Italian Lecture: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Burke+%C2%ABLa+sinodalit%C3%A0+contraddice+la+vera+identit%C3%A0+della+Chiesa%C2%BB&sp=CAI%253D
Inexplicably, Blogger does not let me upload any of the Burke lecture sites. Clicking on the links above does get you there, for now.
Below is the full transcript of Cardinal Burke's lecture.
La Nuova Bussola Daily
International Conference “The Synodal Tower of Babel”
Teatro Ghione, Via delle Fornaci 37, Rome
October 3, 2023
Synodality Versus the True Identity of the Church as a Hierarchical Communion
I would first like to thank the organizers of this conference, in particular Riccardo Cascioli, as well as the entire team of La Nuova Bussola Quotidianafor giving us today the opportunity to deal with subjects which are of the greatest importance for each of us, because they touch on the most fundamental good of our Blessed Mother all, the Catholic Church, the mystical Body of Christ who alone is the Savior of the world. I would like to particularly thank Father Gerald Murray and Professor Stefano Fontana for the essential reflections they presented to us today. They have just exposed, I would say unmasked, in a very convincing manner, the philosophical, canonical and theological errors, today widely spread, concerning the Synod of Bishops and its next session entitled "For a synodal Church: communion - participation - assignment ".
I would like to begin by recommending for your reading the book by Julio Loredo and José Antonio Ureta, The Synodal Process: A Pandora's Box. 100 questions and 100 answers , available in Italian and many other languages. The serene and profound study which underlies this book offers very valuable help in confronting the widespread confusion reigning around the session of the Synod of Bishops which will open tomorrow.
Professor Fontana declared: “The new synodality, considered according to its own categories of time, practice and procedure, is the final moment of a long journey which has encompassed all of modernity. » By drawing our attention to the philosophical sources of so-called synodality, he unmasks its worldliness. This is why our Lord Jesus Christ, who alone is our Savior, is neither the root nor the center of synodality. This is why the divine nature of the Church in its foundation and in its organic and lasting life is left aside and, to tell the truth, forgotten.
The Holy Spirit is very often invoked in the perspective of the synod. The whole synodal process is presented as a work of the Holy Spirit which will guide all the members of the synod, but there is not a single word about the obedience due to the inspirations of the Holy Spirit which is always consistent with the truth of the perennial doctrine and the goodness of the perennial discipline that He has inspired over the centuries. It is unfortunately quite clear that the invocation, by some, of the Holy Spirit is intended to advance an agenda that is more political and human than ecclesial and divine. The program of the Church is one, it is the pursuit of the common good of the Church, that is to say the salvation of souls, the salus animarum , which “in Ecclesia suprema semper lex esse debet”[“must always be the supreme law of the Church”].
The Synod on “synodality” follows some widespread perspectives in the Church today, which have also been exemplified by the recent reconstruction of the Roman Curia by means of the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium . This mainly emphasizes the missionary nature and the synodality of the Church as being the “characteristics” [marks], the “essential features” of ecclesial life, and seems to derive the structure of the Roman Curia from this point of view. departure. But, as we profess in the Creed and as the dogmatic Constitution of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council on the Church, Lumen Gentium, teaches, the Holy Mother Church is, in its characteristics, in its essential characters, "one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic.
The confusion that reigns in the fields of theology, morality and even elementary philosophy is fueled by a significant lack of clarity in the vocabulary used, and this is probably intended by some. We are witnessing a semantic shift in certain words or expressions, which makes the Church's teaching on certain points incomprehensible. I could cite the expression “mercy of God”, for example. But sometimes new words are thrown around or exaggerated without a clear definition, as is the case with the word synodality. In such a state of confusion about the essential characteristics of the Church, there is a risk of losing the identity of the Church, and our identity as members of the Mystical Body of Christ, as branches of the "true vine” which is Christ, whose Eternal Father “is the vinedresser”.
