Roman Catholicism

Review: The Future of Synodality

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Cover image of "The Future of Synodality" by Kristin M. Colberg and Jos Moons, SJ

The Future of Synodality, Kristin M. Colberg and Jos Moons, SJ. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9798400800160) 2025.

Summary: An account of the effort of Catholicism to move to a more open, participative and inclusive ecclesiology.

Synodality. Not a word on the tip of most of our tongues. But one that represents an important renewal effort within Catholicism. The word derives from the Greek syn = with and hodos = road. It translates as something like “journeying together.” Synods are gatherings of a Christian community, whether at local, national, or global levels, emphasizing an effort to include all voices, to listen together, discerning God’s way forward for the church.

Synodality characterized the leadership style of Pope Francis, even prior to his papacy. Amid crises that reflected problems within the Catholic hierarchy, on March 7, 2020, Pope Francis announced the Synod on Synodality. It would become an effort to convene Catholics at every level of the Church’s life throughout the world to discern God’s direction for the church. The process emphasized openness to all Catholics including a mandate for the participation of women. Diocesan and national summaries were compiled into continental summaries and finally a universal document, all the while seeking to preserve the participative contributions of Catholics.

The Future of Synodality sets out the history, prerequisites, process, and impact of the Synod on Synodality, a process extending from 2021 to 2024. The book begins with asking why synodality? In response, the authors ground synodality on the foundation of the common baptism of the faithful, the idea of a journeying church, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, a pastoral ecclesial style, and a missionary vision of the church.

Then the authors trace the history of synodality. They find biblical foundations in the Acts of the Apostles, but trace the emergence to a crisis of leadership and the distinctive leadership approach of Pope Francis. Following this account, the authors offer snapshots of the Synod on Synodality–from the Synod logo, to the opening, where the synod process was set forth, through the local, diocesan, national, continental assemblies to the final General Assembly.

Perhaps the most impressive part of this account was the summary of what the church heard. Rather than a disparate list of conflicting concerns, the authors speak of the sensus fidei–an instinct of faith in which the faithful discerned what was of God, distilled into five themes:

  1. A need for formation
  2. A desire for the church to be more welcoming and inclusive
  3. A new style of being church and a new style of leadership
  4. The centrality of the liturgy
  5. Women

The authors elaborate each of these in their summary.

The second part of the book addresses how the Church may move from synodality as a moment in time to an ongoing quality of the church. Firstly, this requires personal conversion of attitudes and behavior, moving from hierarchical norms to ongoing willingness to listen to the people of God. Secondly, structural conversion is necessary. How will the participatory decision-making of synods transform the top down decision-making style of the Church? Finally, in the area of practices, how will the ongoing communal life of the Church translate into continuing synodality?

I suspect many of us who are not Catholic were unaware of this process. From conversations with Catholic friends, I sense that there is a deep renewal going on within Catholicism. The global journey together of this Synod seems a significant part of that. But it seems to me that the test will be the long-term “conversion” of the hierarchy. However, the empowering of parish and diocese, of women and other marginalized Catholics, may well spur a ground-upward transformation.

The process is also a model for non-Catholics. From congregation to denomination, the journeying together image of synodality is desperately needed. Protestantism is overrun with celebrity pastors more interested in followings than the formation of their people. Similar crises of sexual abuse stem from similar self protective hierarchies. The Synod on Synodality recognized the gift of the Spirit of God to the people of God. It affirmed the equality of all the baptized, and their shared mission. My hope is that not only may this movement continue to flourish within Catholicism under Pope Leo XIII. I also hope that we may all earn from each other on our journey with God.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: Accountability, Healing, and Trust

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Cover image of "Accountability, Healing, and Trust" edited by Kimberly Hope Belcher and David A. Clairmont

Accountability, Healing, and Trust, Edited by Kimberly Hope Belcher and David A. Clairmont. Liturgical Press (ISBN: 9780814688977) 2025.

Summary: Papers from a 2022 conference at Notre Dame addressing the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church.

One of the bigger new stories of this century was the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic church. Clerical leaders from parish priests to cardinal were involved, not only in North America but many other countries. And lest non-Catholics are tempted to a kind of smug superiority, similar scandals have rocked the largest evangelical denomination, several major ministries, and Christian camps. In many of these situations, the trauma of victims was worsened by protecting perpetrators rather than victims, covering up wrong-doing, sometimes invoking the church’s sacred mission as a justification.

