We're flicking mosquitoes at dusk so they won't bite and listening to noisy cicadas and hearty piwakawaka and spotting a ripening fig before a blackbird pecks at it.

The Synod on Synodality

The Northern Hemisphere-based Vatican inside their ruminative winter period asks the Catholic Diocese of Waitaha, Tai Poutini, Rekohu Canterbury, Westland, Chathams Islands to unravel the second stage of the Synod here, in our late summer.

They're asking us to sit inside buildings and pray and ruminate about concrete actions we can take and structures we can build to enhance co-responsibility and inclusivity in our decision-making, homilies and liturgies, and scriptural and spiritual formation.

The first stage of the Synod was on the principles and this second stage is on the concrete actions.

Karoro gulls drop pipi from a great height onto the sand, cracking them open just wide enough to get in and get the kaimoana out and feed themselves.

Somehow in all of this we need to feed ourselves in these motu far from the Northern Hemisphere, with good nourishing kai for our bodies, our spirits and our souls.

Feeding out souls

Kevin Burns says at Mass this morning that the fish was the symbol of the early church, and the empty tomb.

We here know about fish, we know how present you need to be when fish.ing, to the swellings of the tide, the presence of the sun, the passing of a cloud, the stillness of the moon, the whakarongo - the deep listening with all of your senses that brings healing - needed while watching for fish.

So this is where we start with the Second active phase of the Synod in our late summer. We watch for the fish and go to that place of deep listening to the breath, the wind, the sea, the sky.

This place of stillness, this quiet, is the place where each synodal discussion begins.

We open ourselves and we become like an empty tomb, and we move with Mary, outside the empty tomb and into the garden, where she sees the gardener is Jesus, and she is not afraid.

Recognising Jesus in synodality

We pray that we can recognise Jesus here in our late summer, walking as some of us did alongside other Christians and the Anglican Bishop from Rangiora to Al Noor Mosque of Light where most of the 51 people were killed on 15 March 5 years ago.

The walk took us through Hagley Park to the Transitional Cathedral on Saturday evening 9 March carrying a cloth inscribed with the names of the children killed in the Holy Land since October 2023.

We were praying as others of us do on Wednesday nights at 7.30pm above the water under the Bridge of Remembrance.

We are vigiling for peace in the Middle East and vigiling for the end of all wars - an intention, a prayer, a deep longing, a silencing of the busyness, a stilling, a profound listening.

Second synod phase

At St Mary's our Synodal discussion begins with Jesus' story of the Prodigal Son - the compassion, the embrace, the kiss, the placing of sandals on the bare feet, the forgiveness.

This is where the second phase of the Synodal discussion begins - outside walking across rough and uneven ground, in whakarongo - in deep listening with all of our senses that brings healing - like the prodigal son.

It is from this place during our late summer, where we - the Catholic Diocese of Waitaha, Tai Poutini, and Rekohu - are invited to begin the second part of the Synodal discussion on concrete action - with compassion, forgiveness and deep listening.

And it is as we move forward in this korero, from this place of quietness, we will begin to feed ourselves alongside others in the Southern and Northern Hemispheres, with good nourishing kai for our bodies, our spirits and our souls.

• Kathleen Gallagher writes from Christchurch.

The pontiff pointed out that, in some instances, political ideology has begun to overshadow genuine faith. This can prompt a displacement of core religious values.

Francis made the comments on August 5 in a private meeting in Lisbon with members of the Jesuit order during his trip for World Youth Day.

During a question-and-answer session, a Portuguese Jesuit recounted his disheartening experience during a sabbatical in the US.

He lamented the presence of hostility towards the pope's leadership within a segment of American Catholics, even among some bishops.

Addressing this concern, Pope Francis acknowledged the existence of a "very strong reactionary attitude" present within the US Catholic Church. He highlighted its organised nature, noting its influence on emotional attachment and affiliation.

Francis termed this attitude as "backward" and cautioned against the potential pitfalls of such a perspective. He stressed it could foster an environment of narrow-mindedness and closure.

Moreover, Pope Francis underscored the peril of allowing ideological beliefs to supersede genuine faith. He stressed that this trend could erode the authentic tradition of the Church.

He cautioned against the replacement of faith by membership within certain segments of the Church. Then Francis emphasised the importance of upholding the broader unity of the faith.

Pope often criticised by conservatives

In the ten years since his election, Francis has been criticised by conservative sectors of the US Church who are opposed to reforms such as giving women and lay Catholics more roles and making the Church more welcoming and less judgmental towards some, including LGBT people.

Appealing for a more progressive outlook, Pope Francis underscored the necessity of embracing an evolving understanding of faith and morals. He invoked historical examples, highlighting that while certain pontiffs of the past tolerated practices like slavery, the Church has evolved over time.

While the Pope's comments resonate with many who seek a more open and adaptable Church, his sentiments have also ignited reactions.

One prominent critic, Cardinal Raymond Burke, cautioned that Francis' upcoming bishops' meeting in October to shape the Church's future might inadvertently foster "confusion and error and division."

