The Synod Is Big News in the Catholic Church
A few days ago I introduced myself and this blog to Patheos readers. Here at SOUL SCIENCE the conversation is about spirituality. But it is also Catholic. And that means that whenever big news happens in the Catholic Church, we need to cover it. It’s a journalistic responsibility, plain and simple. Well next month, the biggest event in the Church since the Protestant Reformation will be taking place in Rome. I’m talking about the global Synod, also known as the Synod on Synodality. It is now clear to honest and informed Catholics that the pope is using this forum to take the Church into apostasy.
Kudos to Patheos bloggers Jane the Actuary and The Latin Right for their insightful and accurate analysis. I cannot say the same for Todd Flowerday. Mr. Flowerday is not a regular columnist here, but Dennis Knapp, the brains behind Latin Right, charitably allowed Flowerday to publish a rebuttal to Knapp’s analysis. It was terrible. With no consideration given to the evidence, Flowerday dismisses Knapp’s case that “those behind synodality seek to change Church doctrine, yet make it appear as if they are not.”
The questionable structure of Flowerday’s essay is where the trouble begins. He frames his analysis around a series of excerpts from an essay by Cdl. Raymond Burke. All of the quotes are taken out of context. A perfect example of what I mean is in his discussion of the German bishops.
Don’t Ignore the German Synod
Take a look at this excerpt from Flowerday, and you’ll see what I mean. (Emphasis is mine.)
[+Burke quote:] It is not a purely theoretical matter, for the ideology has already, for some years, been put into practice in the Church in Germany, spreading widely confusion and error and their fruit, division – indeed schism – , to the grave harm of many souls. [Flowerday comment:] It is true that individual pastors have taken matters into their own hands here and there throughout the history of the Church. I knew a priest who ordained his own deacons—twelve of them—before the permanent diaconate was authorized in his diocese. He fancied himself a sort-of Jesus who needed twelve to assist him. Imagine the confusion when a new pastor was assigned and discovered he has a dozen “assistant clergy” operating in various roles. . . .
Burke clearly cites the German bishops as a concrete example of the heresy and schism that threatens the Church through the synodal process. He is on solid ground for doing that. But you wouldn’t know that from Flowerday’s scattered remarks. Nowhere does he mention the German bishops at all. Not once in the article. And that’s a shame. The Germans have left no doubt about their heretical intentions. The press release announcing the formation of the German national synod (independent of the global synod) declared that Church and Biblical teaching on homosexuality was in error and needed to be changed. What’s more, that very same press release cited the Pope Francis document Amoris Laetitia as justification for the Germans to throw out Church teaching on human sexuality.
The December Massacre
Thus, to hear the German bishops tell it, their heretical program of sexual revolution in the Church is approved by Pope Francis. Not only that, Pope Francis instigated the revolution with Amoris Laetitia. If the Germans are telling the truth, then all of us need to be worried about the upcoming global synod.
And there’s plenty of evidence that the Germans are, in fact, telling the truth: indeed, the German heretics are on Team Francis and accurately represent the not-so-hidden agenda of the current pope. Consider the “December Massacre” of 2019. That’s a series of public events that show clear coordination between Pope Francis and the heretical Germans. Here they are:
- December 5, 2019—The German bishops issue a press release announcing their national synod and declaring that Church teaching on homosexuality is wrong. They assert that science has shown us that, contrary to Church doctrine, homosexuality is as normal as heterosexuality.
- December 16, 2019—The Vatican’s Pontifical Biblical Commission issued a press release announcing the publication of a new book, which argues that the Bible is not qualified to answer contemporary moral issues. We need science to figure out morality for us. And one those thorny moral issues turns out to be homosexuality—again. Seeing a pattern?
- December 21, 2019—At his Christmas address to the Curia, Pope Francis declares that the Church is 200 years behind the times and that we need science to catch up.
Although Francis’s message was more muted, nevertheless, all of these declarations agreed that Church teaching needed to be changed. And by singling out homosexuality, the Biblical Commission agreed with the Germans that the Church was no authority on faith and morals. “Science is more trustworthy than the Bible.” That’s heresy.
So keep your eye on the Synod. There’s plenty to worry about.
Postscript
So much more can be said—must be said. So I will leave you with one final thought—for now. I will have more to say later. A good American bishop is in trouble. Reports say that Pope Francis is pressuring Bishop Strickland of Tyler, Texas to resign. Question. Has Pope Francis “fired” any of the heretical German bishops? On the contrary, anyone who agrees with the German heresies gets a promotion—and an invitation to the Synod. Like Fr. James Martin. Or Cdl. Hollerich who is set to lead the October train wreck.
But don’t worry! Because Flowerday said so! Good grief.
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