Did Bishops ‘Defeat’ Pope Francis in Vatican Synod?

In spite of sensational media claims that Pope Francis suffered a major “defeat” at the hands of conservative bishops during the recently concluded synod on the family, all evidence suggests that the Pope got exactly what he wanted: a frank debate on the situation of Christian families in the world today and how the Church can more effectively serve them.

 

A title blazoned across the Wall Street Journal proclaimed: “Bishops Hand Pope Defeat on His Outreach to Divorced Catholics,” a misleading statement that suffers from two fundamental errors.

 

The first mistake is the assumption—since that is all it is—that Pope Francis had a predetermined plan for the synod, which included specific pastoral changes regarding divorced and remarried Catholics. Many have labeled Francis as a liberal or progressive, and so imagine that they know his mind even when his words say something else. In point of fact, throughout the synod the Pope railed against preset agendas, begging the bishops to listen to one another and above all to the Holy Spirit.

 

In his opening address before the synod fathers, Francis stated: “We need evangelical humility to put aside our own ideas and prejudices to listen to our brother bishops and let God fill us.”

 

“The only method of the synod,” Francis said, is that of “opening ourselves to the Holy Spirit with apostolic courage, evangelical humility and confident prayer” so that He will “guide us, enlighten us, and keep before our eyes not our personal opinions, but faith in God, fidelity to the Magisterium, the good of the Church, and the salvation of souls.”

 

Moreover, Francis has never said anything more than his predecessor Saint John Paul II when referring to the best ways to reach out to divorced and remarried Catholics. There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that the Pope wants to make the divorced and remarried feel at home and welcomed in the Church—a message in keeping with the tone of mercy and openness that has characterized his entire pontificate. This doesn’t necessarily mean, however, that Francis ever advocated a change of discipline regarding Holy Communion, because he has never said that did.

 

Read More: Did Bishops ‘Defeat’ Pope Francis in Vatican Synod? – Breitbart