Since these concepts take a central place and are not clearly defined, the door is open to all those who want to interpret them in a way that breaks with the constant teaching of the Church on the subject. Indeed, the history of the Church teaches us that the resolution of the most serious crises, such as the Arian crisis, always begins with great precision in the vocabulary and concepts used.
Let us return to the essential characteristics of the Church that Praedicate Evangelium proposes to better understand the direction that the synod is taking: the missionary nature and synodality . These are two characteristics in a sense known, but their elevation to the rank of essential characteristics of the Church and, consequently, fundamental criteria for the restructuring of the Roman Curia – and now, through this synod, essential characteristics of the entire universal Church – leads to ambiguities and misunderstandings that need to be recognized and dispelled.
It is legitimate to say that the entire Church is missionary. All the faithful are called, according to their vocation and their personal gifts, to bear witness to Christ in the world. But to bear witness to Christ, the faithful need to encounter him living in the Church through Holy Tradition, which is doctrinal, liturgical and disciplinary. They need good shepherds – the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him, as well as the priests, the bishops' main collaborators – who guide them towards Christ and who safeguard life in Christ for them, in particular through teaching of sound doctrine and good morality and, in a more perfect and more complete way, through the holy liturgy, the worship of God “in spirit and in truth”. Indeed, it is the teaching of truth and divine worship “in spirit and in truth” that promotes the growth of life in Christ of each believer and of the entire Church. As Saint Paul teaches us, in the Church, “we must no longer be children tossed about and we must no longer be carried away by every wind of doctrine, by the malice of men, by the seductive artifices of the error”, but that, “practicing the truth in charity, we grow in all respects in him who is the head, Christ”.
According to the constant teaching of the Church, Christ established the Petrine Office so that all bishops, and therefore all the faithful, are united in the faith. The Second Vatican Council, in the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, declared that "so that the episcopate itself was one and undivided, it placed Saint Peter at the head of the other Apostles, establishing, in his person, a perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of faith and communion.” Here is how the Council defines the Petrine Office: “The Roman pontiff, as successor to Peter, is the perpetual and visible principle and the foundation of the unity which binds together either the bishops or the multitude of the faithful. »
The Roman Curia is the main instrument of the Roman Pontiff in his irreplaceable service to the universal Church. In the words of the Fathers of the Council: “In the exercise of his supreme, plenary and immediate power over the universal Church, the Roman Pontiff uses the dicasteries of the Roman Curia; it is therefore in his name and by his authority that they fulfill their task for the good of the Churches and the service of the sacred pastors. » The successor of Saint Peter, through the Roman Curia, helps the bishops to carry out their fundamental service, which the Council describes in these terms: “All bishops, in fact, must promote and serve the unity of the faith and the common discipline of the whole Church, to form the faithful in love towards the whole Mystical Body of Christ, especially towards its poor members, suffering, and towards those who suffer persecution for the sake of justice (cf. Mt 5:10), they must finally promote all the activity which is common to the whole Church, especially with a view to the progress of the faith and for may the light of the full truth dawn on all men. »
The missionary nature of the Church is the fruit of this unity of doctrine, liturgy and discipline; it is the fruit of the living Christ who is in the Church, in the members of his mystical Body of which He is the head. It is Christ alone who is proclaimed and preached to all nations so that many may be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This is the mission of the Church entrusted to it by the Lord:
“All power has been given to Me in Heaven and on earth. Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, even to the consummation of the ages.»
Christ's mission is prior to all missionary activity, to any characteristic of missionary nature. In reality, the missionary nature is only a manifestation of the living presence of Christ in the Church to make "disciples of all nations", the Christ who remains always alive in the Church "until the consummation centuries ".
Synodality, as an abstract term, is a neologism in doctrine relating to the Church. It is well known that the Second Vatican Council wanted to avoid the abstract terms of conciliarity and collegiality, which are not found in the conciliar texts. We must assume that the Council itself would have sought to avoid an abstract term like that of synodality, had it only known about it.
