This commentary is by Dennis O’Brien of Middlebury, president emeritus of the University of Rochester.
In 2022, Vermont Catholics will be involved in one of those arcane practices that characterize much of church life: a “synod.”
Put in more contemporary terms, a synod is a church consultation intended to direct practices of the faithful. Burlington Bishop Christopher Coyne called a diocesan synod in 2018 to develop strategies to strengthen Catholic activities in Vermont.
The 2022 diocesan synod has a radically different purpose. Not local practice, but the direction of the worldwide church. The Vermont synod will report to a national “synod” of all U.S. dioceses, which will, in turn, report to a synod of the world’s bishops to be held in Rome in 2023.
The Catholic publication Crux has called the 2023 synod the “biggest consultation exercise in human history.” Pope Francis’s biographer, Austen Ivereigh, claims that the 2023 gathering will be “the most transformative moment in Catholicism since the Second Vatican Council” (1962-65).
Synods are directed at a specific issue. The 2018 Vermont synod discussed local problems, like the shortage of priests. The 2023 Rome synod will be a “synod on synodality.” Should the Catholic Church adopt a synodal/consultative mode of governance?
The preparatory document for the synod is clear: “Synodality … is decisive for [the church’s] life and mission … the form, style, and structure of the church.”
Vermont Catholics should recognize what is at stake — nothing less than a profound change in how the church understands itself and faces the world.
Many Catholics will be quite puzzled by an examination of “the form, style, and structure of the church.” Don’t we already know that preservation of the faith requires governance from the top down — by the pope, Vatican officials, and local bishops?
The process leading up to the “Synod on Synodality” calls in question any such top-down view. Local dioceses are directed to have broad and deep discussion not only with Mass-going Catholics but with ex-Catholics, members of other Christian churches, social and political groups and authorities. This may be “the biggest consultation in human history.”
Synodal governance cannot be discussed in the abstract. How decisions are to be made in the church will be determined by what is to be decided. Minimally, a synodal decision procedure will include the voices of those likely to be affected — and the representation will be more than token.
Depending on the issue, synodal discussion would also include theologians, biblical scholars and church historians. Given the scope of those affected and the variety of the participants, synodal governance will require complete transparency.
A concrete example of what a synodal church might look like can be found in the recent two-year German synodal process. Some 230 lay and clerical delegates have laid out four items for reform: power structures with checks and balances, sexual morality, priestly lifestyle and women’s place in the church.
If these issues are to be addressed in a “synodal church,” Vermont Catholics should fully engage in our local synod to be concluded by April. A revolution may be at hand.
