By Rev. James T. Bretzke, S.J., S.T.D.
Wade Chair Spring Semester 2015
Professor: Boston College School of Theology &
Ministry
Scope & Disclaimers
 Reading “Tea-leaves” is an imprecise art
 A Work in Progress & Hitting a Moving Target!
 Perennial danger of `"µ"DJ4" (hamartia) missing the
mark
 and the theological vice of D4 (hubris) pride
 Can touch only a limited and quite selected range of topics
 Setting the Topic & Predicting the Future Trajectories
 Will not be able to “answer” what might happen vis-à-vis
Church disciplines
 Won’t be able to handle perennial questions such as the
high cost of Jesuit education
1st Reading of Roman Tea-Leaves
 Shifting ecclesial landscape ad intra and ad extra
 Attitudes toward the “World” & the “Pope”
 Legal vs. Pastoral Paradigms & Deductive vs. Inductive
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“Reading” of “Truth,” leading to new…
Moral & Pastoral analysis of concrete situations
Gradualism of the Law OR Law of Gradualism
Doctrine & Tradition: Continuity & Change
Conflict of Duties & Hierarchy of Truths
Politics & Primacy of Conscience
“Sensus Fidelium” and the “Magisterium”
Very Brief History of Synods
 Established by Paul VI to maintain on a smaller scale
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the collegiality of Vatican II
Tri-ennial based on a pre-announced theme
A few extra (“extraordinary”) Synods for special
reasons and/or regions (e.g., Africa, Asia, America)
25 Synods between 1965-2014
Usually followed by a Post-Synodal Apostolic
Exhortation (ranking below an Encyclical)
Last Synod on the Family was 1980, followed by Pope
John Paul II’s Familiaris Consortio
Preparation for a Synod
 Announcement of the theme and release of a
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preparatory document, inviting feedback from the
world’s bishops
Feedback compiled into Lineamenta and
A “working document” (Instrumentum laboris) is
released prior to the Synod
Selection of ex officio, elected, and special
representatives (named by the Holy Father), including
several lay couples
USA Hierarchs in 2014 Synod: Cardinals Burke, Wuerl,
Dolan and Archbishop Kurtz (head of the USCCB)
Time-line of the Usual Synod:
 Opening Mass and opening Addresses
 “Interventions” by the Synod participants (speeches
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delivered in the Synod Hall)
Compilation of the Relatio which is meant to offer a
touchstone for small group discussions
Circuli minores (small groups according to languages),
assisted by a scribe
Compilation of the input of the Circules minores
Release of the Synod Final Report after voting on the
document or paragraphs (usually in secret)
Innovations in the 2014 Synod
 Public Questionnaire that Bishops were invited to
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share “broadly”
Lineamenta and Instrumentum Laboris that
acknowledged frankly areas of difficulty and nonacceptance of Church teaching
Frank, and even acrimonious, pre-Synod posturing by
members on all points on the ecclesiological spectrum
Far greater secular media attention in the secular press
given to the run-up, reporting and post-Synod analysis
Voting results on each Paragraph in the Final Report
Pope’s Opening Address
 Told the prelates they should speak openly, without fear of
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upsetting him or limiting discussions to things he would want to
hear.
Using the Greek term παρρησία (parrhesia-- meaning to speak
candidly or boldly, and without fear --"speak with parrhesia and
listen with humility."
Working in a synod, the pontiff continued, does not mean
prelates should say only what Francis wants to hear. "This is not
good!" said the pope.
"A general condition is this," said the pope. "Speak clearly. Let no
one say: 'This you cannot say.'"
"You need to say all that you feel with parrhesia," he continued.
"And, at the same time, you should listen with humility and
accept with an open heart what your brothers say."
