The Silly Synod

It's a good thing that we have Fr. G. Murray to read the documents for us.  His Purgatory time, if any, will be exceptionally short because he certainly has suffered.  Take this example of 'Wall of Words turgidity-without-meaning' found in the working document (IL) which will be used as a springboard for discussions:

...[s]ome of the questions that emerged from the consultation of the People of God concern issues on which there is already magisterial and theological teaching to be considered. To give just two examples, we can note the acceptance of remarried divorcees. . .or the inculturation of the liturgy. . . .The fact that questions continue to emerge on issues like these should not be hastily dismissed, rather, it calls for discernment, and the Synodal Assembly is a privileged forum for so doing. In particular, the obstacles, real or perceived, that have prevented the steps indicated by previous documents from being realized should be considered and reflections offered on how they can be removed. . . .If, on the other hand, the problem stems from the difficulty of grasping the implications of the documents in ordinary situations or an inability of persons to recognize themselves in what is proposed, a synodal journey of effective reception by the People of God could be the appropriate response. Another instance could be the reappearance of a question which emerges as a sign of a changed reality or situations where there is a need for an “overflow” of Grace. This requires further reflection on the Deposit of Faith and the living Tradition of the Church....

The Ten Commandments have a smaller word-count, and they actually say something.

Fr Murray's glum summary:

...The IL lists topics that have come up in the various stages of synodal consultations. Included are: war, climate change, “an economic system that produces exploitation, inequality and a throwaway culture,” cultural colonialism, religious persecution, “aggressive secularization,” sexual abuse and “the abuse of power, conscience and money.”

It’s striking that abortion, euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, the spread of atheism, relativism, subjectivism, religious indifference, gender ideology, the redefinition of marriage in the laws of many Western states, coercive programs to impose contraception in the global south are not listed. Neither are the crises regarding sacramental practice in the Church today: the steep decline in Mass attendance, the practical disappearance of sacramental confession in many places, the decline in baptisms, confirmations and marriages, and the serious decline in the number of priestly ordinations in the Western world. Did none of these topics surface during the lead-up to the Synodal Assembly in October?

Nowhere do we find any mention of the Church’s paramount mission: the salvation of souls. There is not a hint that what is most important in the life of the Church is the preaching of God’s gift of eternal life, Christ’s call to conversion and repentance....

Offhand, we'd say that whoever wrote that IL is in serious need of repentance, and conversion to Roman Catholicism would be a bonus.

But that's just us.