Synod was not rigged enough for one Bishop

Bishop: World Synod report gives the wrong impression

A member of the supervisory committee of the synod final paper expressed disappointment about the document to katholisch.de. It softens the discussions in the auditorium. That must change next year, says Bishop Shane Mackinlay.

Bishop Shane Mackinlay, a member of the oversight committee for the World Synod's synthesis paper, has expressed disappointment with the assembly's final document. “The report is very imperfect,” Mackinlay told katholisch.de in Rome. Although the report reflects what happened at the meeting, it “softens it in many ways,” criticized the Bishop of the Australian Diocese of Sandhurst. The synthesis report does not reflect the discussion in the auditorium nor does it bring it to life. The reason given by Mackinlay was that there was not enough time to prepare a summary. That has to change next year.

Mackinlay added that it was disappointing that the document gave the impression that queer people had hardly been talked about, "even though we actually talked about them a lot." During the discussion, some spoke out in favor of the Church's teaching, others shared their personal experiences and pastoral approaches. The report does not reflect this lively discussion. The paragraph on the ordination of women, on the other hand, accomplishes this balancing act, according to the bishop.

Mackinlay explained that they originally wanted to use the term “LGBT” in the final text. "But it then turned out that there were many concerns about the use of this term and it jeopardized the two-thirds majority in favor of the paragraph." So they decided not to mention it explicitly. Essen Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck made a similar statement on Thursday in the katholisch.de interview.

Criticism from LGBT+ committee

Shortly after the end of the synod, the American Jesuit and LGBT pastor James Martin criticized the final paper. The document does not correspond to the many table discussions and requests to speak in the plenary sessions of the synod. The Catholic LGBT+ Committee was also disappointed on Wednesday: the four-week deliberations on the future of the church did not bring any great progress for queer people, explained the working alliance in Recklinghausen. The committee explained that the final paper sets some course. However, a change in church sexual teaching should not be postponed until an indefinite point in time in the future.

Unlike previous documents from the World Synod, the synthesis document voted on Saturday does not explicitly address queer people. In the final document there are two passages that point to different views of the synods on questions of sexuality. The assembly notes that some topics, such as the question of gender identity and sexual orientation, are controversial not only in society but also in the church because they raise new questions.

Elsewhere it says: "In different ways, people who feel marginalized or excluded from the Church because of their marital situation, identity and sexuality also ask to be heard and accompanied and to have their dignity defended." The Synod has a deep sense of love, mercy and compassion for people who are hurt or neglected by the Church or who feel neglected.

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