Divorce & Remarriage Issue
81, Theologian, author of Mercy,
retired head of Pontifical Council for
Xtian Unity
66, Then Prefect of the Apostolic
Signatura (replaced shortly after)
“Mercy” vs. “Truth”
Personalist Approach
Doctrinal Approach
Discipline vs. Doctrine
Pastoral Application
Truths of the Faith
 Invested with Tradition
 Can Develop
 But are often “juridical” and
 Grow In Understanding
can change, be suppressed, or
added to without modifying
the underlying doctrine
 E.g. Friday abstinence or
clerical celibacy
 But De fide definita (defined
articles of the faith) do not
“change”
 E.g., the Trinity or the 2
Natures of Christ
Sacraments for Divorced &
Remarried: Discipline or Doctrine?
The Position of Cardinal
Kasper et al.
 The primary role of the
Sacraments are to help and
heal, and thus Reconciliation
& Eucharist can (and should)
do this.
 Admission to the Sacraments
is a change in Church
discipline
 Sacramental Marriage
remains indissoluble to death
The Position of Cardinal
Burke et al.
 “Discipline is the mirror of her
doctrine”
 Denial of the Sacraments acts as
a call to conversion
 Admission of
divorced/remarried would be a
sacrilege
 Changing this practice would
attack Truth and would
ultimately harm further the
couples now barred from the
Sacrament
Treatment of Gay Family Members?
The Pirolas vs. Cardinal Burke
The Austrailian Pirolas’ Synod
Presentation on Acceptance of
Gay Children
Friends of ours were planning their Christmas
family gathering when their gay son said he
wanted to bring his partner home too. They fully
believed in the Church’s teachings and they
knew their grandchildren would see them
welcome the son and his partner into the family.
Their response could be summed up in three
words, ‘He is our son’.
Cardinal Burke’s Interview
after the Pirola’s Presentation:
“If homosexual relations are intrinsically
disordered, which indeed they are —
reason teaches us that and also our faith
— then, what would it mean to
grandchildren to have present at a family
gathering a family member who is living [in]
a disordered relationship with another
person?”
“Mid-Term “Relatio”
 Put together by a special, expanded, Committee
appointed directly by the Pope
 Surprisingly “open” language to those not married in
the Church, the Divorced/Remarried, and Gay men
and women
 Immediate pushback from a number of Synod Fathers
from center to right
 Dispute over the English translation of the Italian
original (Translator Traditor “The Translator is the
Traitor”)
Formal Correspondence or
Dynamic Un-Equivalence?
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Accogliere le persone omosessuali
Welcoming homosexual persons
Providing for homosexual persons
…si prende atto che vi sono casi in cui il mutuo
sostegno fino al sacrificio costituisce un appoggio
prezioso per la vita dei partners
 it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual
aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious
support in the life of the partners
 there are instances where mutual assistance to the
point of sacrifice is a valuable support in the life of these
persons.
Circuli Minores
 The 10 circuli minores: Discussions on a number of
issues that emerged during the general meeting;
examine the mid-term Relatio text to suggest changes,
as well as things to add and remove
 3 each English &Italian; 2 each French & Spanish (no
more Latin group)
 Change in method of Input into Final Document ( no
more “that’s not in the Final Document”)
Cardinal Burke’s Group
 Replace “Listen, Judge, Act” model with “See, Judge,
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Act”
Take care not to create confusion in the minds and
hearts of our people.
Any sex outside of marriage is never permissible
No admission to the sacraments of divorced and remarried people
Be careful not to imply that certain life-styles are
acceptable
No GRADUALITY of DOCTRINE of faith and morals
English B: Courage to Knock
 “The Church must … have the courage to knock on
forbidden doors". …[W]hat we discover surprises us:
what we encounter inside is the loving presence of God
which helps us to address the challenges of today, no
longer on our terms, but in new ways which might
otherwise have been unimaginable.”
 “Knocking on forbidden or unaccustomed doors
involves risk and courage. Fear and anxiety of what we
think are forbidden doors may mean excluding
opening ourselves to the God who always surprises.”
Alternatives to Pastoral Care for
Divorced & Remarried
 “Examination of possible paths of repentance and
discernment by which, in particular circumstances, a
divorced and remarried person might participate in
the sacraments; and about providing alternatives, such
as a deeper appreciation of the classical wisdom and
value of spiritual communion.”
