Following the recent conclusion of the Synod on Synodality, Cardinal Emeritus Joseph Zen of Hong Kong voiced criticisms regarding Pope Francis’ approach to synodality:
“From the ‘Synods’ held under Pope Francis, we can see that he wants to change the Church’s doctrines or disciplines each time rather than discuss how to safeguard these doctrines and disciplines.”
Considering these remarks, a review of the latest Synod’s outcomes, as well as those of previous synods, may clarify whether this claim is substantiated or not.
Francis’ Synods: Speculation vs. Reality
The following is a summary of Pope Francis’ synods, along with predictions of doctrinal and disciplinary changes widely circulated in conservative-leaning media beforehand.
2014-2015 Synods on the Family:
Pre-synod predictions: Pope Francis was going to allow changes for the communion of divorced and remarried couples (see here and here). Tensions heightened when Francis invited Cardinal Walter Kasper, a longtime advocate of a “penitential path” for these couples, to address the College of Cardinals ahead of the synod (see here and here).
Kasper’s “penitential path” proposed that, after sincere repentance and commitment to the Catholic faith, these couples might be admitted to communion after a certain period of time if reconciliation with their first spouse was unfeasible.
Outcome: Pope Francis’ post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia did indeed broaden the circumstances under which divorced and remarried couples could receive communion.
But unlike Cardinal Kasper’s “penitential path,” this change was grounded in traditional Catholic doctrine, specifically the distinction between mortal and venial sin, and the role of mitigating circumstances affecting full knowledge and consent (see footnote 351 and #301—305 to which it refers).
2018 Synod on the Youth:
Pre-synod predictions: The inclusion of LGBT terminology in the instrumentum laboris sparked controversy, leading to concerns that the Church might compromise its doctrinal stance on sexual matters (see here and here).
This concern persisted even after the LGBT terminology was removed from the Synod’s final document.
Outcome: The post-synodal apostolic exhortation Christus Vivit did not delve much on homosexuality (#81) and reaffirmed both the unitive and genitive ends of sexuality between a man and a woman (#261), according to traditional Catholic teaching.
2019 Synod on the Pan-Amazon region:
Pre-synod predictions: To address the local priest shortage, the Synod was going to allow the ordination of married men (viri probati), raising concerns of a precedent for the relaxation of priestly celibacy worldwide.
The controversy prompted Cardinal Robert Sarah to publish a book defending priestly celibacy, listing Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI as a co-author, as he had authorized the use of one of his previous texts about this topic in the book. Benedict, however, later asked not to be listed as a co-author.
Additionally, there were also concerns that the Synod may allow the ordination of women deacons.
Outcome: In the post-synodal apostolic exhortation Querida Amazônia, Francis argued that focusing solely on increasing the number of ordained ministers (#92—93) or assuming that women’s greater participation in the Church depends on admission to Holy Orders (#100) are both “too narrow visions.”
2021—2024 Synod on Synodality:
Pre-synod predictions: Once again, there were concerns that the Synod would end up allowing the ordination of women deacons.
Outcome: Again, no such thing ended up happening.
Conclusion:
Although each synod was preceded by speculation that Pope Francis would use them as platforms for changes in doctrine and discipline, only one disciplinary change occurred, and not as anticipated. All other predictions proved incorrect.
Conservative Pushback: Overstated?
In his statement, Cardinal Zen recognized that the predicted heterodox outcomes did not materialize. However, he attributes the failure of these agendas to strong opposition during the synodal discussions.
This explanation, however, appears to contradict another narrative circulated before each synod—that they were “stacked,” “rigged,” or “manipulated” by Pope Francis to ensure a desired outcome, effectively sidelining conservative voices in the process.
The lack of conservative/traditionalist input was also noted whenever the synods did not consider their liturgical requests.
