Church in the World

Synod winds up with vote for the status quo

POPE BENEDICT concluded the first Synod of Bishops meeting of his pontificate last Sunday, but the eleventh ordinary assembly of the synod ended in much the same way that it began three weeks earlier, with participants ratifying the ?status quo? on issues such as priestly celibacy and the denial of Communion for the divorced and remarried.

The 256 synod fathers also sent a clear sign that they want to keep the Mass essentially the way it has been for almost the past 40 years, by near unanimous endorsement of the ?goodness and validity? of the liturgical reforms brought about by the Second Vatican Council. And many of them (at least 72 fathers) voted against Proposal 36 that called for a greater use of Latin at Mass.

But Latin was the main language at the synod?s closing liturgy in St Peter?s Square. The Pope presided at the ceremony, which closed the ?Year of the Eucharist?, initiated by the late John Paul II. In his homily, the Pope said ?For three weeks we have experienced together an atmosphere of renewed eucharistic fervour.? He said the Eucharist should be a catalyst for both the clergy and the laity to ?renew their commitment to fidelity?.

In their final message, the synod fathers said their goal was to offer proposals to the Pope that ?might help him to update and deepen the eucharistic life of the Church?. Benedict XVI decided to make the synod?s proposals public for only the second time in the institution?s four-decade history. The final list of 50 propositions, available in Italian on the Vatican website, remained substantially unchanged from the draft proposals that were reported last week in The Tablet.

In their eight-page message, the synod fathers highlighted issues that they spelled out more clearly in the propositions. They again reaffirmed that the Second Vatican Council ?provided the necessary basis for an authentic liturgical renewal? (Prop. 2) and that it was necessary to show ?genuine fidelity to liturgical norms? (Prop. 25). On a positive note, they said many parts of the Church around the world showed encouraging signs of new vitality and increased participation at Mass and eucharistic adoration. The synod voted almost unanimously to ?maintain and promote? this latter practice (Prop. 6).

They also noted that the synod featured ?open discussion? and the Pope?s ?listening presence?; Benedict had initiated an ?innovative?, one-hour ?open forum? each day which he attended, rather than being present during all the sessions as John Paul II had been.

The synod fathers touched on ?shadows and problems? that, they said, were ?not ignored?. ?In the first place,? they noted, ?we think of the loss of the sense of sin and the persistent crisis in the practice of the Sacrament of Penance? (Prop. 7). They also expressed concern at the lack of priests. ?We are worried because the absence of the priest makes it impossible to celebrate Mass,? they said. However, the only solution they offered was prayer, the promotion of vocations and a more equitable distribution of clergy in the world.

?We know the sadness of those who do not have access to sacramental communion because their family situations do not conform to the commandment of the Lord,? the fathers continued. ?We affirm that, while we do not endorse their choice, they are not excluded from the life of the Church?. But, as stated in Prop. 40 ?According to the Tradition of the Catholic Church they cannot be admitted to Holy Communion.? In that same proposition the synod ?asks bishops and parish priests [to show] courage and serious discernment? when granting Catholic weddings, ensuring that couples are motivated by more than ?emotional impulses or superficial reasons?.

In their message the bishops reiterated their commitment to working for Christian unity, but re-stated (as in Prop. 41) that the ?precise regulations of the Church determine the position [they] are taking on sharing the Eucharist? with non-Catholics. Namely, they gave a resounding ?no? to so-called inter-communion between different denominations. The synod fathers (in Prop 46) reminded Catholic politicians at odds with church teaching that they could not ?separate their private opinions from their public ones, putting them in contrast with the law of God and the teaching of the Church?.

Documents were requested to ?adequately illustrate to the faithful the reasons? for priestly celibacy (Prop. 11); on a ?Compendium on the Eucharist? (Prop. 17) from the Holy See and/or bishops? conferences; and also for a ?pastoral subsidium? or collection of hom-ilies (Prop. 19).

In an interview with <>La Croix, Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop of Malines-Bruxelles and head of the Belgian Bishops? Conference, applauded the ?affective collegiality? of a fraternal, joyful synod but added ?Effective collegiality, which would lead to decisions, remains very difficult.?
Robert Mickens, Rome