Synodality: Polarisation or Creative Tension?

Polarisation presents one of the biggest challenges to the unity of the Church, which is far from immune to the political divisions that have become writ large across our political culture. Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the papal household, has pointed out that fraternity among Catholics has been “wounded” by “political options that grow into ideologies.” In this episode, Christopher Lamb explores whether the synod process can become a counterweight to polarisation. Proponents argue that synods offer a safe space for disagreements to be aired and a way for believers to deepen the faith that binds them together. David McCallum, a Jesuit working in Rome and who runs a leadership programme in the Church, says the synod offers a model for exercising authority in an entirely different way from what we see among some populist political leaders. Synodality, he says, can ensure that harmony emerges from a radical diversity of opinions expressed within a set of parameters that maintain the Church’s unity. Not everyone agrees. Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former Church of England priest and Catholic commentator, is worried that the synod is being used to pursue a progressive agenda. He believes the cultural crisis the world is living in demands the Church interrogate the zeitgeist; otherwise, it risks following the “spirit of the age” and diluting its prophetic voice. Dr Ashenden stresses he’s not opposed to synodality as a concept. However, he relates his experience from his ministry in the Church of England as a warning to the Catholic Church, which he joined because it offers a “profound, worked out wisdom” in responding to the challenges of the age. The Church, he adds, must offer stability. Finally, Gerry O’Hanlon, an ecclesiologist, synod expert and former superior of the Jesuits in Ireland, argues that the synod process has been a hopeful experience for the Church in Ireland. Despite the disagreements that it has unleashed, O’Hanlon says that this period of history demands that institutions engage in “open speech” and not hide away from contested areas of disagreement. He also offers a powerful example of how the synod model can be utilised to heal the wounds caused by the scourge of the clerical sexual abuse crisis. This is the eighth episode of The Church's Radical Reform, a podcast on the synodal movement presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and a PhD student at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University. The podcast is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies and The Tablet. Producers: Silvia Sacco Jamie Weston