Sources

Religion News Service

Reuters

La Civiltà Cattolica

A new book, "The Synodal Process Is a Pandora's Box: 100 Questions and Answers," addresses the "serious situation" brought on by the synod, Cardinal Raymond Burke (pictured, centre) says.

Pope Francis is risking confusion and even schism in leading the upcoming Synod on Synodality in Rome, Burke writes in the book's preface.

"Synodality and its adjective, synodal, have become slogans behind which a revolution is at work to change radically the Church's self-understanding, in accord with a contemporary ideology which denies much of what the Church has always taught and practised," he continues.

It should concern all Catholics "who observe the evident and grave harm" that it has brought on the church.

The word synodality, the cardinal added, is "a term which has no history in the doctrine of the Church and for which there is no reasonable definition."

It leads to "confusion and error and their fruit — indeed schism," he says in the preface.

He backs this view citing the German Synodal Path, where church leaders consulted with lay and religious Catholics in Germany between December 2019 and March 2023.

Female ordination and blessing same-sex couples were among the issues the German consultation explored.

"With the imminent Synod on Synodality, it is rightly to be feared that the same confusion and error and division will be visited upon the universal Church. In fact, it has already begun to happen through the preparation of the Synod at the local level," Burke wrote.

The only way to uncover the "ideology at work" within the Vatican and "undertake true reform," was to turn to the "unchanging and unchangeable doctrine and discipline of the church," Burke's preface says.

He entrusted to the Virgin Mary his prayer that "the grave harm which presently threatens the Church be averted."

The synod on synodality

Francis's aims for the synod are to promote inclusivity, transparency and accountability in the Church.

After three years of world-wide consultations with Catholics, bishops and lay Catholics will gather in Rome in October under the rubric of "Synodality: Communion, Participation and Mission."

Agenda items drawn from concerns Catholics raised in diocesan forums include LGBTQ Catholics' inclusion and female leadership.

Those topics have convinced conservative Catholics that the synod will lead to changes in Catholic doctrine on questions of morality and sexuality.

The authors, the publisher and Burke

Co-authors José Antonio Ureta and Julio Loredo de Izcue are South American scholars and activists.

The publisher Tradition, Family and Property says "despite its potentially revolutionary impact, the debate around this synod has been limited primarily to ‘insiders' and the general public knows little about it."

Burke has long been a vocal opponent of Pope Francis's vision for the church.

He and three other cardinals publicly questioned Francis's decision in "Amoris Laetitia" for divorced and remarried Catholics to receive the Eucharist. Burke has also criticised efforts in the church to promote the welcoming of LGBTQ faithful.

Source

• Religion News Service
• America Magazine

More adult faith formation and help with engaging young adults are important. So is revising the language used at Mass and other church ceremonies, say New Zealand and Australian Catholics.

The New Zealand synthesis cited a desire for "liturgical language that is welcoming, inclusive, less misogynistic, and hierarchical, and more consonant with contemporary theology … language that includes, builds up, heals wounds, and affirms".

Another of the common threads stretching from New Zealand to Ireland says a synodal way of being Catholic must be inclusive. Women and LGBTQ Catholics must be included, they say.

In this respect the report from NZ's Bishops Conference says: "It hurts to see family members and friends leaving the church because they feel they are unacceptable because of gender issues, being divorced and remarried, or in a same-sex relationship.

"Some participants, including young people, expressed deep personal hurt caused by their perception of being excluded because of their sexual identity or that of a friend or family member."

Of particular importance to many New Zealanders is that their church should be a "turanga waewae — home, a place of welcome — for them personally and for others" the NZ synthesis says.

Australians and Irish Catholics are of a like mind with New Zealanders on the need for inclusion.

Australia's national synthesis report says "the nature of consultations through surveys and group discussions generally favours respondents who are well-educated, more affluent members of the church and those who are keen to make their opinions known.

"There was a particular sense that synodality is about welcoming and including all, particularly those on the fringes of the church and on the margins of society.

"Such groups include indigenous Australians, migrants and refugees, women, those of different sexual orientations, and the poor and vulnerable.

"In some instances, the church was seen as placing barriers of exclusion by its teachings and the application of those teachings. On the other hand, some called for the church to be more compassionate while remaining authentic to its teachings."

The Australian synthesis also notes many Catholics want to "welcome back to the eucharistic community those who had left the church, those who felt discriminated against and those who felt unwelcome because of seemingly restrictive church teachings.

"Instead of ‘talking at' those who no longer feel welcome, there was a desire for the church to be ‘walking with' them, expressing inclusiveness through respectful listening and dialogue."

At the same time, however, the synthesis noted that in Australia "there was a great divergence of views expressed in the submissions across and within the dioceses".

Some participants preferred a more traditional approach to Catholic teaching and others, a more modern approach, the synthesis says.

There also was also "great optimism and hope shared" and "frustration and sadness."

In Ireland the role of women was a persistent theme.

"The church has no credibility in modern society as long as discrimination on the grounds of gender or sexuality exists," many submissions say.

