I have long wondered exactly what the novel concept of “synodality” and the new “synodal” way would mean in practice. Now with the documents issued in “Phase III” of the “Synod on Synodality” we can begin to see some troubling signs.
The John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family, on which I serve as a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer, has issued an open letter criticizing the Synod Study Group 9 report on same-sex relations. (See Below) The letter warns that its proposed “paradigm shift” in favor of homosexuality abandons Catholic teaching and divine Revelation in favor of the “prevailing cultural mores” and the “spirit of the age.”
The letter, which is addressed to Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, points out that these changes do not reflect the faith of ordinary practicing Catholics. Rather, it comes from certain homosexual cliques within the Church who have been pushing for decades to weaken Catholic teaching on sexuality and family life.
These ideas have been repeatedly rejected throughout history, most recently by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith under John Paul II and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
The entire Synodal process, in fact, appears “rigged” in favor of producing certain outcomes by selectively relying on certain “ideologically predetermined” testimonies. Under the cloak of “listening to the laity,” certain episcopal cliques are imposing their own heretical ideas about sexuality.
The academy expresses “grave concern” that the wider synodal process is becoming a vehicle for doctrinal ambiguity or capitulation to contemporary ideological currents. As a first step towards addressing this, it called for the Study Group 9 report to be immediately withdrawn.
The Church must offer the faithful clarity, continuity, and confidence that the deposit of faith will be preserved without compromise.
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The full text:
An Open Letter to His Eminence Cardinal Mario Grech
Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops
Vatican City
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema.”— Galatians 1:8
Your Eminence,
On behalf of the John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family, we write to express our profound alarm regarding the inclusion of the report of Study Group n° 9 on controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues among the documents intended for Phase III of the implementation of the Synod on Synodality. We respectfully but firmly urge that this report be withdrawn from consideration.
Our concern is not merely disciplinary or prudential; it touches the very integrity of the Catholic faith. The methodological “paradigm shift” proposed in the report appears to imply a conception of divine Revelation incompatible with Catholic doctrine. The Catholic Church has always taught that public Revelation is complete in Jesus Christ and closed with the death of the last Apostle. Any suggestion that the Holy Spirit may inspire doctrinal or moral responses contrary to the perennial teaching of the Church risks reviving errors historically associated with theological Modernism, repeatedly rejected by the Magisterium. Authentic development of doctrine deepens understanding of revealed truth; it does not overturn truths already definitively taught.
Equally troubling is the implication that Catholic moral doctrine should be adapted to prevailing cultural mores. The Church’s mission has never been to conform herself to the spirit of the age, but to proclaim the truth in season and out of season. The moral law, grounded in divine Revelation and natural law, cannot be altered according to social pressures or contemporary sensibilities.
We are also deeply concerned by proposals that, in the name of pastoral care, separate ecclesial inclusion from moral accountability. Christian charity demands that every person be welcomed with dignity and pastoral concern; however, authentic pastoral accompaniment cannot disregard the moral realities identified by the Church, especially in cases involving public conduct objectively contrary to Catholic teaching. Mercy without truth ceases to be mercy.
In particular, longstanding Catholic doctrine has consistently taught that sexual relations outside the covenant of marriage between one man and one woman are gravely disordered. Particularly, the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that ‘homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered’ ” (§2357, Cf. Gen 191-29; Rom 124-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10). Pastoral approaches that appear to normalize or bless relationships contrary to this teaching risk causing grave confusion among the faithful and undermining the Church’s witness to both truth and charity.
Even more concerning is the fact that the final report of the Study Group n° 9 dares to treat in a positive manner the question of children being adopted and raised in such unions, which are founded upon depraved sexual acts. The dignity of children and the preservation of their innocence militate in the strongest possible manner against the slightest concession in this regard.
Furthermore, the report gives little indication of reflecting the convictions of the majority of practising Catholics worldwide, who continue to adhere to the perennial moral teaching of the Church. Rather, it clearly emerges from ecclesial circles that, for decades, have sought a substantial revision of Catholic teaching on sexuality and family life.
This conviction is reinforced by the evident selectivity of the testimonies included in the report, particularly insofar as the two principal testimonies are close friends of Fr. James Martin, whose pastoral and theological approach to questions of homosexuality openly contradict the Church’s traditional teaching and discipline. Such editorial choices strengthen the persuasion that the final report is not the fruit of broad ecclesial discernment, but of an ideologically predetermined process.
We further note that the themes and proposals advanced in the report bear striking resemblance to positions previously addressed to and rejected by the Magisterium, particularly through interventions of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith during the pontificate of John Paul II, under the prefecture of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.
Finally, we must express grave concern regarding the broader synodal process itself if “walking together” comes to signify accommodation to doctrinal ambiguity or capitulation to the ideological currents of the present age. Synodality can only bear fruit if it remains firmly anchored in fidelity to Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the perennial Magisterium of the Church.
For these reasons, we respectfully but urgently call for the withdrawal of the Study Group n° 9 report from the documentary corpus of Phase III. The faithful deserve clarity, continuity, and confidence that the deposit of faith entrusted to the Church will be preserved without compromise.
Respectfully,
Dr. Thomas Ward, President
Christine de Vollmer, Ed. D., Vice President
Steven Mosher, Treasurer
John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family
