On May 28, 2024, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published its “National Synthesis of the People of God in the United States of America for the Interim Stage of the 2021-2024 Synod.” Relatively few people will take time to read the insignificant document, and those who do will likely find it to be generally incoherent. Whether it is a deliberate attempt to further undermine the Church, or simply a fruit of decades of rampant sin and poor theological training, the USCCB’s new Synodal document provides yet another demonstration of the fact that many U.S. bishops no longer understand the Catholic Faith well enough to defend it.
The U.S. bishops have found so much tension and turmoil as they construct their Synodal Safe Harbor because such work is entirely opposed to the program set forth by St. Pius: that of restoring all things in Christ. Ultimately, these tensions arise from the tragic reality that Catholics know the shepherds should be defending the Catholic Faith but instead see them compromising with anti-Catholic, woke ideologies.
If there is a general theme of the new Synodal document, it would arguably be that of “tension,” which the document mentions seventeen times:
- “Along the synodal path the Spirit opens up spaces where we can speak about longstanding tensions while at the same time deepening the bonds of our baptismal communion.”
- “This moment of maturation has exposed, or brought further into the light, underlying tensions.”
- “Participants in synodal listening sessions acknowledged that the synodal process has unearthed tensions within our communion, in which some ‘were challenged by the Church’s indecisiveness, by lack of reverence, and by the perception that the Church is changing the traditional methods and accepting current things against our church rules.’”
- “While this Fiery Communion can sound discordant, the ardent nature of our diverse communion in Christ is not outside of the tradition. These tensions call for a prophetic response, sustained by the Safe Harbor and embracing the Fiery Communion.”
- “As the People of God recognize this synodal moment, the Safe Harbor provided by and in the Church allows us prophetically to embrace the tensions of the Fiery Communion.”
- “Participants in synodal listening sessions also recognized that amidst these tensions there was also opportunity, especially around a greater focus on co-responsibility in the pursuit of the mission of the Church.”
- “Many participants voiced tensions around the active participation of women in the work of proclaiming the Good News of Christ.”
- “While the tensions within the Fiery Communion can sometimes be palpable and challenging, participants expressed an earnest and urgent desire to address those concerns that most keenly impacted our communion as the People of God. Too frequently, these tensions expressed themselves as ‘confusion’ among the participants.”
- “This tension arose in more than one area of Church teaching and tradition.”
- “A third area of disagreement that arose in many of the listening sessions was the tension between a welcoming spirit and the need to articulate Church teaching.”
- “A related area of tension that came up frequently in the listening sessions revolved around how many parts of the Church – some of her long-established institutions – have become complacent, even ossified.”
- “This call to move beyond the tensions is a call to form ourselves deeply in the work of encounter and reflection to which the synodal process is inviting us.”
- “This is the formation necessary to respond to these tensions within our Fiery Communion and deepen the synodal nature of our Safe Harbor.”
- “Mindful of Pope Francis’ notion of a culture of encounter, tensions remain that will require continued reflection and dialogue. These tensions need not disrupt the communion of charity in the Church.”
- “This stage has been marked by curiosity, creativity, signs of maturation, and an uncovering of tensions that reveal a desire to enter more deeply into the sources of our hope and trust.”
What causes all these tensions? Ultimately, these tensions arise from the tragic reality that Catholics know the shepherds should be defending the Catholic Faith but instead see them compromising with anti-Catholic, woke ideologies. The shepherds appointed to guide the flocks have stepped aside to let the wolves have free rein.
It is not merely coincidental that those who strive to follow St. Pius X’s program of restoring all things in Christ — the Traditional Catholics — have been effectively excluded from the godless Synodal Safe Harbor upon which the U.S. bishops lavish praise.
Indeed, the astonishing accomplishments of the wolves are highlighted by the way in which the new Synodal document describes the Church “at its best”:
“The Church, at its best, can be seen as a Safe Harbor, where the faithful are embraced, sustained, and loved: ‘People come when they are broken. It is so nice to see people reaching out to help each other. At my parish, I feel I have a family there.’ Similar to the refuge provided to the injured man by the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), participants understood the Church as a Safe Harbor that provides a place to heal while on the journey of missionary discipleship. ‘The Church is at its best when it’s warm, welcoming, and focuses on community building and doing more for other people.’”
So this warm, welcoming Safe Harbor that “focuses on community building” is really the best the Church can be? There is no sense in this that Church should honor God and lead souls to Heaven, nor any hint that the Church should safeguard and dispense God’s truth and grace throughout the world. No — according to the USCCB, the best that the Church can be is a Safe Harbor for everyone.