On the other hand, this explanation overlooks how Francis himself has repeatedly shown displeasure at ideological hijacking of the synods to discuss certain “hot topics”. In an in-flight press conference a few days after Amoris Laetitia was published, Pope Francis said:
Look, one of the recent Popes, speaking about the Council, said that there were two Councils: Vatican II, which took place in Saint Peter’s Basilica, and another Council which took place in the media. When I called the first Synod, the most of the media were concerned with one question: Will the divorced and remarried be able to receive communion? Since I am not a saint, this was somewhat annoying to me, and even made me a bit sad. Because I think: those media that say all these things, don’t they realize that that is not the important issue? Don’t they realize that the family, all over the world, is in crisis? And the family is the basis of society! Don’t they realize that young people don’t want to get married? Don’t they realize that the declining birth rate in Europe is enough to make us weep? Don’t they realize that the shortage of jobs and employment opportunities is forcing fathers and mothers to take two jobs and children to grow up by themselves and not learn how to talk with their mothers and fathers? These are the big issues!
More recently, during the Synod on Synodality’s first session, Pope Francis remarked:
During the Synod on the Family, public opinion, the fruit of our worldliness, [thought] that communion was going to be given to the divorced, and in that spirit we began the Synod. When we had the Synod for the Amazon, public opinion, pressure, [thought] that viri probati were going to be [ordained], and we went in under that pressure. Now there is speculation about this Synod: “What are they going to do?”, “Maybe ordain women”… I don’t know, those are things they are saying out there.
This is probably the reason why all the “hot topics” were removed from the discussion floor during the Synod on Synodality and entrusted to separate study groups.
Commissions: Not a Bypass
Cardinal Zen offers an alternative explanation for the creation of these commissions, suggesting that Pope Francis, unable to achieve the doctrinal and disciplinary changes he desired, established external bodies to bypass the synods’ decisions.
As an example, Cardinal Zen references Fiducia Supplicans, a document from the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith that permits blessings for same-sex couples in certain circumstances. Zen claims that it was issued following the removal of the LGBT acronym from the 2024 Synod on Synodality’s documents.
However, Fiducia Supplicans seems more closely linked to the German Synodal Way’s efforts to promote liturgical blessings for homosexual unions. The document seeks to mitigate this by requiring that such blessings be spontaneous (#21, 28) and not part of a liturgical ceremony (#36).
Furthermore, if study groups, like the synods, were meant to alter doctrine and discipline, they have been equally ineffective in reaching this objective. Two commissions, one in 2016 and another in 2021, were already tasked with studying the role of women as deacons, long before the Synods on the Amazon and Synodality.
Another example occurred with a commission formed to study Humanae Vitae on the encyclical’s 50th anniversary, sparking speculation that his was a move by Pope Francis to reinterpret Humanae Vitae.
The commission ended up concluding that Humanae Vitae needed no update.
In conclusion, the idea that Pope Francis is using the synods or other means to change doctrine or discipline in untraditional ways does not hold up to scrutiny.
On the other hand, the media frenzy before each synod was fuelled by fears that ultimately did not come to pass. These were soon overshadowed by new controversies, leaving the old ones behind.
It is still possible that Francis may pursue doctrinal developments and disciplinary changes—like any pope before him did. The new commission on women deacons is still studying the matter, for instance. Other topics may surface and require new strategies, within Church tradition.
Still, given the precedents of the past decade, we should be cautious not to be swept up in feelings of scandal or anxiety. In the end, God is guiding His Church, and the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the synods.
This article was originally published at “The City and the World.” Click here to subscribe to this Catholic journalism project by Pedro Gabriel and Claire Domingues.
Pedro Gabriel, MD, is a Catholic layman and physician, born and residing in Portugal. He is a medical oncologist, currently employed in a Portuguese public hospital. A published writer of Catholic novels with a Tolkienite flavor, he is also a parish reader and a former catechist. He seeks to better understand the relationship of God and Man by putting the lens on the frailty of the human condition, be it physical and spiritual. He also wishes to provide a fresh perspective of current Church and World affairs from the point of view of a small western European country, highly secularized but also highly Catholic by tradition.
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