Who won? Who lost? 5 points on the contentious Vatican summit

VATICAN CITY (RNS) — The most significant and contested gathering of Roman Catholic bishops in the past 50 years formally ended Sunday after three weeks of debate and dispute, but the arguments over who “won” and who “lost” are only beginning.

The synod of 270 cardinals and bishops from around the world was the second in a year called by Pope Francis to address whether Catholicism could adapt its teachings to modern family life. Traditionalists had taken a hard line against any openings, especially after last October’s meeting seemed to point toward possible changes.

While the delegates made hundreds of suggestions on a host of issues, two took center stage: Could the church be more welcoming to gays, and was there a way divorced and remarried Catholics could receive communion without an annulment?

The synod was never going to provide definitive answers; it is only an advisory body to the pope.

The lack of almost any opening to gays and lesbians was certainly a setback for progressives who had been cheered last fall that so many top churchmen had used unprecedented language in speaking in positive terms about gays and same-sex couples.

But the broader reality is that conservatives, as many of them acknowledged, did not get what they wanted or needed at this synod, and their prospects going forward look even dimmer.

Here’s why:

1. Divorced and remarried Catholics made some gains.

The final report from the synod contained key phrases about individual Catholics in “irregular” situations — such as being remarried without an annulment — using the “internal forum” of their conscience, in consultation with a pastor, to consider their status in the church.

For decades the Vatican had effectively barred priests and penitents from using the “internal forum” in the remarriage context for fear it would be abused.

Also, the final document doesn’t mention communion explicitly, but it was clear the language refers to the sacraments and, most important, it gives Francis an opening to take further action, which church officials expect him to do.

Currently, Catholics who are divorced and remarried without an annulment are viewed as being in an adulterous relationship and thus cannot receive communion or serve in many church roles. The synod included language about Catholics consulting with their pastors so they can be more fully integrated into church life.

2.  Silence on gays is preferable to harsh words.

The absence of any breakthrough language on gays was a tactical retreat by progressives who saw they did not have the support in the synod to get close to a two-thirds threshold.

Even getting close to half would have been hard, if not impossible, and would have revealed the deep divisions in the synod on the issue and left the pontiff with an unpalatable option of choosing one side or the other.

“It was better to leave the question open for further study and reflection than blocking it with bad paragraph or bad text,” Belgian Bishop Johan Bonny, a point man for reformers, told reporters. “That is a point for next time.”

Bonny and others in that group said sentiment against homosexuals was so strong that “there was no way of discussing it in a peaceful way.”

Time may be on the side of those seeking a church that is more welcoming to gays, even if it will never endorse gay marriage.

Conservatives, on the other hand, painted themselves into a corner at the synod by arguing that the only satisfactory outcome was for the synod to reiterate current church teachings and practices and bar any future flexibility. That didn’t happen, and they are left trying to explain.

3. The synod showed that the church can, and has, changed.

Francis hammered home the need to change in his forceful closing address to the synod Saturday, in which he declared that “the true defenders of doctrine are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit,” and he called on the church to adapt to different cultures and conditions.

“A faith that does not know how to root itself in the life of people remains arid and, rather than oases, creates other deserts,” as he said Sunday at St. Peter’s Basilica.

Change is never easy for the Catholic hierarchy.

“We are discombobulated. Some defend the past, others dream of a different future,” said Cardinal Francesco Montenegro of Sicily, a strong supporter of the pope, about some of his brother bishops. “The fact that there have been so many reactions is a sign that what he is proposing is something new and powerful.”

4. The synod is dead. Long live the synod.

This synod ended, but the dialogue isn't over.

Francis said the “church and synod are synonymous” and that the journey of discernment is ongoing. Church leaders were free to speak their mind, whereas in past years they would have been silenced. Once the flock hears their pastors disagreeing and speaking openly about, for example, the value of families led by gay couples or single parents, it’s hard to “unring” the bell.

“The real takeaway from this synod is that Pope Francis has changed the way the church goes about reflecting on her pastoral ministry. That’s no small thing,” Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl said Sunday. “You had all this open discussion about issues that the church is struggling with. You’re not going to be able to close that door in the future.”

5. It’s Francis’ turn now.

Francis is expected to take the suggestions and use them as a launch pad for further, more concrete changes.

Perhaps the biggest question is how many like-minded cardinals and bishops Francis can appoint before he dies or retires. He turns 79 in December and openly acknowledges that his may not be a long papacy.

Vatican expert and author John Thavis said last week that Francis has appointed just 9% of the world’s active bishops in his 31 months in office and 26% of the voting members of the College of Cardinals who would elect his successor.

At this pace, the pontiff would probably need six or seven more years to reach a tipping point majority of cardinals and bishops.

Francis likes to say that “time is greater than space.” The synod gave him space, but he may need much more time to do with it what he wants.