JOHN ZMIRAK ON THE SYNOD: "THE DAMAGE IS DONE"

Amid the flurry of reactions to the Vatican's recent Synod on the Family, one article stands out. In an opinion piece at the Daily Caller, John Zmirak gives a grave, honest account of the Synod's concluding statement, and of what we can expect from the Ordinary Synod that is scheduled to bring the chaos to a conclusion in 2015.

Zmirak first points out the obvious tension between traditional Catholic morality on the one hand, and the overarching message of the recent Synod's statement on the other:

Rather than speaking prophetically in defense of the uniqueness and holiness of marriage, the task of Christians today includes “recognizing positive elements” in “imperfect” unions such as cohabitating couples, divorced couples living in what Jesus called “adultery,” and even homosexual relationships.

As for those, the Church must find a way of “accepting and valuing their sexual orientation,” a condition which the Catholic Catechism still (for the moment) calls “an objective disorder” for very important reasons: It “orders” people to activities which the Church has always reasoned are unnatural and sinful. By the laws of logic, the Church cannot welcome and value such an “orientation” without accepting what it orients people to crave: erotic relationships that are incompatible with marriage.

He goes on to point out what is at stake in next year's synod if it "ends up approving the radical proposals that are before it" - the very legitimacy of the Roman Catholic Church's claim to authority:

Marriage is, by Christ’s command, indissoluble. That was taught infallibly by the Council of Trent. If the pope denies that doctrine, if he re-shapes one of the seven sacraments so radically, he will be proving something that the Orthodox have been saying since 1870: That he is not infallible on matters of faith and morals.

...He would be demonstrating that ... Councils such as the Lateran, Trent, and Vaticans I and II, would be merely local Western synods, exactly as the Orthodox have been insisting since 1054. In other words, the pope would be proving that Roman Catholic assertions of papal authority are grossly exaggerated, and that the Eastern Orthodox have the better claim as the heirs of the twelve apostles.

What really struck me in Zmirak's piece was his somber observation that, when it comes to the cultural impact of the Synod, "the damage is already done." I was disturbed when the "discussion document" that the Synod produced midway through its meetings was hailed by the American LGBTQ Taskforce as a "step in the right direction in tone," though it failed to promise "fundamental change" in Church doctrine, presumably the ultimate LGBTQ goal.

Of the millions of Catholics in the world today, only a small, solid percentage have remained faithful and continued to conduct themselves according to the Church's traditions. That the Vatican seems to be in dialogue with those who wish to fundamentally change Church doctrine shows a deliberate and, from my perspective, harsh decision to abandon the embattled faithful in favor of those who have learned to avoid trouble by conforming with the progressive social tide. In other words, faithful Catholics will more or less have to shepherd themselves.

In reaction to the Synod, I have taken a big step back from the institutional Catholic Church. While I'm grateful for the Church's sacraments, I have reason to be unsure how much I can obey its current leaders. I doubt I'm alone.

Read John Zmirak's full article HERE.