 Debate over “spiritual communion”: if one can make
a spiritual communion with Christ, why not a
physical communion?
Carefully Define Gradualism
 “the meaning of the law of gradualness, .. should not
be understood as gradualness of the law. …
 “The aim of recognizing gradualness should be to draw
people closer to Christ. Truth and mercy are not
mutually exclusive terms, and in proclaiming truth we
also proclaim the most profound mercy – that of
reconciliation and unity with God; on the other hand,
it is in mercy that we find truth.”
English Group C: (Kurtz Group)
 “We rightly wish to welcome, without judgement or
condemnation, those who, for some reason, are not yet
able to express life-long commitment in a marriage
between a man and a woman. We wish also to give
them encouragement, to help them recognize their
own goodness, and to care for them as Christ cares for
his sheep. We wish them to know that they are loved by
God and rejected neither by him nor the Church.”
[emphasis added]
Italian Groups: A,B,C
 Surprise over the public release of the Relatio
 Effects of Migration on Family Breakup
 Biotechnologies pose challenges
 “No” to the idea of same-sex marriage, but the Church
should appear as an “house open” which appreciates the
gifts of everyone of good will who sincerely seeks God.
 Need for further study of the Orthodox and other
Churches’ practices regarding Divorced and Remarried.
 Need to re-examine the annulment procedures
 Gregory the Great: “The Pastoral Task is the Proof of Love”
Final Document (Relatio Synodi)
 190 eligible to vote; 183 in the Aula (some abstained from
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certain paragraph votes)
58 of 62 paragraphs approved by two-thirds or higher of
those voting. NO single Paragraph got unanimous support,
except for #2!
Though all paragraphs of the Final Report passed with a
majority of the 190 bishops eligible to vote, 3 problematic
paragraphs failed to reach the desired two-thirds majority
Pope Francis ordered the document with individual vote
tallies to be published
It will likely serve as a foundation for discussion in the 2015
“Ordinary” Synod on the Family
The 4 most “controversial” Paragraphs follow 
Unanimous Support Only for #2
 2. Within the family are joys and trials, deep love and
relationships which, at times, can be wounded. The family is
truly the “school of humanity” (Gaudium et Spes, 52), which is
much needed today. Despite the many signs of crisis in the
family institution in various areas of the “global village”, the
desire to marry and form a family remains vibrant, especially
among young people, and serves as the basis of the Church’s
need to proclaim untiringly and with profound conviction the
“Gospel of the Family”, entrusted to her together with the
revelation of God’s love in Jesus Christ and ceaselessly taught by
the Fathers, the masters of spirituality and the Church’s
Magisterium. The family is uniquely important to the Church
and in these times, when all believers are invited to think of
others rather than themselves, the family needs to be
rediscovered as the essential agent in the work of evangelization.
Wordle of Final Relatio #2
Dialogue with those in Civil
Marriage & De facto unions
 #41Placet 125; Non placet 54 (179 total votes with
69.9% YES and 30.1% NO)
 Reached a two-thirds of those voting, but just shy of a
two-thirds of those eligible to vote (and so some
conservatives report this Paragraph as likewise
«failing» to gather the hoped-for two-thirds)
 Those voting «NO» probably resisted the appearance
tacit acceptance of non-sacramental unions this
paragraph might be «read» as allowing.
Communion for
Divorced/Remarried couples
 #52 Placet 104; Non placet 74 (178 total votes with
59.5% YES and 41.5% NO)
 This was probably the clearest «defeat» for the
Cardinal Kasper bloc, even though they did garner a
simple majority of those voting.
 It was also the Paragraph least open to «spin» on its
meaning.
