Diocesan Synod Syntheses: Bad News for USCCB?

 The ten-page syntheses that each diocese should produce about their diocesan synod process were due on June 30th in Rome and at the USCCB. They have begun to surface. The Archdiocese of Seattle, and the Archdiocese of Washington have published theirs. They contain some sharp language for the USCCB (the bishops' conference). The USCCB is required to produce its own ten-page synthesis of the syntheses to be sent to Rome on August 15. That could be interesting.  Just imagine Francis sitting down with the American Cardinals shortly afterwards. "When are you going to listen to your people?"

Final Synod Synthesis of the Archdiocese of Seattle

Leadership of the Church at the National Level 

In general, people expressed unhappiness with the way the Church operates and speaks at the national level, particularly regarding political engagement. Many feel the American hierarchy is out of touch with the needs of the flock, and unable to respond to the challenges of our times. People are very concerned about the intrusion of politics into Church life and are concerned about bishops and priests “pushing” agendas on both ends of the political spectrum. They are concerned about the lack of consistency among the bishops and the disconnect between the bishops and the Holy Father. 

A priest expressed concern “about not just disagreement but contempt for Pope Francis by some clergy and the faithful in some parts of the country. There are several archdioceses not even willing to do the synod process.” 

Many are scandalized by the denial of Communion, seeing this as a “weaponization” or “politicization” of the sacrament of the Eucharist. “Why don’t headlines read, ‘Jesus is Really Present in the Eucharist!’ instead of ‘Politician denied Communion’? In the Gospel we read that Jesus welcomed sinners and dined with them, but too many are denied access to the Eucharistic table, not by Jesus, but by us.” 

Whether with regard to the divorced and remarried, politicians, or members of the LGBTQ+ community, people feel that the Eucharist is being used to punish and exclude. “If the Eucharist is the source of life, then why cut it off?” 

Meanwhile, a smaller number of participants expressed frustration that the hierarchy seem fearful of speaking the truth and have made too many concessions to the prevailing culture. 

People know the bishops oppose abortion but feel that this focus has left other evils unaddressed. “It feels like the only thing they see as evil is abortion — they’ll strike a deal with any devil if they say they will end abortion.” People want the Church to engage with other social evils with the same passion, dedication, and intensity — particularly racism, poverty, and climate change. One young adult “shared how nervous she is for the future of the world with climate change, but no one in the Church seems to be taking her or it seriously.

Diocesan Synthesis-Report: Archdiocese of Washington

Several surprising and unexpected responses arose during the archdiocesan phase of the Synod 

Despite a devotion to one’s parish and pastor, there remains, however, a deep mistrust and hurt among many Catholics of the Bishops in the United States and of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). Clergy, religious and laity indicated that they believe that the episcopal conference is too focused on political issues, rather than on evangelization. 

There were also many expressions of mistrust of the U.S. bishops because of how clergy sexual abuse cases have been handled in the past, how bishops accused of sexual abuse and misconduct are treated, and a lack of transparency in how decisions are made by those in leadership. While it was expected that Catholics would be upset about former Cardinal McCarrick, it was unexpected that so many Catholics had such strong opinions about the USCCB.

Catholics across the political spectrum believe the U.S. Bishops are too political, are unwilling to apologize for the clergy sexual abuse crisis and are not concerned enough about spiritual issues related to the Church.