Theologian draws parallels between Synod and Council. Synodalist thinking exposed.

"Francis goes into the engine room of the Church"

The World Synod in Rome is not a council, but council researcher Christian Bauer sees parallels. He explains why he thinks Pope Francis' current approach is wise and what role academic theology plays in it.

DOMRADIO.DE: There is currently no Council here in Rome, but there is a Synod. How do you experience it, Professor Bauer?

Christian Bauer (Professor of Pastoral Theology at the University of Münster, researches council theology): This is a really exciting, universal church adventure for a pastoral theologian. You can't stop perceiving on the different levels, in the different places.

What is happening here as a synod, in the auditorium, outside the auditorium, is comparable to the council. Important things also happen outside the auditorium: contacts, conversations. This is incredibly fascinating to perceive. It will probably take me two weeks to be able to process the impressions somehow.

DOMRADIO.DE: What impressions have already been made?

Bauer: One impression is that something is moving. This can be felt everywhere, it can be felt in all conversations in different contexts. There is skepticism about what will come out of the synod. But there are definitely reasons for hope. The question is: How do you manage to take a step forward as a global church and not allow yourself to be blocked by the few but very loud brakes?

DOMRADIO.DE: The German Church has prepared well with its Synodal Path. How do you experience the German church here?

Christian Bauer

“These power structures are slowly beginning to break down.”

Bauer: That is also very exciting, because the following applies: the closer you look, the more complex reality becomes. It is no longer the case that the Germans are the bogeymen of the universal church. This narrative no longer works. At least since the synthesis of the continental phase of the synod's preparatory period it became clear: the topics that are discussed in Germany on the synodal path are the topics of the universal church.

What I tend to experience is that people ask questions about the “how” of the Synodal Way, i.e. whether one could perhaps improve the way in which one comes into contact with minorities. For example, I also find the setting here really exciting: these round tables that are in the synod hall. Perhaps that would have been a way to come into contact with one another in a different way on the synodal path.

DOMRADIO.DE: As journalists, we were told that a good 1/3 of the participants in the synod have already taken the floor. How important is it for everyone to talk to each other?

Bauer: What will be incredibly important is that all voices are heard. Because that has not been the case at all in the world church in the last few decades. We simply have power structures in this global church that have become entrenched. And these power structures are slowly beginning to break down.

DOMRADIO.DE: How important is it that theology continually provides the necessary breeding ground, the basis for this discussion?

Christian Bauer

"The role of academic theology was much stronger at the Council."

Bauer: Theology is such a thing, even here in the synod hall theology sits on the sidelines, more like at the cat's table. And that was definitely different at the council. The Council was almost, if one puts it flippantly, a major training event for the world episcopate in order to get up to speed on the theological topics of the time. Each bishop had his Peritus (council theologian, editor's note) with him. And here it is that the Latin American bishops, for example, have taken theologians with them in order to bring their expertise into the process. As far as I know, the German bishops have renounced this.

The role of academic theology was much stronger at the Council. You can complain about that. But you can also say: Okay, let's do something with the situation. I think theology is also well advised to switch to perception mode and first notice what is happening here in the world church. It is no longer the same as it used to be, Cardinal Fernandez also pointed this out in his interview a few weeks ago: We have exported great export hits to world theology for decades. So everyone around the world knows names like Karl Rahner. Those days are over. You can now complain and say “Bad world”.

Or you can say: Okay, we accept the challenge and simply become multilingual. We also have to publish in English. We have to learn other languages and also have to become culturally multilingual. And synodal places of the universal church are an enormously exciting field of learning.

DOMRADIO.DE: What would you like the synod to learn?

Bauer: The synod must learn not only to differentiate with one another, but also to make decisions together. It is a small, cautious beginning that laypeople and women are now allowed to vote. But the synod certainly does not represent the entire breadth of God's people, i.e. from the small parish councilor in XY to the Curia cardinal.

That is still very disproportionate and that has been different in the history of the church. It is also partly different locally. When it comes to co-decision, we still have to learn to think more from the perspective of a people-God ecclesiology.

Christian Bauer

“There are some inevitable disappointments.”

DOMRADIO.DE: Now you know the expectations in Germany, especially for the World Synod in Rome, and you are experiencing Rome. Is that going well?

Bauer: There are some inevitable disappointments. However, when I drove here I had no illusions that much would be decided in this phase of the synod. What we're talking about here is the "how" of the decision, and I also think it's very wise of Pope Francis not to use all his might to decide on new issues that I would definitely like to see, no question about it.

But I think he goes more into the engine room of the church. It doesn't change the specific decisions so much as the way in which decisions come about. Therefore a Synod about synodality. I think a lot is changing in the decision-making processes. But we have to get there too.

DOMRADIO.DE: There are no final decisions planned yet anyway. The synod will not end until next fall. Do you think that there will still be enough time until then to be able to implement the processes that you expressed as hopes?

Bauer: That will be the task of the next year, to really continue to work on this in the global church, and also a task for academic theology to provide support. We have now had a first world meeting of "lay ministers", as we called it in English. That's what community and pastoral speakers are in Germany; they exist in various forms all over the world. We networked them, brought them together and also raised our voices together with them for the synod.

I think there needs to be a lot of processes like this. There are women who meet here in Rome. There is a lot of theological preparation, preparatory work, and this simply has to continue intensively next year. My hope is that something can be broken.

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