Spiritual Communion Instead
 53. Placet 112; Non placet 64: 176 total votes with 63%
YES; and 27% NO
 Here the «NO» votes probably were from the more
liberal contingent who argued that if people could be
encouraged to «spiritual communion» they should
also be allowed to receive actual Communion
Treating Homosexuals with Respect
 #55: Placet 118; Non placet 62: Total 180 with 65.5%
YES and 34.5% NO
 Probably the “key” sentence was Nevertheless, men and
women with homosexual tendencies ought to be treated
with respect and delicacy
 Some probably voted «NO» believing this whole
paragraph too watered down; others might have voted
«NO» fearing it would signal tacit acceptance of an
«intrinsically disordered» orientation
The Pope’s Final Discourse
 Termed the process a camino which could be translated as a
“road,” “process” or even a “pilgrimage”
 Acknowledged consolations, tensions, and 5 principal
temptations faced by everyone present:
 Hostile rigidity to the letter of the law OR to ideological positions
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rather than leaving ourselves open to the Spirit
Don’t seek to “do good” that puts band-aids on wounds without first
treating or healing them
Don’t transform stones into bread and bread into stones to cast
against sinners, the weak, and the sick
Don’t forsake the Cross in order to adapt to the world
Don’t misuse the Depositum fidei either thinking ourselves its
“owners” rather than “guardians” OR don’t’ use language in such a
way as to employ many words while saying nothing much at all
Immediate Post-Synod “spin”
 Media (depending on orientation) list the Final Report
as either a major success or resounding defeat for
Pope Francis
 Odium theologicum (theological hatred)
 Cardinal Burke acknowledges he’s being removed from
his post, and continues to give quite critical interviews
to the Press
 Cardinals Burke and Müller (CDF) are the only two at
the Mass of Beatification for Paul VI who fail to greet
Pope Francis with the customary embrace (reported in
the Italian Press)
Negative views On the Synod
 “We have many Cardinals and Bishops of the Holy Catholic
Church who publicly put God’s law in opposition to God’s mercy!
We have Cardinals and Bishops who say that the very words of
Jesus, the same second person of the Trinity who suffered and
died so that we might live, insufficiently express love!
 “Add to this the daily expressions of indifferentism and every
other facet of Modernism (see Pascendi Dominici Gregis ) that
are promulgated not only without fear of reproach, but with loud
praise.
 “To say such things and to promote such thinking is cooperation
with the devil, the devil that has as its end the destruction of the
Church. Whether these persons do this knowingly or
unknowingly I cannot say, but I can say that it is evil.” Patrick
Archbold National Catholic Register 10 October 2014
Critique of the Pope As well
 “We have a Pope … whose intentions could not have been more
crudely expressed over the past eighteen months of astonishing
insults and denigration of practically all the elements of apostolic
and ecclesiastical tradition. Francis has clearly been preparing for
this moment since the day of his election, if not before, and now it
has arrived in all its inglorious splendor.
 “Let us call this Synod what it is: a secretive, manipulated,
progressive-dominated cabal, led by septuagenarian and
octogenarian diehards of the conciliar “renewal,” who are rushing to
finish their “work”—so rudely interrupted by Pope Benedict—lest
death release the Church from their clutches before they are quite
done” Chris Ferrara in The Remnant
 “Pope Francis has been authorizing Communion to those in mortal
sin for years.” Sandro Magister Espresso
 “And as it is Catholic doctrine that the pope is infallible, that he
cannot err when speaking ex cathedra on faith and morals, this
would imply that Francis was not a valid pope and the chair of Peter
is empty.” Catholic politician Pat Buchanan in TownHall.com
Providence RI Bishop Thomas Tobin
Post-Synod Sound Bytes
 “In trying to accommodate the needs of the age, as
Pope Francis suggests, the Church risks the danger of
losing its courageous, counter-cultural, prophetic
voice, a voice that the world needs to hear.”
 “The concept of having a representative body of the
Church voting on doctrinal applications and pastoral
solutions strikes me as being rather Protestant.”
 “Pope Francis is fond of ‘creating a mess.’ Mission
accomplished.”
 “Relax. God’s still in charge.”
Ongoing Misunderstanding of
Doctrine vs. Discipline Distinction
 NY Times Columnist Ross Douthat “The Pope and the
Precipice” (26 October 2014): “[Conservative Catholics]
might want to consider the possibility that they have a role
to play, and that this pope may be preserved from error
only if the church itself resists him.”
