CV NEWS FEED // In wake of the 11th anniversary of Pope Francis’ election, a coalition of reformist groups issued a statement, praising the Holy Father for promoting change through the synodal process.
Spirit Unbound, a coalition of self-proclaimed “Catholics reform groups,” that includes “Women Priests” and “Catholics for Choice,” recently described Pope Francis’ synodal efforts as a process which “has enlivened the People of God,” in a press release following the Holy Father’s 11th anniversary as pontiff.
“More people have been paying attention to the Synodal process than to anything since Vatican II,” the group stated. “The more we listen to one another the more voices the Spirit within us can resonate with.”
While the coalition acknowledged that Pope Francis “has not yet changed any significant church rules,” such as women’s ordination, they praised his inclusion of women voting members at the October 2023 Synod.
The release continued:
For a church to be Synodal, by definition, the bishops will need to accept a new model of authentic co-responsibility with the laity. A centering on a deposit of faith guarded by the hierarchy shuts out the living Spirit. The upside-down pyramid is an apt metaphor for the return to the Spirit that Synodal listening brings.
Since many in the hierarchy are openly attacking Pope Francis, the challenge for the reform community is to be sure that the snowball gathers as wide a swath of others as it rolls; the bigger the snowball the more likely all are listening to the Spirit as an ecclesia, and not simply listening to ourselves as a “parliamentary” body.
As CatholicVote previously reported in October, Spirit Unbound participated in an alternate lay-led “synodal assembly,” in October, dedicated in large part to advocating change in the Church’s stance towards female ordination and traditional gender roles.
