A Conservative Perspective On The Synod On Synodality

Dispatch Faith:  A Conservative Perspective on the Synod on Synodality, by Fr. Robert Sirico (Co-Founder, Acton Institute):

Since 2023, the Catholic Church has been engaged in a significant process called the Synod on Synodality. This multi-year series of meetings, which concluded this week, aims to reshape how the church functions by embracing a “synodal” model—one where openness, transparency, and dialogue are central. As someone who was in Rome during these discussions—not as an official participant, but as a priest, pastor, writer, and someone deeply invested in the church’s future—I observed the unfolding process closely.

To understand the significance of this synod, it’s important to consider what a synod is and how it fits into Catholic tradition and history. Synods have long been a part of the church’s governance, serving as consultative assemblies where bishops, clergy, and laity gather to discuss pressing issues of faith and practice. However, synods are not democratic bodies that decide doctrine by vote; they are meant to advise bishops, who remain the ultimate decision-makers. ...

The Synod on Synodality, considered to have been the most significant global event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, will likely be the defining moment of Pope Francis’ pontificate. ...

In October 2023, media outlets began reporting on the contentious topics being discussed behind closed doors—despite the synod’s leadership requesting that debates remain confidential. This request for confidentiality stood in stark contrast to the supposed commitment to transparency that the synod had repeatedly emphasized. The handling of sensitive issues such as the ordination of women, LGBTQ+ concerns, and church governance raised eyebrows, as these debates were relegated to private discussions within the circoli minori (small discussion groups). ...

The situation in Germany provides a striking example of what happens when the church attempts to align too closely with secular trends and begins to see its mission as accommodation rather than evangelization. Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, a key figure in the German Synodal Way, openly admitted the severe decline of the priesthood in his diocese. In 14 years, he reported burying nearly 300 priests and ordaining only 15. ...

One striking moment from the Synod on Synodality underscored the global divide within the church. At a press conference, Overbeck sat beside Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Their presence together highlighted the contrast between two competing visions of the church: one that seeks accommodation to the secular cultural trends of Europe, and one that remains firmly rooted in a traditional understanding of faith and mission. 

This juxtaposition of Overbeck and Besungu reflects a much broader divide within the global church. While the church in Europe and North America grapples with questions of inclusivity, decentralization, and modernization, the church in Africa and other parts of the global South continues to emphasize fidelity to tradition, doctrinal orthodoxy, and growth in numbers. For many Catholics in that part of the world, where the church is growing, the challenges facing the church in Europe and North America, where the church is shrinking, seem distant, even alien.

The experience of the Catholic Church in Germany—with its plummeting numbership—serves as a cautionary tale. As it attempts to conform to the expectations of modern secular society and experiences rapid decline, the church’s relevance in German society has become increasingly fragile. It is a stark reminder that when the church loses its focus on its primary mission, it also risks losing its ability to speak meaningfully to the world. ...

One of the most striking omissions from the synod’s discussions was the absence of any meaningful engagement with the church’s rich tradition. As G.K. Chesterton famously said, tradition represents “the democracy of the dead,” giving a voice to the countless generations of faithful Catholics who came before us. Yet, in its rush to embrace the modern world, the synod appeared to overlook the wisdom of those past generations. ...

[T]he Synod on Synodality highlights something fundamental about the church: its ability to endure, which is a testament to its resilience. The Catholic Church, after, all, is the longest continually existing institution in human history. Its commitment to essential truths, even when countercultural, has enabled it to survive and thrive across millennia. ...

[I]f the church is to remain resilient in the face of modern challenges, it must strike a delicate balance. It must remain open to dialogue and new perspectives, even as it develops its teaching to make it more understandable to the modern world—to make the implicit, explicit. But it cannot lose sight of its core identity and mission.

In a world that is increasingly fragmented and uncertain, the church’s strength lies not in its ability to adapt to every cultural shift, but in its steadfast commitment to the truth it has carried for over two millennia. The future of the church—and perhaps of the civilization it helped to build—depends on whether it can hold fast to that identity, even as it navigates the complexities of the modern world.

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