That tone was set days before the gathering got underway this week at the Vatican, when in his speech in Belgium on Sept. 27, Pope Francis said that the synod wasn't meant to advance what he called "trendy reforms."

Now it seems clear that while the delegates may discuss many things over the next three weeks, nothing will be decided. There will be no doctrinal changes. No diminution of the role of the bishop. No rush to resolve the question of opening the diaconate to women.

Instead, this month's real challenge may well be how to manage the expectations of those hoping and pushing for sweeping changes.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the synod's general rapporteur, alluded to that danger at the end of last year's assembly when he noted that many would be disappointed if women were not given a greater role in the Church.

Change unlikely

But is a major change in Church governance in the offing? That seems unlikely.

Pope Francis himself, in his remarks at the opening of this year's assembly Oct. 1, emphasised that "the presence at the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops of members who are not bishops does not diminish the episcopal dimension of the assembly," a reference to the dozens of laypeople and women religious participating as voting delegates.

He added, with evident annoyance, that suggestions to the contrary were due to "some storm of gossip that went from one side to the other." Indeed, there is not even "some limit or derogation to the authority of the individual bishop or the episcopal college," he said.

Rather, the pope tried to clarify, the assembly "indicates the form that the exercise of episcopal authority is called to take in a Church aware of being constitutively relational and therefore synodal." In short, it is a "modus gubernandi," a way of governing. Yet it remains a government rather than an open forum.

There have been plenty of other signals that no revolution is imminent.

For example, there was Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who in his report on new ministries said that Pope Francis does not consider the moment for the female diaconate to be "ripe."

The reflection continues, in other words. The Church will endeavor to give more space to women in decision-making roles, but further discussion is needed as to any kind of ordained ministry — something the pope had already indicated in his in-flight press conference Sept. 29 on his way back from Belgium.

Also, in their intermediate reports to the synod, the study groups commissioned by the pope to examine questions of a female diaconate and other controversial issues showed a certain prudence on the part of the bishops in addressing doctrinal questions.

The bishops may concede to giving the laity a greater say in decision-making, perhaps, but not when it comes to doctrinal matters.

The study group tasked with examining the role of the "bishop-judge" is a clear example. Pope Francis has placed the bishops at the center of the marriage annulment process, asking — indeed almost imposing — that they are the final judges.

But the bishops called to speak on the issue have instead reaffirmed that the bishop, in some cases, ought to have the option of delegating that responsibility to regional and national courts that "could guarantee great impartiality in decisions." Is this a step back from what Pope Francis already has requested?

And when it comes to making the process of selecting bishops more transparent, much depends on how the apostolic nuncio in each country exercises the selection process.

There is a call for "more attention to the local Church" and "more involvement of the local Church," but this is a question of approach, not revolutionary change. Read more

• Andrea Gagliarducci is an Italian journalist for Catholic News Agency and Vatican analyst for ACI Stampa. He is a contributor to the National Catholic Register.

Called "Living in Successful Relationships - Living Love in Sexuality and Partnership," Vatican News says the draft document clearly rejects "conversion therapies for homosexuals", pleads on behalf of "homosexual partnerships and remarried divorcees ‘to be able to see themselves under the blessing of God expressly granted by the church'".

It also says the document "moves away from a radical condemnation of masturbation".

The German Synodal Way conference approved the draft in a 168 to 28, vote with five abstentions. Sixty-nine Synodal Assembly members are German bishops, 37 are elected representatives of German priests and religious, while 69 are members of the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK).

The preamble to the draft document asserts:

• "The Church's sexual ethics has also favored the crimes of sexual abuse in the Church. We sincerely ask for forgiveness of all people who have suffered from the effects of church teaching on sexuality".

The body of the document says:

• "Knowledge of the human sciences" should be the basis for ensuring "a change in the teaching and practice of the Church in dealing with human sexuality." The document suggests different forms of "accentuation" or emphasis, rather than a change in doctrinal content.

Concerning the Church's condemnation of contraception and insistence in affirming the procreative function of the sexual act:

• Most people see the Church's teaching on the immorality of contraception as "a misunderstanding of the human significance of human sexuality for every person and as an implausible imposition".
• Masturbation opens "the possibility of discovering and experiencing oneself physically" and experiencing "pleasure, identity and transcendence".
• Homosexual relationships "should always be recognized without reservation" if they are characterized by "love and compassion."
• Homosexual orientation should not be a "basis for exclusion" from ordination to the clergy; homosexuality "is not a risk factor for sexual abuse," nor an illness.
• Sacramental marriage is only between a man and a woman.

The document remains in draft form and must be approved a second time when the Synodal Way meets again in early 2022 before it is made official. It will then be presented to the Vatican for approval.

The draft's endorsement of blessing homosexual unions goes against warnings from Pope Francis and the Vatican against radical departures from Catholic doctrine.

It appears to directly contradict a recent declaration by the Vatican's Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith repudiating blessings of homosexual unions and other "partnerships" involving extra-marital sexual activity. Francis approved the declaration.

There seems little concern for potential conflict with the Vatican, with Bishop Georg Bätzing being quoted as saying: "There were texts debated that are not just texts, but dreams put into words about how we want to change the church in Germany: a church that is participatory, gender-equitable, and journeys with people."

He reportedly lashed out at the Vatican, decrying "warning words or clarifications from the Roman Curia on questions that have long been answered in our enlightened and freedom-loving society,".

Prohibiting blessing homosexual unions had provoked "indignation and head-shaking among many people," he said.

Source

• Catholic World Report
• Image: National Catholic Reporter