The Synod, Psychological Screening and the role of the Laity
This month, prominent theologians, religious, Cardinals, youth leaders and observers will be descending on Rome to engage in dialogue about the state of the Church and the effectiveness of the Church’s leadership to address issues relating to the Synodality Process. Over the past 2 to 3 years, every diocese in the world has undertaken an internal assessment on its mission effectiveness and the needs of the faithful (laity, clergy and religious) in keeping with the framework of the Synodality Program. Despite, the ongoing controversies surrounding the synodality process, efforts to change Church teaching and the Dubia. The Synod is an opportunity for the Church leadership to assess where we are going and respond to the common themes that have emerged from the Synodality Process from all corners of the world.
For many Catholics and outside observers, the synodality process has been branded by the media as a political program to change policy. However, for those working within the Church, the Synodality Process, is a common practice within the Church where religious, clergy and laity involved in different programs and ministries meet together in round tables to discuss issues and formulate strategies to address common themes and concerns. Pope Francis being a Jesuit and a former Archbishop knows this process well and has instituted this process to create a “listening Church”.
Church Doctrine and Natural Law
Over the past few decades, St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI laid down the foundational work on Church doctrine. The election of Pope Francis, was an attempt to reform the interior life of the Church, at a time when many Catholic organizations in Europe, North America and in the Southern Hemisphere have turned into large bureaucratic organizations that are out of touch with the needs of the faithful, fractured by internal divisions and are divorced from their authentic mission.
Pope Francis being an Argentinean, many were hopeful, that a person from the Southern Hemisphere would be most sympathetic to the needs of religious and bishops working on the frontlines of ministry and evangelization in countries where the rule of law, extreme poverty, and morally bankrupt civic institutions, undermine the mission of the Church and human flourishing. Sadly, such efforts to bring about a renewal within the Church have not happened. Over the past several years, the Church has been marked by internal divisions, scandals and a lack of direction, with vocational fragility being the root cause of this division.
The Synod is not going to bring about a deeper renewal within the Church. Right now, due to internal conflicts in Rome, and poor theological formation of the College of Cardinals, it seems highly unlikely that we are going to see a Pope Benedict XVI emerge from the College of Cardinals who has the intellectual capacity and wisdom to steer the Church in the right direction. Furthermore, unlike North America, where there are prominent universities and institutions that are producing exceptional Catholics.
In Europe, Asia and South America, many institutions are ill equipped to produce exceptional candidates to serve the Church. Such challenges are not going to resolved through the Synod, but by the efforts of missionaries and lay leaders who have to discern the will of God and do His will. Today, the Church is at a crossroads, we have all the doctrines, tools and communication mechanisms at our disposal to form the laity. However, in many dioceses and religious orders, the clergy, religious and laity are trapped in nominalism, phenomenology and have a superficial interior life; the final documents produced by the Synod will not have a major impact in turning the direction of failing Catholic institutions.
Psychological Screening and Personnel Audits
In light of the ongoing differences within the Church and the loss of identity. The Church has the capacity to implement two measures that will improve the capacity of Catholic institutions to be more effective in their mission and outreach. In recent years, all major dioceses in North America have brought in psychological screening to access candidates entering into religious life and seminary. Psychological screening is a very accurate, transparent, and objective measure of the capacity of a candidate to be effective in the field and fit to serve the Church. It is the best way to institute internal reform of Catholic institutions while being objective, transparent and independent from interference.
Similarly, financial audits of failing Catholic institutions and internal management assessments are of no use. Personnel audits are more important. These audits will provide a deeper picture for third party observers on the true state of internal affairs of institutions. However, the challenge remains as to how to implement these measures in countries where dioceses lack good vocations, personnel and leadership to transform failing institutions. Furthermore, we cannot expect the Church to be a perfect utopian institution on earth.
There is also a great need to build up institutions within the Church to focus on the new evangelization in certain parts of the world, where the Church lacks the governance and support to be effective in its mission. The Church in Europe is no longer in a position to serve the Universal Church, especially in places like Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Central America. The Church in North America has to step in to fill in this leadership void, including countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.
For outside observers and for many Catholics, in the coming years, the next Holy Father has to focus on making the Church more relevant to the needs of the faithful. Today, a lot of youth, families, religious and bishops are disheartened, disillusioned and feel marginalized from the rest of society. The focus of the Church must be to minister to God’s people rather than be consumed with day-to-day management, and operations of Catholic institutions. There is a need to separate the mission of the Church, which is the evangelize and minister the sacraments, from an institution that has in many ways become to resemble a mix between a state institution and a non-profit.
Many good priests, sisters and lay leaders have no interest in taking on leadership positions within the Church primarily due to the bureaucratic nature of Church operations. There are a lot of good Catholics working in the field around the world, it is up to the laity to support such people working on the frontlines, rather than depend on the Church’s leadership to fulfill this role. The council fathers at Vatican II were well aware of deficiencies of the Church’s hierarchy in addressing the needs for evangelization, institutional operations and governance. Sadly, the council documents have yet to be fully implemented, and in many parishes, the vast majority of lay people are mere spectators rather than leaders.