Canonical tradition knows the institution of the Synod as an instrument responsible for advising sacred pastors; the Church is not described as synodal, but on the contrary as hierarchical communion. It is the pastors within the communion safeguarded and strengthened by the Petrine Office, that is to say the hierarchy, who have responsibility for the doctrinal, liturgical and moral conduct of the Church. The synod is an aid offered to pastors so that they can carry out their service. It never replaces and cannot replace the pastoral office desired and instituted by Christ himself.
The Synod of Bishops is described as “the meeting of Bishops who, (…) gather at fixed times in order to promote the close union between the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops and to help the Roman Pontiff with his advice for the maintenance and the progress of faith and morals, to preserve and strengthen ecclesiastical discipline, and also to study questions concerning the action of the Church in the world. » Father Murray masterfully reminded us of the nature of the Synod of Bishops, according to canon 342 of the Code of Canon Law which I have just cited.
I will simply add that, in the same vein, the diocesan synod is described as "the meeting of delegates of priests and other faithful of the particular Church who provide their assistance to the diocesan Bishop for the good of the entire diocesan community. The synod, as a canonical institute, designates one solemn means among several others by which all the faithful, by their vocation and by means of their talents, help their sacred pastors to fulfill their responsibilities as true masters of the faith. Canon 212 of the Code of Canon Law, which has its original source in the Lord's teaching on fraternal correction, provides the norms that govern the relationships between sacred pastors and the faithful within the hierarchical communion of the Church. Among these modes,
I would now like to share with you some thoughts that I presented to the other venerable confreres of the College of Cardinals during the meeting of Cardinals a little over a year ago. They concern more directly the structure of the Roman Curia, but they are very closely related to our subject.
The missionary nature and synodality as qualities, and not as “attributes” or “essential characteristics” [marks] of ecclesial life, do not change the nature of the Petrine Office or the service rendered by the Roman Curia to the Successor of Peter as a “perpetual and visible foundation of unity of faith and communion”. In fact, they presuppose the Petrine Office assisted by the Roman Curia. In light of the above, here are some observations.
First of all. The Apostolic Constitution insists that the Roman Curia “is at the service of the Pope, Successor of Peter, and of the bishops, successors of the apostles”. But the service of the Roman Curia relates to the successor of Saint Peter. By serving the Roman Pontiff, the Roman Curia also serves the bishops in their relationship with the Pope. It is unrealistic to demand that the Roman Curia serve all bishops. In reality, they have their own curies to help them fulfill their responsibilities as true pastors. In this, the distinct service of the successor of Saint Peter must remain clearly perceptible.
At the same time, defining the Roman Curia as serving individual bishops would risk leading to a worldly view of the Church in which particular Churches are branches or subsidiaries of the Church of Rome, all served by the same Roman Curia. This would be a distortion of the relationship of the Successor of Peter with the bishops.
Secondly. Using the term dicastery , as a generic secular term, taken from Roman law, for the various offices of different nature within the Roman Curia, does not sufficiently express the aspect of hierarchical communion inherent in the treatment of doctrinal, liturgical issues. , educational, missionary, etc. and does not express the real difference, not of rank (all dicasteries are legally equal), but of subject matter and competence.
Thirdly. It seems right to return to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, in one form or another, at the latest during the next phase of implementation of the Apostolic Constitution, the first place among all the Congregations of the Roman Curia, by virtue of its mission which is "to assist the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, by promoting and safeguarding the integrity of the Catholic doctrine on the faith and the morals, drawing on the deposit of faith and seeking to deepen it ever more in the face of new questions. »
Fourth. It would be important to put at the forefront of the qualities required of Officers and Consultors, sound doctrine and consistency with regard to sound ecclesiastical discipline.
It does not seem necessary to me to go into detail to understand that the synod which will open tomorrow is nothing other than the direct extension of what has already been set out in the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium. It is therefore strange to say the least to say that we do not know in which direction the synod will go, when it is so obvious that what is sought is to profoundly modify the hierarchical constitution of the Church. A similar process was employed in the Church of Germany to achieve the same, and so nefarious, goal.
