The USCCB Synodal Synthesis: Testimony to a Counterfeit Christianity

Michie said:

The recently-released and synodal-inspired "National Synthesis" by the USCCB has nothing to do with the Catholic Faith as traditionally received, understood, professed, and practiced.

To little fanfare, the USCCB released its latest contribution to the interminable Synodal process in the form of a document called The National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Interim Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod (the “Synthesis”). As its title suggests, the document is a flavorless and textureless work of committee-craft, heavy with the awkward formulations beloved by ecclesial bureaucrats. Although utterly bereft of literary and devotional merit, the Synthesisis worth surveying insofar as it illustrates the extent to which a counterfeit Christianity has displaced the authentic apostolic faith within the ambit of mainstream American Catholicism.

By way of overview, the Synthesisarticulates “two basic hopes for the Church”: first, to be a “Safe Harbor of certainty and openness,” since the Church “is at its best when it’s warm, welcoming, and focuses on community building and doing more for other people”; second, to cultivate the “prophetic mystery at the heart of our Fiery Communion,” which entails creatively reconciling the concerns of “marginalized people” with traditional doctrine and practice.

The document briskly develops these major themes, hitting the expected notes: involving lay people (especially women and other “marginalized groups”) in evangelization and mission; improving clarity and consistency of communication; overcoming “polarization and conflict” around the Church’s “social magisterium”; assuaging the pain of those who have “experienced systematic rejection”; encouraging “adaptability and innovation in how the Church evangelizes, welcomes, and reaches out to people”; addressing structural sins like racism; prioritizing “encounter and reflection”; and fostering “mutual understanding” among the bishops.

Continued below.

The USCCB Synodal Synthesis: Testimony to a Counterfeit Christianity

The recently-released and synodal-inspired “National Synthesis” by the USCCB has nothing to do with the Catholic Faith as traditionally received, understood, professed, and practiced.

crisismagazine.com

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Michie said:

The recently-released and synodal-inspired "National Synthesis" by the USCCB has nothing to do with the Catholic Faith as traditionally received, understood, professed, and practiced.

To little fanfare, the USCCB released its latest contribution to the interminable Synodal process in the form of a document called The National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Interim Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod (the “Synthesis”). As its title suggests, the document is a flavorless and textureless work of committee-craft, heavy with the awkward formulations beloved by ecclesial bureaucrats. Although utterly bereft of literary and devotional merit, the Synthesisis worth surveying insofar as it illustrates the extent to which a counterfeit Christianity has displaced the authentic apostolic faith within the ambit of mainstream American Catholicism.

By way of overview, the Synthesisarticulates “two basic hopes for the Church”: first, to be a “Safe Harbor of certainty and openness,” since the Church “is at its best when it’s warm, welcoming, and focuses on community building and doing more for other people”; second, to cultivate the “prophetic mystery at the heart of our Fiery Communion,” which entails creatively reconciling the concerns of “marginalized people” with traditional doctrine and practice.

The document briskly develops these major themes, hitting the expected notes: involving lay people (especially women and other “marginalized groups”) in evangelization and mission; improving clarity and consistency of communication; overcoming “polarization and conflict” around the Church’s “social magisterium”; assuaging the pain of those who have “experienced systematic rejection”; encouraging “adaptability and innovation in how the Church evangelizes, welcomes, and reaches out to people”; addressing structural sins like racism; prioritizing “encounter and reflection”; and fostering “mutual understanding” among the bishops.

Continued below.

The USCCB Synodal Synthesis: Testimony to a Counterfeit Christianity

The recently-released and synodal-inspired “National Synthesis” by the USCCB has nothing to do with the Catholic Faith as traditionally received, understood, professed, and practiced.

crisismagazine.com

Click to expand...

Wolseley said:

Design a church by workshop, and all you get is another well-meaning, but essentially irrelevant social agency that tries to be all things to all people, regardless of stance or moral standard. The Faith is stripped of its exceptional nature; there is nothing for people to strive for, because there's no goal that needs to be met. The USCCB has been busy planting both feet firmly in this world, and airily dismissing the spiritual requirements necessary for eternal salvation.

"A flavorless and textureless work of committee-craft" is exactly right. I am reminded of the old saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee, and that's essentially what we have here. And speaking of camels, as for the truths of the Faith as juxtaposed against the bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo of the "synodal process", let us not forget the words of our Savior to the religious leaders of His time: "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:24)

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Modern Catholic Recovery Conference

By Janet Smith - If Catholics want to hold a conference for Catholics who have been wounded by the modern Church, they will likely need a huge venue.

crisismagazine.com

Wolseley said:

Design a church by workshop, and all you get is another well-meaning, but essentially irrelevant social agency that tries to be all things to all people, regardless of stance or moral standard. The Faith is stripped of its exceptional nature; there is nothing for people to strive for, because there's no goal that needs to be met. The USCCB has been busy planting both feet firmly in this world, and airily dismissing the spiritual requirements necessary for eternal salvation.

"A flavorless and textureless work of committee-craft" is exactly right. I am reminded of the old saying that a camel is a horse designed by a committee, and that's essentially what we have here. And speaking of camels, as for the truths of the Faith as juxtaposed against the bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo of the "synodal process", let us not forget the words of our Savior to the religious leaders of His time: "You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel!" (Matthew 23:24)

Click to expand...