The thick walls of the Church find it difficult to open. But something could be starting to change. After three weeks of discussions, the first phase of the Synod of Synodality, Francis’s great meeting to adapt the Church to the 20th century, closed this Saturday with the approval of a “synthesis document” which opens up the Catholic Church to continue discussing issues such as the possibility of women being deaconesses (previous step to the priesthood), priestly celibacy or acceptance of the polygamous families.
These issues continue to create controversy within the Church but, after the meeting, they are not a dead letter and the final decision will be made in the next and final stage of the Synod, which will be held in October 2024. “It is a synod in which we have gained space,” said Mario Grech, the general secretary of the assembly, enthusiastically at the press conference after the vote.
The final text, approved in the last session of the day, even proposes a revision of the Code of Canon Law, as well as that the Church be a “less bureaucratic and more relational” institution. and “close“to Catholics homosexuals. Of course, the paragraph about which there has been more disagreement in the votes has been precisely the one referring to the possibility that the women access the diaconate. He has obtained 277 votes in favor and 69 against. “Some consider that it would be unacceptable, since it would be in discontinuity with tradition. For others, that he would restore a practice of the early Church, “is explained in the text.
To the dioceses
They were invited to the meeting 365 members (bishops and non-bishops) with the right to vote, among whom were 54 women (29 lay and 25 religious) and 15 lay people. All of them, together with the bishops and cardinals, had the opportunity to express their opinion and vote on this document, which from now on will be sent again to the episcopal conferences around the world and to the dioceses.
Tensions have been present from day one. Representatives of the conservative old guarda very vocal and organized minority, has repeatedly expressed itself against the changes that they consider a threat to the survival of the Church, both regarding women, couples who have remarried or openings towards the LGBTQ+ community. Perhaps that is why the term LGBTQ+ does not appear written in the final document of the text and there are only indirect references.
On the contrary, the wording is very clear about sexual abuse and protection of minors. A “culture of transparency and compliance with child protection procedures” by bishops is necessary, participants wrote to the Synod. “They must be established structures and processes for verification “regulate the work of the bishop, with reference to the style of his authority, the financial administration of the assets of the diocese, the functioning of the participation bodies and protection against any type of abuse,” they added.
Old and not functional
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So much so that on the same Saturday, a group of these, gathered around a current that supports the old ritual of latin massone of the main workhorses of these sectors, even paraded around the Vatican to express your disagreement. A vision of the world radically opposite to that of the progressive sector. That is, the Catholic Church, as it is known today, is a old and non-functional structureseeing, for example, that there are women in the parishes who perform functions typical of the male clergy due to the shortage of priests, but are not officially recognized.
“I have no interest in being a priest, but I do want him toas women have a more relevant role“explained this week María Luisa Berzosa, a Spanish nun. “Dogmatics and morality have their place, but what happens with attention to the person?” she asked. The way for these questions to be answered may now be be more somewhat brief.