Pope Francis Opens Vatican Synod on Catholic Church’s Future; Publishes New Document on Environment, Climate

(Photo: ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty Images) Pope Francis leads a mass on the opening day of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, at St Peter's Square in The Vatican, on October 4, 2023.

Pope Francis led the Mass in St. Peter's Square Wednesday (October 4) ahead of the opening session of the 16th Synod of Bishops on "synodality."

In his homily, the pontiff has warned both camps in the church's culture wars to put their "human strategies, political calculations or ideological battles" aside and allow God to guide the debate.

"We're not here to create a parliament, but to walk together with the gaze of Jesus," he said.

He also told the crowd that his papal namesake, Francis of Assisi - the saint commemorated every October 4 in the Catholic hagiography - also faced divisions and tensions in his lifetime and responded with prayer, charity, humility, and unity when God allegedly told him to "rebuild" the church in the 13th century.

"Let us also do the same," Francis said. "And if God's holy people with their shepherds from all over the world have expectations, hopes, and even some fears about the synod we are beginning, let us continue to remember that it is not a political gathering, but a convocation in the spirit; not a polarized parliament, but a place of grace and communion."

Francis added that "preconceived" ideas, such as more roles and representations in the church, had no place in the gathering. However, in another part of his speech, he insisted that the church was a place of welcome, saying that "tutti" (Italian for "everyone") must be allowed in.

The pope also emphasized to the congregation that there was a temptation to be a "rigid" church in difficult times, which "arms itself against the world and looks backward; a lukewarm church, which surrenders to the fashions of the world; a tired Church, turned in on itself."

To these claims, the pontiff suggested an alternative to what the Church should be.

"A church that is united and fraternal, that listens and dialogues; a church that blesses and encourages, that helps those who seek the Lord, that lovingly stirs up the indifferent, that opens paths in order to draw people into the beauty of faith," he explained. "A church that has God at its center and, therefore, is not divided internally and is never harsh externally."

The Mass was attended by over 20,000 pilgrims on top of 500 clergymen, including 20 new cardinals Francis recently named prior to the synod's opening.

At the opening Mass for the Synod of Synodality, lay delegates and bishops process in to the solemn hymn, “Laudes Regiae,” singing “Christ conquers, Christ reigns, Christ commands.” pic.twitter.com/bnhwAMqRQ8
— Courtney Mares (@catholicourtney) October 4, 2023

Catholic Culture Wars Highlight the Synod

This year's three-week closed-door mega-meeting has been intentionally or unintentionally highlighted by diverse speculations - from hope to hype to fear - on the fate of the Catholic Church as the world knows it, the Associated Press reported.

While the two-year-long synodal process would not make any binding decisions, the synod itself has been the ideological casus belli of the cultural civil war in the church's left-right divide, as well as marking a defining moment for Francis and his reform agenda.

At stake in the synod was a wide range of controversial topics the church has been discussing in the past few decades despite its official doctrine providing solidified pronouncements. These include the elevation of more women to decision-making roles, the possibility of ordaining women, and more democratic church governance.

Prior to the service, advocates for women priests unfurled a giant purple banner at a yard near St. Peter's reading "Ordain Women." They and other women's rights activists have long complained of their claimed status as second-class citizens within the church and have long demanded a greater say in church governance, at least in the form of voting rights at the periodic synods at the Vatican but also the right to preach at Mass and be ordained as priests or deacons.

Francis has previously convened two study commissions to research the issue and was asked to consider it at a previous synod on the Amazon, but has so far refused to make any change.

Also being considered are the ways to welcome LGBT+ Catholics and other individuals purportedly marginalized by the church, as well as new accountability measures to keep prelates and clerics in check, especially in the prevention of abuses, without specifying whether it was of the theological, liturgical, moral, or sexual kind.

The synod was the very first time the pope let women and lay folk participate and vote alongside bishops in any final document produced. While bishops compose a majority of the voting seats of the 365-member synod, the reform was seen as a radical shift away from a hierarchy-focused Synod of Bishops. It could also be seen as evidence of Francis's perspective that the church was more focused on its flock than its shepherds.

Conservatives Fear Synod's Ramifications are Irreversible

The potential that the synodal process could lead to a recognizable change on previously taboo topics has given hope to many progressive Catholics and sparked alarm from conservatives warning that its call for radical inclusion of LGBT+ people could lead to schism.

Books, conferences, and social media posts from conservative Catholics claimed that Francis's reforms were sowing confusion, undermining the true nature of the church and all of its teachings over two millennia. Among the most vocal are the conservatives in the US.

On the eve of the synod, US Cardinal Raymond Burke delivered a scathing rebuke of Francis's vision of "synodality" as well as his overall reform project for the church.

"It's unfortunately very clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some has the aim of bringing forward an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine," he told a conference entitled "The Synodal Babel."

He also slammed the term "synodal" as having no clear definition and said its underlying attempt to shift authority away from the hierarchy risked the church's very foundation and "very identity."

Burke and four other cardinals formally challenged Francis to affirm church teaching on homosexuality and women's ordination before the synod. The challenge was called a "dubia."

However, Francis has not allegedly clearly answered the cardinals' questions and retorted that they should not be afraid of questions that are posed by a changing world.

Asked specifically about church blessings for same-sex unions, Francis suggested they could be allowed as long as such benedictions aren't confused with sacramental marriage.

A Second Papal Document on Environment

Alongside the opening of the synod, Wednesday noon, Rome time (10:00 UTC), marked the publication of Francis's second encyclical on the environment.

According to Rome Reports, the document, entitled "Laudate Deum" (Latin for "Praise ye God"), criticizes the lack of commitment the pontiff has seen over the years to tackle climate issues and the environment, as well as promoting the development of those in need ever since he published his first treatise on the subject, "Laudato Si'," (Old Italian for "Praise be unto Thee") in 2015.

In the new document, Francis described the international community's response to this crisis as weak and warned against the power of artificial intelligence (AI).

"Never has humanity had such power over itself, yet nothing ensures that it will be used wisely," he wrote.

He also expressed disappointment not only to the international community for its apparent lack of action but also to the Catholic congregations for allegedly questioning the concept of climate change.

"I feel obliged to make these clarifications, which may appear obvious, because of certain dismissive and scarcely reasonable opinions that I encounter, even within the Catholic Church," Francis added.

"Laudate Deum" also highlighted the impact different climate meetings have had in the world, as well as expressed hope for the success of the climate summit in Dubai later this year. Francis also urged Catholics to internally reflect on their lifestyles in order to contribute to the efforts to make the planet a better place to live.