In recent years, the tide is turning, the church is facing the scope of the crisis, and holding perpetrators accountable. The church is beginning to listen to victims and recognize their trauma. In 2022, practitioners in the fields of psychology, law, and theology met at the University of Notre Dame to discuss strategies that address this crisis in three areas: accountability, healing and trust. The essays in this book represent those discussions and the three topic areas.

Firstly, they address accountability. Essays address needed structural changes, theological resources, and the particular challenge of the native American boarding schools. Accountability also needs to address the treatment and empowering of survivors. The biggest challenge is perpetrator authority, perpetrator access, and how good regard protects perpetrators. The last essay in this section focuses on walking with survivors rather than protecting perpetrators.

Secondly, they explore the long road to healing the trauma of abuse. First of all, the movement toward synodality in this context means a laity much more attuned to the breaking of the sixth commandment than the hierarchy. This is vital to address the failures of the hierarchy toward victims. A second essay focuses on how clerical control of the sacraments enables abuse. Healing liturgical theology is part of the process. Kimberly Hope Belcher offers a wonderful study of the raising of Lazarus in both texts and visuals to map the healing process. Then Patrick J. Wall turns to legal advocacy. The emphasis is, above all, do no further harm to survivors. Finally, an essay on “Wounded Healers Who Proclaim the Word” focuses on the ubiquity of trauma, the signs of trauma, and how one preaches in the light of this.

Thirdly, they tackle the hard work of restoring trust. The first essay addresses the formation of priests, particularly human, spiritual, and communal formation. Too often, the focus has only been on intellectual formation. The next essay focuses on professionalization of ministry, focusing on boundaries. Yet a focus on boundaries can maintain protecting the clergy, The third essay focuses then on protecting potential or actual victims rather than the church. This shift, the essay argues, is essential to engendering trust. The next essay focuses on virtuous language and truth-telling rather than euphemisms. A final essay addresses educating youth.

The mix of disciplines provides a holistic approach that is much needed. A renewed understanding of a the whole church as the people of God empowers accountability. Trauma-informed approaches to healing center the survivor. Building trust begins with holistic formation of priests while protecting the most vulnerable, including legal advocacy. Non-Catholics like myself can watch and learn from the thorough-going work of this volume. Accountability, healing, and trust are needed more widely, and we would do well to exercise the humility that recognizes the good work others are doing. This is an example.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Review: To Light a Fire on the Earth

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to light a fire on the earth

To Light a Fire on the Earth, Robert Barron with John L. Allen, Jr. New York: Image Books, 2017.

Summary: An interview between Barron and Allen that is part biography and part outline of Barron’s approach to the “new evangelization” of which his Word on Fire ministry is a leading exemplar.

Robert Barron is one of five Auxiliary Bishops in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. and through his YouTube postings, his Word on Fire website, and other media is probably one of the most followed Catholics on social media. He is the host of CATHOLICISM, a series of PBS documentaries on the Catholic Church. He is one of the most visible leaders of the “new evangelization” within the church. In this book, he engages with Catholic writer, John Allen in a wide-ranging discussion that is part biography and part survey of his key ideas and convictions that shape his ministry.

The Introduction and Chapter One focus on “The Barron Story.” We find out that Barron was an ordinary Catholic kid (and avid baseball player and fan) growing up in the era of Vatican II whose religious imagination was captured while in high school (!) he was exposed to Thomas Merton and St. Thomas Aquinas. A year at Notre Dame resulted in a calling to the priesthood, studies at Catholic University, ordination in Chicago and further studies under von Balthasar in France, where he came to a “post-liberal” perspective centered in Christ and scripture. A move back to Chicago to teach at Mundelein Seminary led to mentoring from Father Andrew Greeley and Cardinal Francis George and encouragement to break into the media world that led to the YouTube videos, the CATHOLICISM series and Word on Fire.

