Ultramontane ‘Where Peter Is’ Blog Inadvertently Let the Cat Out

Fr McDonald looks at the results of asking non-Catholics, atheists, infidels and pagans of various stripes to participate in the 'sin-od'.

From Southern Orders

By Fr Allan J. McDonald

Where Peter is , Mike Lewis, has a brief article on the circus, as he calls it, that is the synod on the synod and its current document. He quotes Austin Ivereigh who lets us know that even in the committee writing the synthesis, that there is incredulous shock over what is being suggested by less than 1% of those who responded. Of course, Austin is self righteous and condescending toward these his fellow committee members.

Keep in mind, that some of that less than 1% who were polled are not practicing Catholics, former Catholics and non Catholics and non believers. Incredible to say the least and to call this a good sample of Catholics throughout the world. In fact it is shocking. Those who are “orthodox” though, as the blogger says, who he describes as ideological and “rigid” like our pope describes them, will walk away sad, but those who are gnostic about new teachings only revealed to them and a small group of elite “Catholics” will be happy that the Holy Spirit is working through them. These seems to me to be blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, no?

But here is the money byte from “Where Peter is” blog and blogger, Mike Lewis, quoting Austin Ivereigh’s incredible self-righteousness and condescension toward people who are sound and not insane when it comes to the Church:

Our friend Austen Ivereigh was among the members of the drafting committee who met in Frascati, Italy, to synthesize reports from around the world to create this document. He has a reflection in America about the experience. He writes about the importance that the document reflect the voices of the People of God, and the need to avoid giving into the temptation to theologize or make abstract the concrete words of the people of God:

The temptation to theologize, as if what the people had said could not be allowed simply to stand, was ever present in Frascati, an understandable resistance among highly competent and educated people to the humility our synthesizing demanded of us.

In the groups, I experienced the temptation as a kind of dead weight of dullness and banality, and I found it frustrating. Just let the people speak! This became my prayer and my hope for the document. Cardinal Grech and Father Costa were aware of the temptation, too, and went out to meet it. “We have been summoned here with the task of listening to the people of God,” Cardinal Grech reminded us. “If in our synthesis we do not represent what the people of God are trying to say, then we have failed.”

The message landed. The final document stays rooted in the people. But having experienced the temptation in our groups, I became aware of how hard it is, in synodal processes, to really listen to the people, especially for those of us accustomed to analyzing and opining.

There will certainly be much more dialogue, tension, and conflict in the Church over the next two years of this process. This document, remember, is a synthesis of what Catholics would like to see addressed. But there are many disagreements about how these issues should be addressed. Here comes everybody and all that. And plenty of people, especially those with ideologies and rigid agendas will walk away sad. Others will sense the Holy Spirit at work, experience conversion, and be renewed. Some will finally feel listened to. Hopefully the Church will benefit from this grand experiment. Ultimately it will fall to the Successor of Peter to discern what God is asking of the Church when the circus finally ends.