The future of the Catholic Church will be discussed in the Vatican from Wednesday (4) to October 29
The Synod of Bishops the meeting that defines the future of the Catholic Church is off to a historic start. So much for proposed changes by Pope Francis and by Resistance of the bishops who oppose the Pope’s progressive ideas.
Francisco opened this Wednesday (4) the 16th Synod of Bishops, one of the most important events in the Church he leads at this meeting 242 bishops from all over the world debate and define ideological questions and internal regulations of the Catholic Church, which may or may not later be adopted by the Pope.
But the meeting began full of controversy, most of it ideological clashes between the pope and the ultraconservative wing of the church leadership.
Below are some of the key controversies:
Women with the right to vote
Even before the meeting began, the Pope already announced one of the most important changes: in April, after decades of calls for more women’s participation in the Church, the Vatican announced that, in addition to the nonordained believers, 54 women would also have the right to vote in the Church . Synod, for the first time in the history of the assembly.
Previously only men were allowed to vote.
Women have been demanding the right to vote in synods for decades. Since the Second Vatican Council, the 1960s meetings that modernized the church, popes have invited the world’s bishops to Rome for a few weeks to discuss specific issues.
Nominated were the nuns Raffaella Petrini who was then governor of Vatican City and Yvonne Reungoat, as well as the lawyer Maria Lia Zervino, head of the Association of Catholic Women’s Organizations.
Although Pope Francis encourages greater inclusion of women in positions and decisions in the Catholic Church still doesn’t allow priestessesanother historic demand of Catholics.
The pope still argues that only male Christians can be priests, relying on the Catholic Church’s premise that Jesus chose men to be apostles.
Since becoming pope, Francis has appointed several women to administrative positions and said last year: “Every time a woman gets a (responsible) position in the Vatican, things get better.”
On this year’s International Women’s Day, March 8, he criticized this The gender pay gap, which she described as a “serious injustice.”.
On this occasion, the Pope also condemned the “scourge” of violence against women and recalled a speech from 2021 in which he spoke of “an open wound resulting from a…” patriarchal and sexist culture of oppression“.
Ultraconservative rebellion
The Catholic community is reacting to Pope Francis’ decision to allow women to vote at the Synod of Bishops
The changes, which reflect the pope’s progressive views, drew criticism from conservative bishops and cardinals.
Two days before the start of the synod A group of them announced that they had sent a letter to the Pope asking for clarification about blessings for samesex couples, the role of women and other topics.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, one of the pope’s main critics, said the church must be aware of the danger of “poisoning by confusion, error and division” that could arise at this synod.
In a working document published in June, the Vatican outlined the topics that will be discussed during the synod. Among them are:
- welcoming LGBTQIA+ people;
- The acceptance of divorced people;
- Debate about married priests is currently not allowed;
- The discussion about polygamy;
- The place of women in the church;
- Sexual violence.
For the first time in history, 1 in 1 women will be part of the debates and voting tables of the Synod of Bishops, one of the most important meetings of the Catholic Church, on October 4, 2023 at the Vatican. — Photo: Yara Nardi/Portal Women will be part of the debates and voting tables of the Synod of Bishops, one of the most important meetings of the Catholic Church, on October 4, 2023 at the Vatican for the first time in history. — Photo: Yara Nardi/ Portal
this is that For the first time, the Vatican is addressing so many sensitive issues so open to Catholicism
The Synod of Bishops was held in 1965 for the Catholic Church to debate and adopt reforms and updates.
“It is a great space for the Church to reflect on its way of being and acting,” concluded the special secretary of the assembly, the Italian priest Giacomo Costa.
To “allow for a more important moment of decisionmaking,” Pope Francis decided to divide the synod assembly into two periods one taking place this week and the second in October 2024 with a plenary session.