With that the discussion moves to the”three pillars” of Barron’s message–beauty, goodness, and truth. Barron believes in this generation, the evangelist leads with beauty and goodness, which point toward, but don’t elucidate the truth of the gospel. In his approach to “Catholic beauty,” he focuses on great literature, great cathedrals, great music, and great movies. Much of his focus on goodness centers around the saints and martyrs. He makes a fascinating statement about the latter:

“I thought, the only way Europe’s going to be reevangelized is through the martyrs. In some ways, it’s a terrible thing to say, but it’s true. Argument will be part of it, but it’s the martyrs. Martyrs will reevangelize Europe, and maybe it’s missionary martyrs as in the early centuries of the Church’s life.”

He believes the martyrs focus attention on the end or teleology of morals rather than morality as keeping a bunch of rules. He believes in a church that both maintains high standards without obsessively focusing on them, and stresses the essentials of Catholic life and belief and the greatness of God’s mercy. Barron the baseball fan describes it as wanting people to “feel the infield…to smell the ballpark.”

He believes that it is through the beauty and goodness to be found in the Catholic heritage that people open up to truth. And here, Barron speaks out against a “beige Catholicism” that is bland and apologetic with no hard edges. He contends for a message centered on the priority of Christ, that contends that not all truth is found through science or personal experience, and that Christianity is not simply one of many ways up the mountain.

This brings us to center in on his ideas about evangelization, which he believes is to bring people into a relationship with a person, with Christ. The evangelist proposes, rather than imposes. He is especially concerned with the spiritual but not religious “nones” as well as those who have departed from the church. He holds up Christopher Hitchens as a model of an evangelist–smart, witty, and willing to argue hard.

The book turns to Barron’s views of prayer and the supernatural, which he fully believes in, and the Bible. The influence of von Balthasar is evident here in his argument that priests need to start from scripture and that preaching above all must be biblical rather than starting from experience. It was fascinating that one of his favorite biblical scholars is N.T. Wright, who fuses scholarship and preaching. He describes a good sermon as one that “allows you to see the world with Biblical eyes.”

A whole chapter is given over to “obstacles to the faith” ranging from the idea of God to issues of human sexuality to the clergy sexual abuse scandals that rocked the church. Concerning human sexuality, his concern for teleology and not simply rule keeping is evident:

“What the teaching is trying to do is to move people into the stance of more radical and complete self-gift, which in the Catholic view, includes not just unity and friendship but procreation and the gift of life. When that sexual ideal is held up uncompromisingly, you’re going to get teachings against anything that would undercut procreation and the gift of life. That will strike some people as extreme. Yet the Church is also extreme in its mercy as it reaches out to, accompanies, walks with and understands gay people. For someone who has a gay orientation, is all that a massively difficult thing to integrate? Yes, absolutely, and we have to be sensitive to that. Do we need shepherds who are willing to walk with and accompany gay people? Yes, as Pope Francis always says. ‘How far do we go?’ All the way, all the way, but without dialing down the moral demand, the moral ideal. I think that’s the thing.”

Barron deals candidly with the sexual abuse scandals and also outlines the steps he took as a seminary rector in the screening of candidates for the priesthood.

The concluding two chapters bring us up to the present as we see both Barron the bishop and Barron as he wrestles with how a ministry might become a movement. This last chapter was tantalizing as it considered other Catholic movements, and what it would take for Word on Fire to become another movement. We’re left wondering if it will happen.

What was fascinating to me in this account were several things. One is that Barron is unashamed to speak of evangelization and seeking the conversion of people to the faith. Another was the focus on the person and work of Christ as central to the message of the church. I was also intrigued by his arguments against “dumbing down” the church’s teaching and that kids who can summarize the plots of Star Wars and remember the strange names of characters, should easily be able to do the same with the Bible. Finally, his appreciation of the role of the goodness and beauty of the life of the church in preparing hearts for truth, that is, the demonstration of truth in life and history, coupled with a vibrantly articulation of that truth that does not lapse into subjectivity or relativism, is a bracing combination that challenges the banal sameness of contemporary “seeker sensitive” evangelicalism.

As I noted in yesterday’s post, Barron and other Catholics of the new evangelization seem to be moving toward some of the very things American evangelicals are moving away from that once were hallmarks of their movement. We often seem squeamish about evangelism and conversion, about the Bible, the cross, and a bracing call to high ethical standards that reflect the ends toward which we have been saved. Barron, while thoughtful and engaging and gracious does not seem squeamish about any of this. Might there be something we could learn from the Bishop?

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.