :: Volume 24, Issue 8
Trusting the Synodal Way
The definitive “NO” response given by Pope Francis to Norah O’Donnell on 60 Minutes was a gut-punch to many of us. It was a contradiction of the support the Pope had up until then been giving for the possibility of women deacons. It also seemed to undermine the Synodal process that he initiated three years ago. For some of us it felt like we had taken a wrong turn on our synodal journey. The GPS in my car guides me to new places, but when I go off track, I get an immediate “Recalculating! Recalculating!”
And that is what we have done: taken a breath, considered the consequences and gotten back on the road. We don’t understand the “why” of the response, but a few things are certain. This was said in a secular setting and there was no magisterial teaching here. Perhaps Pope Francis did us a favor.
Although we never expected immediate reform from the Synod, this took some of the expectation off the table. For now. With ongoing study groups and some hopeful signs for women’s roles in the Instrumentum Laboris, particularly in Paragraphs #13 to #18 (read here), there are some fruits to harvest. The most important thing is to keep building synodality in the universal church by praying, listening, discerning as a Church of communion, participation and mission.
Casey Stanton, a leader of Discerning Deacons, offered us a thoughtful response which
lifted our hearts and gave us reason for hope. Please read her take aways and encouragement in Discerning Deacon’s weekly newsletter, The Witness (read here).
I encourage everyone to take the time to read the Instrumentum Laboris. It is 40 pages long but not a hard read. I am certain you will find many items that support our mission and goals in VOTF. As Paragraph 20 states in part: “synodality could offer inspiration for the future of our societies. Its attractiveness stems from the fact that it is not a management strategy but a practice to be lived and celebrated in a spirit of gratitude.” – Svea Fraser
2024 Leadership Roundtable Partnership Summit
Earlier this year I represented Voice of the Faithful at the 2024 Catholic Partnership Summit in Arlington, VA. We have been attending these Summits since 2020 when then-President Mary Pat Fox and I accepted the personal invitation of Thomas Healey, one of the founding members of the Leadership Roundtable. The theme of the 2020 meeting was From Crisis to Co-Responsibility: Creating a New Culture of Leadership. Mr. Healey invited us to join in creating a bold, new culture of leadership for the Catholic Church on the basis of our efforts to enhance transparency and accountability in the Church. VOTF accepted his invitation and has attended every Summit since then.
The leadership of the Church was well represented in 2020, by Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, Archbishop Charles Scicluna, plus many members of the U.S hierarchy from Cardinal O’Malley of Boston to Archbishop Gomez of Los Angeles; but we were most impressed by the many committed Catholics attendees who shared our vision of a Church that is attentive to the Spirit and open to active participation of all faithful Catholics in its leadership. They included university presidents, lay and religious leaders of Catholic organizations, and lay Catholics working in dioceses and other organizations across the country to protect children, enhance transparency and accountability and work for justice within and outside the Church.
I remember being thrilled by the sight of the ballroom at the Fairmont Hotel packed with all those energetic and engaged Catholics. I rode down the elevator with Archbishop Scicluna whom I admired for his work for accountability for sexual abuse in the Church. Within days of that meeting, however, the entire country was shut down by the COVID pandemic and the idea of a crowded ballroom or elevator was terrifying in retrospect! Despite those challenging times, both VOTF and the Leadership Roundtable continued our work and we have maintained and strengthened the partnerships formed in 2020.
The theme of this year’s Summit was Expanding the Tent: Young Adult Leadership and Co-Responsibility in the Church. It reflects a concern, often expressed by VOTF members, about engagement of young Catholics in the life of the Church and also the wholehearted embrace by Summit organizers of synodality as the path to renewal. The high-level clergy were still in attendance (Archbishop Pierre said the opening Mass and Cardinal O’Malley was the homilist) but many participants were active, engaged young adults who were studying for ministry or playing leadership roles in programs across the country. They accounted for about half of the people at my table, including one delegate to the Synod who communicates with young Catholics though his podcasting.