 Cardinal George Pell: “Doctrine does develop, we
understand truth more deeply, but there are no doctrinal
backflips in Catholic history. …The apostolic tradition
announced first by Christ and founded in the Scriptures is
the touchstone for truth and genuine pastoral practice.”
What Next? Synod 2015
 The Synod and the Church ad extra
 The Final Relatio will be accompanied by a
questionnaire and should serve as a working document
for the discussion in the local churches over the next
year.
 Bishops in particular are to discuss this report not only
among themselves but also in their own dioceses, with
their priests, the lay faithful and especially with
families.
 Hopefully a spirit and process similar to the first
sessions of Vatican II
"The Next Synod is a Battle between Christ and
the Antichrist: - On whose side will you stand?"
The Church of the last decades has
functioned, or rather malfunctioned,
…She has been weak to the point of
losing blood on the ground of doctrine
and morality… unsparing in her
repression and negation of every
legitimate opinion that has the intent
of reaffirming the doctrinal and moral
truths, … and to give free reign to those
whose intent is to destroy her.
Alessandro Gnocchi
In Rorate Coeli Blog
25 February 2015
2015 USA Synod Delegates
 Elected (in order of votes): Archbishops Kurtz
(USCCB President) Chaput (Philadelphia), Cardinal
DiNardo (Houston), and Archbishop Gomez (L.A.)
 Substitutes: Archbishops Cupich (Chicago) and
Cordileone (San Francisco)
 Probable Ex officio: Cardinals Dolan and Wuerl
 Unlikely participant: Cardinal Burke
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles
Chaput, on the 2014 Synod:
 “I was very disturbed by what happened …I think confusion
is of the devil, and I think the public image that came
across was one of confusion.”
 “We also need to thank God for the gift of this present,
difficult moment, … . “Because conflict always does two
things: It purifies the church, and it clarifies the character
of the enemies who hate her.”
 (Clarification of above remarks): “To get your information
from the press is a mistake because they don’t know well
enough how to understand it so they can tell people what
happened. … In some cases they’re certainly the enemy and
they want to distort the Church.”
Other 2015 Synod Fathers
 Sandro Magister: “The most active are the cardinals, the
bishops, the theologians who want to innovate in Church
doctrine and practice on marriage and homosexuality. But
in the first round of elections for the next synod, the
defenders of tradition are much more numerous.”
 Clearly Pope Francis has confirmed the choices of the
individual bishops’ conferences and has not attempted to
have elected “his candidates” (if he even has such a slate in
pectore or otherwise)
 Pope also has named as participants identified with the
more conservative wing, such as Father José Granados of the
John Paul II Pontifical Institute for Studies on Marriage and
Family
“Living in Sin”? Cardinal Marx
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On Divorced & Remarried:
 “What can we do when a person
marries, divorces and later finds a
new partner? There are different
positions. Some bishops at the
synod said, “They are living in sin.”
But others said, “You cannot say
that somebody is in sin every day.
That is not possible.” You see, there
are questions we must speak about.
“
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On Same-Sex Relationships
 “The church says that a gay
relationship is not on the same
level as a relationship between a
man and a woman. That is clear.
But when they are faithful, when
they are engaged for the poor,
when they are working, it is not
possible to say, ‘Everything you
do, because you are a
homosexual, is negative’. That
must be said, and I have heard
no objection. It is not possible to
see a person from only one point
of view, without seeing the
whole situation of a person. That
is very important for sexual
ethics”
Fraternal Correction of German
Bishops by Cardinal Kurt Koch
 Kasper’s Successor as Prefect of
Pontifical Council of Christian
Unity (since 2010)
 Sharply criticized the German
bishops’ position on reading the
“signs of the times,” calling it to
be reminiscent of an earlier
capitulation to the Third Reich,
 And that the recourse to
“experience” of “real life” is not a
third font of Revelation (the
only two fonts being Sacred
Scripture and the Magisterium)
“Living in Sin”? Cardinal Burke
“The Church cannot change her teaching on the
indissolubility of marriage and the grave sinfulness of
sexual relations outside the
matrimonial union and the grave sinfulness of
homosexual acts.“
“Any change with regard to the reception of Holy
Communion on the part of those in irregular
matrimonial unions cannot occur. The doctrine is
clear — it is the word of Christ
Himself Who said, “Everyone who divorces his wife
and marries another commits adultery.”
