Posted on 05/24/2026 4:14:06 PM PDT by ebb tide
he recently published report from Study Group 9 of the Synod on Synodality should alarm any faithful Catholic who still believes that the Catholic Church has something clear, definite, and salvific to say regarding human sexuality.
Notably, the report, titled “Theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment of emerging doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues”, appears to advocate a reinterpretation of homosexuality, presenting unqualified testimonial claims that “sin, at its root, does not consist in the (same-sex) couple relationship” but in “a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfilment”. Hinging on the “lived experience” of two individuals with same-sex attraction, the document portrays these testimonies as “experiences of goodness”, while singling out one of the testimonies alleging that “sin, at its root, does not consist in the (same-sex) couple relationship”, thus going against the Church’s perennial teaching on human sexuality, sin, marriage, and the moral law.
Doctrine does not need to be formally repudiated in order to be effectively eroded. It is sufficient to obscure it.Tweet this quote
For millenia since its establishment by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, the Catholic Church has spoken definitively and regularly about sin, virtue, and the moral law. Acts were either ordered toward God or disordered in defiance of Him. The moral life was not a matter of self-expression or self-actualization but of obedient conformity to divinely revealed truth. Strikingly, the Catholic Church has especially condemned homosexual acts as intrinsically disordered ones that, if done willingly despite the consequences, would be mortal sins robbing a soul of sanctifying grace.
However, the recent synodal report rarely broached the subject of “sin” and “eternal damnation”. Rather, the report talked about “relationships,” “experiences,” and “journeys.” For instance, Page 9 of the report had this to say:
“The Church’s mission is not a matter of abstractly proclaiming and deductively applying principles that are set out in an immutable and rigid manner, but of fostering a living encounter with the person of the risen Lord Jesus, by engaging with the lived experience of faith of the People of God in its personal and social relevance, in relation to the diverse situations of life and the many cultural contexts. Only the fruitful tension between what has been established in the Church’s doctrine and Her pastoral practice and the practices of life in which what has been established is verified, in the exercise of personal and communal life in the light of the Gospel, expresses the generative dynamism of Tradition: against the temptation of the sterile and regressive ossification of principles and statements, of norms and rules, regardless of the experience of individuals and communities.”
Nonetheless, once “sin” becomes a mere “relationship,” moral clarity disintegrates as the spotlight is no longer on whether an act is intrinsically right or wrong, but on how individuals performing that act feel.
Once sin becomes a mere ‘relationship,’ moral clarity disintegrates.Tweet this quote
Rather than being a development of doctrine or the “generative dynamism of Tradition” as the report alleged; such a notion (“sin” equating to “relationship”) is a subversion of Catholic doctrine.
Besides, the idea of “listening,” so intensely highlighted in the synodal process, has been weaponized by those involved. What the recent synodal document suggests is something insidious, for “listening” has become a means not for comprehending and conforming to the truth revealed by Jesus Christ, but for reshaping and tweaking it.
Additionally, the synodal report maintained that the Church must “listen” to the “lived experiences” of those in same-sex relationships.
However, the question faithful Catholics must ask is, “listen” to what end? Upon closer scrutiny, it becomes evident that the aforesaid report implies that such “lived experiences” contain a type of authority to contest and even amend perennial Catholic teaching on morality, thus treating Catholic doctrine as a malleable and negotiable human construct as opposed to an immutable and divinely revealed truth to be adhered to.
Hence, the report is so disturbing to Catholic sensibilities as its language steers clear away from definitive and unclear moral negations—something that is vital to separate Catholic orthodoxy from erroneous ideas.
Listening’ has become not a means of conforming to truth, but of reshaping it.Tweet this quote
This is because, throughout her existence, the Church has not only defined doctrine, but also forbidden (through the use of anathemas) what is adverse to the salvation of souls.
For instance, in the Old Testament, the Ten Commandments are structured mainly in the negative: thou shalt not. In the New Testament, Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself mentioned the narrow path to salvation, the reality of Heaven/hell, and the necessity of repentance for salvation.
If the modern-day “Church of accompaniment” tries to “accompany” individuals while remaining silent and not exhort them to stop their sinful ways (such as ceasing their participating in homosexual relationships), she would indirectly seem to favor the actions of these individuals. By doing so, silence would effectively mean “consent” to such sins.
Some champions of the modern-day Synod may contend that faithful Catholics may make a mountain out of a molehill by expressing their concerns regarding the language of synodal documents like the aforementioned one. After all, no formal doctrine is getting altered, these synodal defenders may claim.
A Church that accompanies sinners without calling them to repentance risks transforming silence into consent.Tweet this quote
Yet the reality is that doctrine does not need to be formally repudiated in order to be effectively eroded. It is sufficient to obscure doctrine, to downplay it, to substitute its elements with something more pleasant to modern ears. Moral relativism camouflaged as “pastoral sensitivity” would be a perfidious Trojan horse to undermine the bulwark of Catholic doctrine and eternal salvation. This dangerous pattern is not merely limited to one synodal report or one disputed topic but mirrors a wider crisis of authority within the Church, particularly, a hesitancy among many in leadership to instruct all with the courage, clarity, and firmness that the Gospel of Jesus Christ requires.
As such, the fundamental issue at stake is not solely about how the Catholic Church as the Ark of salvation speaks about homosexuality and homosexual relationships. The matter at hand is whether the human elements of the Catholic Church still want to instruct Catholics and the rest of the world as the guardian of the Deposit of Faith, or be increasingly bogged down by the fads and vices of the very world that the Church has been tasked by God Himself to convert.
Eventually, the question facing current day Vatican authorities is whether they still genuinely believe what Holy Mother Church has always taught: that souls are in need of repentance, that grace is indispensable for salvation, and that the moral law is not a liability but a means to true human liberty directed towards God.
The real question is whether the Church still believes souls need repentance, grace, and salvation at all.Tweet this quote
If the Vatican authorities and synodal participants lose sight of these rudimentary Catholic truths, no amount of “listening” and no synodal process (regardless of how well-meaning it may be) will enable the Church to fulfil her divinely ordained mission on earth – that is- ultimately, the salvation of souls.
As the great English writer and journalist Gilbert Keith Chesterton once said:
“I don’t need a church to tell me I’m wrong where I already know I’m wrong; I need a Church to tell me I’m wrong where I think I’m right.”
Maria, Mater Ecclesiae, Regina Cleri, ora pro nobis.
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“A troubling new Synodal study document appears to recast sin, homosexuality, and moral law through the lens of “lived experience,”. I would prefer not to live that experience.
This “synod” is a group of German led, mostly homosexual or agnostic bishops trying to create a schism within the Catholic Church.
The pursuit of synodality should strengthen the Catholic Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel and help all Catholics learn to collaborate to make the world a better place, Pope Leo XIV said.
BUMP
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