- Oct 31, 2008
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ROME - One test of a given thinker or leader’s impact is the ability to shape language. Karl Mark, for instance, gave us “the bourgeoisie” as an all-encompassing bogeyman of modern capitalism; Ronald Reagan gave us the “evil empire” as a slogan of opposition to the Soviet state Marx’s thought helped to create.
By that standard, Pope Francis has had quite a run over the past seven years, tweaking and adding to Catholic vocabulary at several key points. Perhaps nowhere is that clearer than in the pope’s ability to shift the debate over how authority is exercised in Catholicism from a contest over “collegiality,” the preferred term in the 50 years following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), to one about “synodality,” which is his preferred argot.
By that standard, Pope Francis has had quite a run over the past seven years, tweaking and adding to Catholic vocabulary at several key points. Perhaps nowhere is that clearer than in the pope’s ability to shift the debate over how authority is exercised in Catholicism from a contest over “collegiality,” the preferred term in the 50 years following the Second Vatican Council (1962-65), to one about “synodality,” which is his preferred argot.
Pope to US bishops: No, 'synodality' doesn't mean 'democracy'
