I remain grateful to Jean Hawley for her courageous and hope-filled embrace of the questions the Spirit is prompting for her around Lay Eccelsial Ministers, synodal relationships and co-responsibility. And is often the case for me, someone else's questions prompt even more questions for me. And now that I've finished reading the Final Document and am almost done with Dilexit Nos there are even more questions arising. I hope you'll join the great ponder with us, as we figure out "What next?"
Photo Credit: Wix Images 2024
This past Sunday in my parish here in West Virginia, I had the chance to listen to Bishop John Stowe OFM Conv. talk about the signs of our times, the call to Christians to stand erect and prepare for plenty of opportunities to live the Gospel, and then to talk about the US Bishops Conference and their approach to synodality. In essence, he said the US Bishops approved the creation of a Committee on Synodality that Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, TX would lead, with no other action taken on that yet AND, perhaps more importantly, he said that the attitude of many Bishops is that the US is already synodal, has no work to do and can just wait for the rest of the universal Church to "catch up." This perspective comes after I participated in a webinar sponsored by Liturgical Press entitled "What's next for our listening Church after the synod?" in which Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago said the only way synodality will take hold in the US Church is if the Bishops take the lead. As you might expect, these two encounters are shaping the questions that are arising for me, questions already sparked by Jean's lived experience of a Church that is neither synodal nor respectful of the gifts of many Lay Ecclesial Ministers, especially women. In the rest of this blog I want to share with you some of my questions, and where I can, offer resources that can help us begin to reflect deeply with them. Since I began by talking about episcopal leadership, let me start with some of my questions that refer to them:
What should a parish priest and staff do if their Bishop is not engaging with synodality, therefore refusing to follow Pope Francis' directives? Dilexit nos offers some very practical spiritual practices that can begin to form the people of God by engaging in an exploration of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and love. And I think it's a good step, to form people's hearts, to make a place for the Holy Spirit to enter.
How do Lay Ecclesial Ministers currently employed by the Church remain in communion with the Pope if their pastor and/or Bishop is not embracing synodality? A first very practical step is to form themselves (or create a learning community of fellow LEMs) around the Final Document, Dilexit nos, and Pope Saint John Paull II's work on the spirituality of communion found in Novo Millennio Ineunte. Once formed, LEM's will have made room in their hearts for the Holy Spirit to guide them in the next steps and they will remain in communion with the Holy Father while they await their leaders' conversion.
How do Church leaders respond to the USCCB's perspective that the US Church is already synodal? How might the people of God respond? A first step may be to ask the President of the USCCB, Archbishop Timothy Broglio to articulate clearly the ways in which the US Church is already synodal, so that common understanding can develop. What does he see and understand that we do not? Perhaps include an invitation to see from where we stand could be included?
Who is showing us the kind of courage it takes to proclaim the newness the Spirit is directing in the Catholic Church by asking for the culture change to synodality? Where can we hear their voices? In terms of Episcopal leadership, check out the synod delegates' names here. Watch for their use of media resources, homilies, and talks to see to what degree they are promoting synodality. Our website will continue to feature the pro-synod voices when we identify them. Check out our partner organizations as well. AUSCP, Discerning Deacons, VOTF and the Leadership Roundtable are all investing in synodality with courageous voices.
Who will form the clergy, the Lay Ecclesial Ministers and parish staffs, those directly responsible for forming the baptized, in synodality? This question does not have a universal answer. Certainly PVP Team members are prepared to do so. NCCL's Thriving Parish Project is investing heavily in this. Various colleges and universities are developing curriculum around synodality. And we can watch for and ask our US leadership to support formation efforts around synodality.
What do we risk if we as a US Church, or we as parishes and individuals refuse to follow the Spirit's call to synodality for the Catholic Church? What are the consequences when we "go off on our own" and "go out of communion" with the rest of the Church? What can we learn from past experiences, from the Scripture and Tradition? I think everyone needs to figure out the consequences for refusing to embrace the conversion of spirit, mind and culture the Pope has said is the way of the Church in the Third Millennium. Schism is one consequence. What are others? Let us prayerfully consider what we are risking if we do not join the #synodjourney.
As you might expect, I have thousands of other questions. Here are a few for which I have no direction or resource to help me answer right now. If you do, please share with me here. What will it take to get the baptized to understand and live into the rights and responsibilities of baptism? And how should preparation for baptism change so that this is made clear to parents, and to adults in the catechumenate process? What kind of leadership skills will we need to lead a culture change? Who is helping form the leaders in this work? Support them? What does accountability for the embrace of synodality look like in the time leading up to ad limina visits? Who is responsible for holding parish leadership accountable? Is there some checklist of behaviors that would let us know we are in the right track in terms of co-responsibility of all the baptized for the mission? How is Evil thwarting the embrace of synodality in the US Church? What can be done about that?
It was Jean's blog series that first asked questions about the relationship between LEM's and the clergy, and LEM's and the baptized, about what co-responsibility looks like and who will lead the baptized into this, and about the formation for synodality for church leaders. She suggested the clergy and formators listen to the LEM's in an extended conversation in the Spirit as a first step. Maybe that can happen in pockets around the US, while the rest of the US Church figures out what happens next. Any LEM's reading this willing to convene a group?
Thanks Jean, for opening the door for us to begin to ask really critical questions: questions of intellectual, spiritual and practical formation for synodality, questions about responsibility, consequences and Evil. I am trusting that the Holy Spirit is going to help us figure out the right questions for the right time...asked of the right people with the right spirit so that the #synodjourney continues. And I am trusting the Spirit will help us identify Evil and the strategies to reject it, as we move more deeply into our baptismal identity. And it is this trust that will allow us all to be peacefully discontent.
PVP warmly welcomes you to join our great ponder. Share your questions, inklings and insights here!
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