Youth synod should be cancelled

Monday, October 1st, 2018

A US archbishop says the upcoming Youth Synod should be cancelled and its programme revised, given the abuse crisis in today’s Church.

Publishing his views in the Italian newspaper Il Foglio, Archbishop Charles Chaput said:

“After the Pennsylvania statewide grand jury report and abuse problems in Chile, Germany and elsewhere, the Church is in turmoil.

“In this turbulent environment, the Holy See will host a world synod of bishops …

“Keyed to the theme of ‘young people, faith, and vocational discernment,’ a more ironic and more difficult confluence of bad facts at a bad time for the meeting can hardly be imagined.”

Chaput went on to say: “this does not mean the synod need fail in its work. Francis’ personal appeal and the goodwill it can engender remain strong.

“This is why many young priests, like those who wrote an open letter to delegates of the impending synod earlier this month, see an opportunity in the synod’s subject matter.”

Chaput endorsed the young priests’ statement that the synod’s success depends on a profound confidence in the Word of God and the mission of the Church, despite the sins of her leaders.

“It’s in the light of their faith, and the faith of other young men and women like them, that the synod’s Instrumentum Laboris, or ‘working document,’ needs to be reviewed and revised.

“As it stands, the text is strong in the social sciences but much less so in its call to belief, conversion and mission,” Chaput said.

Source