Christ Himself must lead the Church’s journey, not a fellowship of listeners
By Douglas Farrow, Catholic Register SpecialOn the eve of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis released his Apostolic Exhortation "on the climate crisis," emphasizing the need to "rethink... the question of human power." The Synod is also about the meaning and limits of power with the seeming goal of turning the Catholic Church into a sort of procedural republic, a fellowship of listeners who through “conversations in the Spirit” learn to find a word from God in each other’s experiences. But they will still have to find ways to distribute power, or ways will be found for them.
As members of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops return home, share the results of their work and prepare for the final synod assembly in 2024, they must be on guard against people who will want to make them take sides as if the synod were a political debate, said Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe.