On the 11th Anniversary of the election of Pope Francis, Catholic Leaders speak out in support of Francis and the Synodal Process

We are Catholic leaders of several international Catholic reform groups. Pope Francis’s pursuit of the Synodal process has enlivened the People of God. More people have been paying attention to the Synodal process than to anything since Vatican II. The more we listen to one another the more voices the Spirit within us can resonate with.

Some claim that Francis in his eleven years as Pope has only made announcements and has not yet changed any significant church rules. That may be true on the issue of women’s ordination. But he made a significant rule change for women by making 54 women voting members at the Synod. He also realised important reform steps theologically such as outlawing the death penalty, and started the reform of the Roman Curia. These steps are irreversible and must be continued.

For a church to be Synodal, by definition, the bishops will need to accept a new model of authentic co-responsibility with the laity. A centering on a deposit of faith guarded by the hierarchy shuts out the living Spirit. The upside-down pyramid is an apt metaphor for the return to the Spirit that Synodal listening brings. Since many in the hierarchy are openly attacking Pope Francis, the challenge for the reform community is to be sure that the snowball gathers as wide a swath of others as it rolls; the bigger the snowball the more likely all are listening to the Spirit as an ecclesia, and not simply listening to ourselves as a “parliamentary” body.

Additional Resources:

We Are Church International: https://www.we-are-church.org/123/