Source

• Crux Now

Everyone, including divorced or separated people, LGBT+, migrants and minorities should all feel they belong to Catholic parishes, as should "those who consider themselves ‘cultural Catholics'," it says.

In addition, "images of families used in parish and diocesan literature should represent all family types."

Irish Archbishop Kieran O'Reilly's new pastoral plan particularly emphasises that women must be included in leadership roles as "a priority into the future.

Women must be enabled to fulfil their role in developing the mission of the Church."

The plan asks parishes "to identify minority groups who may feel less welcome or who do not feel they belong and plan events that convey hospitality and welcome."

The new pastoral plan places particular emphasis on the importance of youth in outlining a future for the Church.

"The Church must change, not because of necessity or because of declining vocations and attendance at Masses but because it is the right thing to do. And in doing so, it is the Holy Spirit that is guiding us," says O'Reilly.

"We must step out of the past, embrace the present and move to the future. The model whereby a public attends Mass once a week is not what the Church is about.

"It is and must be about the Church being out in the community rather than the community being in the Church."

Working in partnership with people is an essential component of the future Catholic Church, O'Reilly stresses.

The Church "is changing now and the priest-led Church of the past will need to embrace a partnership approach with people into the future." he says.

Failure to recognise the role of women in the Church is one of "the biggest issues the Church has faced over recent decades," the plan says.

Recognising the need to do something about this, the Archdiocese recently appointed a woman as its Director of Pastoral Planning and Development.

The plan recommends training priests and lay people, as they move towards a new model of co-responsibility.

This will mean "greater participation by people, the use of facilitation skills, greater involvement in decision-making by lay people and the development of the ability to communicate with all parishioners."

While acknowledging "respect for the work which many priests have done in the past", the plan says the new style of Church leadership it advocates "requires a deeper trust in lay people."

"This [partnership] model will need to understand the nature of volunteering. The aim is to have many people doing a little rather than few people doing much."

Source

• The Irish Times
• Image: Amazon

It seems we're in favour of diversity and inclusivity if we're talking about race, colour, gender and sexual identity, the latter two of which keep spinning off into ever-new permutations.

But puzzlingly, we're only partially tolerant when it comes to religious belief.

We are encouraged to be tolerant toward Islam, especially since the Christchurch atrocities, and so we should be.

The right to practise one's religion, at least unless it interferes with the rights of others, is one we should all unquestioningly support.

This applies even when secular society disapproves of some of those religions, or scratches its collective head in bemusement at their practices and beliefs.

But if freedom of religion is one cornerstone of a free society, so is freedom of expression, which includes the right to subject religion, along with every other institution of society, to critical scrutiny and even ridicule.

Virtually all religions - whether we're talking Catholicism, Mormonism, Judaism, the Destiny Church or the Exclusive Brethren - possess what, to non-believers, are quirks, absurdities, hypocrisies and cruelties that render them ripe for mockery and condemnation.

For decades, comedians and satirists have taken joyous, blasphemous advantage of this freedom.

How people laughed, for example, at Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, with its wickedly subversive song Every Sperm is Sacred - a dig at Catholic teaching on birth control.

If it offended devout Catholics - well, tough. Freedom to ridicule is the flipside of freedom to worship.

Mainstream Christianity is still considered fair game by comedians and satirists, and no-one bats an eyelid. But somehow, Islam seems to be off-limits.

Even a cool, reasoned criticism of Islam is likely to excite accusations of Islamophobia.

The champions of diversity don't seem to grasp that you can abhor the grotesque excesses carried out by Islamic fanatics while simultaneously defending the right of peaceful, law-abiding Muslims, such as those in Christchurch, to practise their religion. Continue reading

• Karl du Fresne is a former musician and journalist for over 40 years. He is currently a columnist for The Dominion Post and a freelance journalist, writing on a broad range of subjects from politics to sport. His blog is at: http://karldufresne.blogspot.com/
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

Archer is the President of the Pontifical Academy for Social Sciences.

She was speaking at the plenary session of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, held at the Vatican this week.

The meeting focused on the theme "Towards a participatory society: new ways for social and cultural integration."

Delegates discussed societal exclusion, which manifests in different ways in different parts of the world.

It can affect the poor and economically disadvantaged, as well as migrants and refugees, religious minorities and people with disabilities.

Throughout the 20th century and the end of the 19th century, the response to the poorest of the poor was to provide them with absolute basic necessities, said Archer.

She said top down approaches that focus on basic needs like food and shelter don't address needs like societal participation and inclusion.

Finding solutions that address these needs is a major challenge, she said.

"When you have a population of extreme poverty, what do you do? You give them welfare.

"The Pope doesn't want the simplistic solution of just giving them money, because it doesn't last forever anyway," she said.

Pope Francis sent a message to the academy encouraging them in their plenary session and urging them, according to the Church's social doctrine, to find "ways to apply in practice fraternity as the governing principle of the economic order."

Source

• Catholic News Agency
• Crux
• Image: Down with Tyranny