Who am I to judge? “We are held to judge if we see
an act which is objectively disordered —if people are
involved in extramarital activities, one must be very
clear that the acts they are committing are gravely
immoral.”
Cardinal Burke & His Conscience
“I cannot accept that Communion can be
given to a person in an irregular union because
it is adultery. On the question of people of the
same sex, this has nothing to do with
marriage. This is an affliction suffered by some
people whereby they are attracted against
nature sexually to people of the same sex.”
Question: If perchance the pope will persist
in this direction, what will you do?
Cardinal Burke: I shall resist, I can do
nothing else. There is no doubt that it is a
difficult time; this is clear, this is clear.
“Synodality”: ala Robert Mickens
 The “official” Roman response “has always been the same: ‘People reject the
teachings because they don't know or understand them; if these are re-proposed
in a new way the people will embrace them’."
 [Mickens continues] “Pope Francis clearly understands that this has been a nonsolution. And that is why he has invited the bishops of the world to discuss,
debate and delve ever deeper into the thorny issues that are contested, rejected
or simply ignored.
 “He is the first pope since the Second Vatican Council to specifically encourage
such open discussion on divisive issues. But he hasn’t limited the debate to
high-ranking prelates. He's actually instructed the bishops to widen the
conversation by canvassing their priests and people at the grass level.
 “In this way, he has called the entire Church to seek answers together — in
conversation, study, prayer and discernment. He has initiated a journey. This is
key to his desire to make "synodality" (walking together) a constitutive part of
decision-making (governance) process of the universal Church.”
 Robert Mickens, “A Synod That Will Not End,” Global Pulse Magazine 6
February 2015
Pre-Emptive Positioning Example
 E.g., the March 12, 2015 Statement of the Polish Bishops
Conference:
 “The teaching and the tradition of the Church shows that
people living in non-sacramental union deprive themselves
of the possibility of receiving Holy Communion.*
 [The reference here is to invalid unions contracted by
Catholics. Catholics in valid natural marriages, which
occur when a Catholic marries an unbaptised person, may
receive the sacraments.]
 The Polish Bishops also just formally endorsed the entire
Burke et al. book Remaining in the Truth of Christ when it
was released in a Polish translation.
Projected Key Players “On the
Court” for the 2015 Synod
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Cardinal Baldisseri, General Secretary
Archbishop Bruno Forte, Special Secretary
Cardinal Péter Erdő, Relator (Hungary)
Cardinal Luis “Chito” Tagle, Manila, Philippines
Cardinal Wilfred Napier, South Africa
Cardinal Kurt Koch, Pontifical Council for Xtian Unity
Cardinal Gerhard Müller, CDF
Cardinal Reinhard Marx from Munich, Germany
Archbishop Charles Chaput from Philadelphia
Cardinal Vincent Nichols from the UK
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin from Dublin, Ireland
And Fans in the Stands?
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First & Foremost: People in the Pews
Vaticaniste, Catholic Periodicals & Secular Media
Social media & Blogs, especially of the Right Wing
Cardinal Raymond Leo Burke & followers
Cardinal Walter Kasper & followers
Final Words as Antidote to Odium
theologicum…
 In fide, unitas: in dubiis, libertas; in omnibus,
caritas
 "In faith, unity; in doubt, liberty; in all things, charity."
 Attributed to St. Augustine, this is an important principle
of Christian discernment: unity in faith is important, but
in cases of doubt a plurality of opinions and practices
should be allowed, and the over-riding principle must
always be charity towards each other.
 And to quote Providence RI Bishop Thomas Tobin:
Relax, God is still in charge!
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