THE Synod will soon end. Some of the Bishops, who see no fulsome agreement emerging, are tending to opt for a decentralised approach.
This would leave Communion for the divorced and remarried to national Episcopal Conferences. This position may have been given credibility by a weekend talk by Pope Francis.
In an event marking the 50th anniversary of the Synod of Bishops he called for greater reflection on “intermediate types of collegiality” – basically, code for decentralisation.
The Pope could decide to opt for decentralisation but to so in a highly centralised way. Observers have noted that while Francis favours collegiality, he is hardly shy about using his authority when he believes that the situation calls for it.
For instance, before this 2015 Synod on the family began, many observers felt that the rules regarding annulment, a finding by a Church tribunal that a sacramental marriage never existed, needed changes.
Pope Francis, however, took that issue off the table by issuing his own annulment reform – simplifying and speeding up the process – before the Synod even began.
Although it is completely unknown how the Pope will resolve the question of divorced and civilly remarried Catholics, it is theoretically possible that he could decide to allow local Bishops or Bishop’s Conferences to handle it, even if a majority of Bishops at this Synod have reservations.
If this eventuates then it would be unclear, to say the least, whether this is a breakthrough for collegiality or an exercise in strong papal authority? Maybe it would be both.
This may be of interest to theologians but the real pastoral impact of the Synod does not end on Sunday. It will start when the Bishops go home and Pope Francis starts to make decisions.