Pope Francis is pushing the universal Church outwards, towards openness and transparency at a time when democracy and free speech are on the back foot. Ironically a Church that is not a democracy and has not been a promoter of free speech within its own ranks, has a prophetic opportunity to be the exemplar of these qualities through its synodal vision of a new Church embedded in new structures.
As Timothy Radcliffe has pointed out, the Dominican tradition shows how a spiritual and theological vision can be embodied in the processes of government; how leaders are chosen, how decisions are made, how debates are conducted so that all voices are heard. Pope Francis describes this synodal vision and path as “ancient and new” but as Radcliffe says, unless there are fresh institutional structures, it will “remain an unrealisable aspiration”.
When The Synodal Times came out with its first issue in June 2022, Fr Pascal Scallon, Provincial of the Irish Vincentians said that synodality could learn from the religious orders because they have been doing it for hundreds of years. He also said we need to be patient because real listening and discussion take time and lots of patience.
Structures
Timothy Radcliffe has explored this in some of his recent writings particularly in terms of how the Dominican form of government could lend itself to the types of structures necessary for a true synodal Church. Rediscovering the Church as a community of brothers and sisters, much like the Dominicans and the Franciscans is something Pope Francis has invited the Church to attempt. A spirituality of brotherhood has something to offer the wider world where strangers are not often welcome. As well as brothers we are also called to friendship.
“Pope Francis summons us beyond the clericalism which has deformed so much of the Church’s life for centuries. The Dominican model of fraternity predisposed to friendship offers hints as to how this might be lived” Radcliffe writes. And the sexual abuse crisis is a betrayal of friendship, he adds. “At the frozen heart of Dante’s Inferno, Satan devours three figures whose treachery betrayed friendship.” It is a betrayal of friendship with those who trusted and a betrayal of friendship with God, he writes.
The third aspect of the Dominican way of governing that is pertinent to a synodal vision of governance is ‘truth and unity’. “The passion for truth…should carry us beyond divisions in our search for the one who is the truth and who transcends all our conceptions and ideologies.” The Dominicans themselves have always had tensions and factions [Liberation Theology for example] within the order but hung onto unity.
In the Church today people talk openly about the possibility of schism – there are many positions on synodality, renewal and reform – and one can rightly wonder if they can all be held in tension while a listening process is held as we seek the way forward in unity. Synodality is that ongoing listening, a habit that is adopted across structures to find the way.
Clearly the Church is too diverse to have one shared vision, clearly a synodal Church will have to handle diversity in unity. Among the early Christians, scholars have pointed out, there was diversity in teaching and practice in each local community, but they were united in one faith, one baptism and in one Lord. As Pope Francis has written: “Each country or region, moreover, can seek solutions better suited to its culture and sensitive to its traditions and local needs”.
Crucial
The crucial point for the synodal process, which Francis has tied to us becoming a missionary Church, is if we cannot talk to one another, how can we possibly go and talk to the world? If Pope Francis has a strategy for the Church it is this, reform how the Church speaks to itself and make that conversation horizontal.
A world Church speaks and listens to its many parts, not resigned to passively taking orders from the centre without debate. But as the marketing people say, culture eats strategy for breakfast and the Church’s culture has always been that of control. Many synodal groups have called for a cultural change in the Church. Pope Francis says he wants a little chaos, a little mess so the Church can be more open to the Spirit. This is where the idea of co-responsibility comes in.
The role of the bishop is to “animate the conversations of all the members of the body of Christ under his care”. But the bishop’s authority also sits alongside the authority of the baptised and the authority of theologians who professionally search for the truth. Quoting John Henry Newman, Radcliffe says that “no single form of authority must predominate…which is why complex doctrinal issues cannot be resolved by a simple vote” one of the great fears of those suspicious of synodality when it was first mooted.
Radcliffe suggests a clarification of how authority in all its forms interacts is vital if the synodal path is to avoid fragmentation or disappoint those eager for change. Radcliffe recommends the Dominican form of chapters held every three years. He suggests that we listen with imagination to understand why others disagree and where that disagreement is coming from. Accountability he says is also a cornerstone of good government and financial transparency the touchstone of accountability.
Another aspect of the Dominican approach that synodality could learn from is the extended discussions and consultations before leaders are elected – could we have a better process of discussion and consultation in how are bishops are chosen?
The final point Radcliffe raises: how is the voice of the laity and women especially to be heard in the Church? Rather than a pyramid, the Church is a complex web of institutions with different voices and charisms so what new institutions do we need if lay men and women are to be heard in Church debates?
Control
What is clear is that longstanding religious orders such as the Dominicans, Franciscans and Jesuits which have inbuilt systems of control in their governance that limit clericalism can inspire better participative structures to model a more synodal and accountable Church. That’s not to say they always got it right all the time and many orders often fell into the same institutional think as other groups and dioceses to protect their own and not act in justice or truth.
That said, the October Synod of Bishops in Rome will begin the process of trying to find a way forward, (a way out of the morass?) to model a structure where accountability, inclusivity and co-responsibility will thrive. While it won’t be quick or easy, our religious brothers and sisters have modelled it in greater or lesser ways for centuries.
