Synod

The U.S. National Synthesis for the 2021-2023 Synod has been published.  Everyone should read and reference it.  Here is a part I consider key to the reasons why our Church is in a dark shadow many of the faithful find themselves having to fathom and experience.  

(begin) Over the course of the diocesan phase, several enduring wounds emerged. Many of these wounds have been inflicted not only by individual members of the Church but often by the institution itself. “People shared their experiences, their dreams for the Church, and their concerns with openness and courage. Participants appreciated the opportunity to share their stories— including painful stories—without interruption, contradiction, or apologetics. Many expressed that the process and the experience were healing and hopeful, and desperately needed in the Church today.”

 Chief among the enduring wounds that afflict the People of God in the United States is the still unfolding effects of the sexual abuse crisis. “Trust in the hierarchy of the Church is weak and needs to be strengthened. The sex abuse scandals and the way the Church leadership handled the situation are seen as one of the strongest causes of a lack of trust and credibility on the part of the faithful. Feedback revealed the strong, lingering wound caused by the abuse of power and the physical, emotional, and spiritual abuse of the most innocent in our community. There was a recognition that this pain has had a compounding effect on priests and lay ministers’ willingness to develop closer relationships with the people they serve due to a fear of being misinterpreted or falsely accused.” The sin and crime of sexual abuse has eroded not only trust in the hierarchy and the moral integrity of the Church, but also created a culture of fear that keeps people from entering into relationship with one another and thus from experiencing the sense of belonging and connectedness for which they yearn. (end)

Amen!  No one should misunderstand the depth and severity of this wound.  Helping me appreciate it even more is the 2021 book written by James Carroll, “The Truth at the Heart of the Lie: How the Catholic Church Lost its Soul – A Memoir of Faith.”  Carroll’s book is a hard read for those not wanting to believe his conclusions especially about our soul. For example, he argued that a male-supremacist clericalism is both the root cause and the ongoing enabler of the Church’s sexual abuse crisis.  

I will provide a few more excerpts from the National Synthesis report.

Deacon David Pierce