But is everyone really welcome? What about Traditional Catholics who want to adhere to what the Catholic Church taught prior to Vatican II? In fairness to the USCCB, the new Synodal document does identify the tension related to Traditional Catholicism:
“One area that participants concretely experienced stress was in situations relating to the liturgy. ‘What emerged in several reports is that in addition to the discussion about liturgical preferences, the celebration of the Latin Mass seems to be a focal point of broader debates about tradition, modernity, and the best ways to nurture faith across the diverse spectrum of Catholic belief and practice.’”
Do the bishops understand that shutting down churches offering the Traditional Latin Mass contributes to that stress? Do they have any inkling that condemning Traditional Catholics as “backward” and “rigid” — while simultaneously cherishing viewpoints completely hostile to Catholicism — could make Traditional Catholics feel unwelcome in the new Synodal Safe Harbor?
Although most of the quotations in the USCCB document from the Synodal “listening sessions” are from those seeking to radically change the Church into something it can never be, the bishops did include two viewpoints that accurately condemn their entire dereliction of duty:
- “Participants in synodal listening sessions acknowledged that the synodal process has unearthed tensions within our communion, in which some ‘were challenged by the Church’s indecisiveness, by lack of reverence, and by the perception that the Church is changing the traditional methods and accepting current things against our church rules.’”
- “It was expressed by many participants that ‘leadership in the Church needs to be clear about our truth; confusion is leading to frustration and division among the faithful.’”
The bishops have a fundamental duty to safeguard and teach the immutable Catholic Faith, but they have been deluded into thinking that their role is to provide a warm Safe Harbor for those who detest the immutable Catholic Faith. As a result, the Safe Harbor offers nothing but hostility to those who actually seek to adhere to what the Church has always taught. This serves the globalists and Satan, but is a profound offense against God and harm to souls.
Francis’s Synod on Synodality is the apotheosis of the mass apostasy that has plagued the Church since Vatican II; and God has allowed it to become so preposterous and vile that we know we must go in the opposite direction, which is where we will find St. Pius X’s program to restore all things in Christ.
If there are any bishops among those responsible for the new Synodal document who still want to be Catholic, they should heed the words from St. Pius X’s first encyclical, on “the restoration of all things in Christ,” E Supremi Apostolatus:
“The desire for peace is certainly harbored in every breast, and there is no one who does not ardently invoke it. But to want peace without God is an absurdity, seeing that where God is absent thence too justice flies, and when justice is taken away it is vain to cherish the hope of peace. ‘Peace is the work of justice’ (Is. xxii., 17). There are many, We are well aware, who, in their yearning for peace, that is for the tranquillity of order, band themselves into societies and parties, which they style parties of order. Hope and labor lost. For there is but one party of order capable of restoring peace in the midst of all this turmoil, and that is the party of God. It is this party, therefore, that we must advance, and to it attract as many as possible, if we are really urged by the love of peace. But, Venerable Brethren, we shall never, however much we exert ourselves, succeed in calling men back to the majesty and empire of God, except by means of Jesus Christ. ‘No one,’ the Apostle admonishes us, ‘can lay other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.’ (I. Cor.,iii., II.) It is Christ alone ‘whom the Father sanctified and sent into this world’ (Is. x., 36), ‘the splendor of the Father and the image of His substance’ (Hebr.i., 3), true God and true man: without whom nobody can know God with the knowledge for salvation, ‘neither doth anyone know the Father but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him.’ (Matth. xi., 27.)” (October 4, 1903)
The U.S. bishops have found so much tension and turmoil as they construct their Synodal Safe Harbor because such work is entirely opposed to the program set forth by St. Pius: that of restoring all things in Christ. It is not merely coincidental that those who strive to follow St. Pius X’s program of restoring all things in Christ — the Traditional Catholics — have been effectively excluded from this godless Synodal Safe Harbor upon which the U.S. bishops lavish praise.
None of this is meant as a lament about the plight of Traditional Catholics: Traditional Catholics have been blessed beyond measure to find the unadulterated Catholic Faith that has been under open attack since Vatican II. And, as Michael Matt’s recent Remnant Underground illustrated so well, there are many signs that as the godless revolution (epitomized by Francis’s Synod on Synodality and the Great Reset) is exposed as a wicked fraud, many souls of good will are discovering the immutable truth and boundless grace of the true Catholic Faith and the Traditional Latin Mass. Deo Gratias!
So although efforts like the USCCB’s new Synodal document are distressing because they constitute a blasphemous offense against God and the Mystical Body of Christ, they actually make it more clear that those Catholics persecuted by today’s false prophets are generally on the right path. Francis’s Synod on Synodality is the apotheosis of the mass apostasy that has plagued the Church since Vatican II; and God has allowed it to become so preposterous and vile that we know we must go in the opposite direction, which is where we will find St. Pius X’s program to restore all things in Christ. Our faithless shepherds may have abandoned us, but God has not. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!