Bishop Thomas J. Tobin, of Providence, R.I., has published some frank observations on the Synod, some of which I excerpt here:
- 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.
- Have we learned that it’s probably not a good idea to publish half-baked minutes of candid discussions about sensitive topics, especially when we know that the secular media will hijack the preliminary discussions for their own agendas?
- I wonder what the Second Vatican Council would have looked like and what it would have produced if the social media had existed at that time.
- Pope Francis encouraged fearless and candid discussion and transparency during the Synod. I wonder if the American Bishops will adopt the same protocol during their meeting next month in Baltimore.
- Wherever he serves, Cardinal Burke will be a principled, articulate and fearless spokesman for the teachings of the Church.
- Pope Francis is fond of “creating a mess.” Mission accomplished.