Many of us were drawn to VOTF in 2002 by our desire to protect children. We know the battle is not won, but we are making our local faith communities safer for children by our work. During the meditation that began our first conversation circle I realized that the young adults at my table were the children we had been trying to protect in 2002. They had grown safely in wisdom and grace during these last 22 years. Their faith, their openness to the Spirit and to their sisters and brothers, their thirst for justice are all gifts
to the Church. Sharing conversation in the Spirit with them gave me great hope for the future and strengthened my commitment to create a Church where all children can grow up in safety and use their God-given gifts to heal and serve the Body of Christ. – Margaret Roylance
Voice of the Faithful Focus News Roundup
Cardinal Cupich connects Eucharist to synodality at National Eucharistic Congress
The Eucharist can be thought of as a school for becoming a more synodal church, Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said during a July 18 presentation at the National Eucharistic Congress. Addressing a hotel ballroom packed with a diverse audience of Catholics, Cupich made several connections between the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, the central theme of the congress, and synodality. “Whenever we take the Eucharist, we gradually become freer to take up the mission of Christ,” Cupich said in his presentation, titled “Synodality as a Mode of Being Church.” Read more here. NCR, Brian Fraga
Catholic Church apologizes to survivor of sex abuse
The Catholic Church has apologized for its treatment of a priest who was sexually abused as a young adult in the 1980s by a fellow member of the clergy. Fr Paddy McCafferty gave evidence in the trial of former priest James Martin Donaghy, who was jailed in 2012 for 10 years.
In a statement, the Bishop of Down and Connor, Alan McGuckian, said the priest was “not believed and supported by the diocese when he should have been”. BBC, Lyndsey Telford Read more here.
Blessing people in ‘irregular’ relationships is not doctrinal error, theologian says
There have been “various signs” in modern times that have prompted a new awareness
of the Gospel and how great God’s love for humanity is, a theologian and consultor for
the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said.
These signs include the Catholic Church’s hope of salvation for infants who die without
being baptized, the inadmissibility of the death penalty and the recent declaration
opening the possibility of non-liturgical blessings to gay and other couples not married in
the church, the consultor, Michelina Tenace, said in an article published in the Vatican
newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, July 30. NCR, Carol Glatz Read more here.
Abuse commission in New Zealand points to Catholic Church in particular
On Wednesday, a commission in New Zealand singled out religious communities — and
in particular, the Catholic Church — for failing to address or prevent abuse children and
vulnerable adults in care facilities.
The Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care spent six years holding hearings
and investigating events from 1950 until the present day.
The final report said abuse was “unimaginable” in state and faith-run institutions,
explaining at least 200,000 people have been abused in these care facilities over the
decades. Read more here.
World Religions to commit to Rome Call on AI in Hiroshima
On July 9 and 10th, religious leaders from across the world met in Hiroshima, Japan, to
sign the “Rome Call for AI Ethics”, emphasizing the vital importance of guiding the
development of artificial intelligence with ethical principles that promote peace.
“I ask you to show the world that we are united in asking for a proactive commitment to
protect human dignity in this new era of machines,” the pope wrote in a message to
participants of a conference on AI ethics which hosted representatives from 11 world
religions.
The Rome Call for AI Ethics is a clarion call for humanity to navigate the uncharted
waters of artificial intelligence responsibly. Initiated by the Pontifical Academy, it has
become a collaborative effort involving Microsoft, IBM, the Italian government and
others, the Rome Call outlines a framework for developing and using AI in a way that
benefits all.
At its core, the Rome Call emphasizes the importance of human dignity and well-being.
It calls for AI to be developed and used transparently, inclusively, and responsibly. The
document also stresses the need for AI to be reliable, secure, and private, ensuring that
it doesn’t compromise human rights or freedoms. By adhering to these principles, the
Rome Call aims to shape a future where AI is a tool for good, enhancing human life
without compromising it. To learn more about the Rome Call, click here.
Letter to the Editor:
Eucharist and Synodality
The past three years have seen Catholics actively involved in two streams of Catholic
life: Synodality and Eucharistic Revival. Both worthy and Spirit-filled, it has seemed like
two separate streams flowing alongside each other, but barely merging. It’s time for
these streams to form one river.
Comments?
Please send them to Siobhan Carroll, Vineyard Editor, at Vineyard@votf.org. Unless otherwise indicated, I will assume comments can be published as Letters to the Editor.
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