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Conservative Catholics in the United States – home to perhaps the richest and loudest concentration of Pope Francis’ right-wing critics – are watching the major meeting at the Vatican that begins this week with fear and deep suspicion. A specific organization against the “Synod on Synodality” or against Francis is rare, but the word “schism” is not.
From the most radical traditionalists to mainstream conservatives, many U.S. Catholics are concerned about the opening Wednesday of the synod, which has been planned for more than two years. Despite global hearing sessions at all levels of the Catholic Church, many conservatives feel that the long process of gathering opinions and representatives for the synod has been to their detriment.
They consider the permissive synod structure, which includes laypeople and women on an equal basis with clergy, to be uncatholic and consider program documents such as the call for “concrete steps” to better accommodate LGBTQ Catholics and polygamous people to be dangerous marriages. They feel that the name of Jesus has been downplayed in the synod documents.
What you should know about the Vatican meeting on the future of the Catholic Church
“The main concern is that the Pope will approve things that are not contained in or contradict Catholic teaching, such as female deacons, the blessing of gay communities,” or the weakening of Catholic teachings against contraception and abortion by emphasizing the individual conscience, said the Rev. Gerald Murray, a New York priest who will be in Rome during the synod and provides commentary for several conservative media outlets. “We are not Protestants.”
Such fears may have increased on Monday after the Vatican released a letter from Francis suggesting an openness to Catholic blessings for same-sex couples – as long as the ceremonies are not confused with sacramental marriages – and further expanding the idea of ordination of women examine priesthood.
Francis was responding to a letter from five conservative retired cardinals urging him to reaffirm traditional teachings ahead of the three-week synod. The five asked him to reaffirm that extramarital sex between a man and a woman is a grave sin and to answer whether the synod would have powers thought to belong only to the pope and bishops.
In addition to the inclusion of women and laypeople, the synod also differs from similar events in the past in its organization. Instead of being divided into language groups, the composition of the conversation groups changes regularly over the weeks. Proponents of this approach see an opportunity to broaden perspectives; Conservatives are more likely to see something like speed dating or the chaos of the preschool classroom.
“Why did we move from a synod of bishops to also involving others? Bishops have a divine role in the governance of the Church. The powers of bishops are priestly power, governmental power and teaching power. Because of this power, they have the authority to tell us what to do, what to believe, and how to act. Lay people can express their opinions but do not have an authoritative voice,” Murray said. “It changes the nature of the church.”
Pope Francis criticizes “reactionary” conservatives in the US Catholic Church
Alejandro Bermudez, a longtime journalist who covers the Catholic Church in English and Spanish, said conservatives fear “the whole thing is a bait-and-switch,” he said. “The synod is about ‘synodality’, which means discussion, it’s about how the church can function better, how to govern the church. But the questions concern the blessing of homosexuals, women priests and married priests. How does this relate to synodality?”
Conservatives were also offended that Francis at times insulted his US critics. Last month, the Catholic publication La Civilta Cattolicà quoted him as saying there is a “strong reactionary attitude” among American Catholics. He characterized them as backward-looking and closed.
“Instead of living according to the teaching, according to the true teaching, which is always evolving and bearing fruit, they live according to ideologies,” Francis was quoted as saying.
Conservatives are conservative by nature, and the prevailing mood could be described by those paying attention as one of angry waiting. Several close observers of this group’s ideological range say that the vast majority within it are ignorant of or indifferent to the synod. They should take comfort in the knowledge that Francis’ liberalizing statements have not yet led to a change in doctrine, and look forward to the next conclave – the election of a pope – where they hope Francis’ ethos will be eradicated.
“We are leading to the next conclave. “If Pope Francis dies or resigns, that will be a clear decision,” Murray said. “That is the unspoken thing about where this fight is leading. If there are major changes [at the synod] and they elect someone like Francis [at the next conclave], then there will be a split. But not before.”
The use of the word “split” or “schism” is not uncommon when the U.S. Catholic right wing is asked what is at stake in the coming years. However, what exactly that would look like is not clear. It is nothing new that there are widespread disagreements among Catholics, but in recent years there have been more obvious challenges to the church’s hierarchy.
Archbishop Víctor Manuel Fernández, an Argentine and the Vatican’s new teaching fellow, said in an interview last month that bishops from the right and left who believe they have “a special gift of the Holy Spirit to judge the Holy Father’s teaching, we get caught in a vicious circle, and that would be heresy and lead to division.”
Activism among U.S. conservatives currently consists mostly of conversations online, on major media channels like EWTN, and on popular blogs or YouTube channels like First Things and Return to Tradition, whose slogan is “dealing with modernity, Vatican II, and all the rest.” “This is the current state of the church.”
“There is no consistent movement action that people would take or follow. “Much depends on the next conclave, the outcome of which people should not predict in advance,” Anthony Stine, who runs “Return to Tradition,” which has about 150,000 followers, wrote to the Washington Post.
“Catholics all want the same Catholic faith as their ancestors,” Stine said. “They do not want to see the Church’s strict moral teachings changed to reflect the whims of a secular culture that is increasingly hostile to the faith and increasingly unstable.”
Stine has said in interviews that he doubts the synod will lead to changes such as full acceptance of homosexuality or female deacons, and his main concern is that it could produce a vague document that allows breakaway liberals to implement changes.
“So the circus won’t be over,” he told Catholic YouTuber Joe McClane this summer.
But some don’t wait.
Conservative activists and experts say some people are lobbying and advocating for like-minded U.S. clerics to go to the synod. They include Bishop of Rochester Robert Barron, founder of the mega-ministry Word on Fire, whose recent conversation with right-wing activist and writer Chris Rufo drew 46,000 views; Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York.
Stine says some Catholics are preparing for “independent” traditional priests to conduct masses in homes and businesses on Sunday mornings, as was the case in the years after the Second Vatican Council.
Since Francis took office, there have been further signs that fed-up conservatives are taking matters into their own hands – if not turning away, then taking unprecedented steps.
Catholic group spent millions on app data that tracked gay priests
In 2018, a group of laypeople wanted to raise $1 million and hire dozens of workers to create dossiers on each cardinal, ostensibly to influence the next conclave. This year, The Washington Post reported that a group of wealthy Colorado conservatives had poured millions into purchasing mobile app tracking data that identified priests who used gay dating and dating apps, and then using the data Bishops across the country shared a belief among church leaders: I’m not doing enough.
Some high-ranking conservative priests have sharpened their rhetoric in the run-up to the synod. That includes the Rev. Joseph Strickland of Texas, who has tweeted in recent weeks that he “rejects” Pope Francis’ program and that Catholics should “follow Jesus.” In a letter to his diocese, he said people who propose changes to “that which cannot be changed…” are in fact the true schismatics.
Strickland has become a hero to many conservative Catholics.
Last week, a far-right critic, Rev. James Altman of Wisconsin, released a video calling for the assassination of Pope Francis. Altman’s bishop banned him from attending Mass in 2021 after he criticized coronavirus vaccines and said lynching victims were criminals and Catholics could not vote democratically. Some conservatives took to social media in recent days to banish Altman, but others cheered him on. Altman also drew attention in September with a video saying that Francis was not a legitimate pope.
Stine said the reaction to Altman shows that conservative Catholics are “as fractured as anything else in society.”
“Every traditional Catholic I know, but also more conservative Catholics who are against it [Francis’s] Program for the church, everyone prays for him every day. “This is honestly the greatest show of support you can offer anyone,” Stine wrote to The Post. However, most traditional Catholics he speaks to “believe that we are in a state of virtual division and have been for a long time. If anything, the state of the Church will become clearer at the end of the synod process.”