We often hear that this insistence on the synodality of the Church is nothing other than the reappropriation of an ecclesial characteristic that the Eastern Church has always preserved. I have regular contact with Eastern bishops and priests, both Catholic and Orthodox, who have all told me that the way the current synod is organized has nothing to do with Eastern synods. This applies not only with regard to the place of lay people in these assemblies, but also, more generally, with regard to their mode of operation and even the questions they address. There is confusion around the term synodality, which we artificially try to link to an Eastern practice, when in reality it has all the characteristics of a recent invention, particularly concerning the laity.
Such a change in the Church's understanding of itself further results in the weakening of moral teaching as well as discipline in the Church. I will not dwell on these points, the dramatic nature of which is known to everyone: moral theology has lost all its bearings. It is urgent to consider the moral act in its entirety, and not only in its subjective aspect. The upcoming anniversary of the publication of Veritatis Splendor can help us in this. I welcome and encourage the initiatives that I have learned about on this subject. The commandments of the Decalogue are and will remain valid as they always have been, throughout time, simply because they are inherent in human nature.
Taking into account everything that I have observed and that we are delving into in our meeting today, I presented during the summer, with four other cardinals, Their Eminences Card. Walter Brandmüller, Card. Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, Card. Robert Sarah and Card. Joseph Zen, all from different continents, from the dubia to the Sovereign Pontiff in order to clarify a certain number of fundamental points relating to the deposit of faith which are today called into question, particularly in the context of what we call synodality. Many brothers in the episcopate and in the College of Cardinals support this initiative, even if they do not appear in the official list of signatories.
Il Giornale today published an article by Vatican journalist Fabio Marchese Ragona on the dubia submitted to Pope Francis. At the end of the article, he cites comments on dubia from “two synod fathers” he interviewed. I quote their comment:
We are sorry, the times of the Church are not those of these brothers! They cannot dictate the agenda to the Pope, let alone inflicting injury and undermining the unity of the Church. But we are now used to it: they only want to hit Francis.
These comments reveal the state of confusion, error and division that permeates the session of the Synod of Bishops which begins tomorrow. The five dubias deal exclusively with the enduring doctrine and discipline of the Church, and not with a program of the pope. They do not deal with past “times”. The language used is very indicative of a worldly view. The dubia do not deal with the person of the Holy Father either. On the contrary, they are by their very nature the expression of a just veneration of the Petrine Office and of the successor of Saint Peter.
These comments appear to reflect a fundamental error recently expressed by the new Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith in an interview he gave to Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register . During this interview, he declared that beyond the deposit of faith, the Roman pontiff enjoys a “living and active gift” which translates into what he calls “the doctrine of the Holy Father” . He even accuses of heresy and schism those who criticize this “doctrine of the Holy Father”.
But the Church has never taught that the Roman Pontiff had the special gift of constituting his own doctrine. The Holy Father is the first master of the deposit of faith, which is in itself always alive and dynamic. This is what the dogmatic Constitution of Divina Revelatione Dei verbum of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council teaches:
Holy Tradition and Holy Scripture constitute a unique sacred deposit of the Word of God, entrusted to the Church; by clinging to him, the entire holy people united with their pastors remain assiduously faithful to the teaching of the Apostles and to fraternal communion, to the breaking of bread and to prayers (cf. Acts 2:42 Greek), if although, for the maintenance, practice and profession of the transmitted faith, a remarkable agreement is established between pastors and faithful.
It is essential to reflect on the seriousness of the situation of the Church when the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith accuses of heresy and schism those who ask the Holy Father to exercise the Petrine Office to safeguard and promote the Depositum Fidei.
We are told that the Church which we profess, in communion with our ancestors in the faith since the time of the Apostles, to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic, must now be defined by synodality, a term which does not has no history in Church doctrine and of which there is no reasonable definition. It is clearly an artificial construction, which resembles a human construction more than the Church built on the rock that is Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10, 4). The Instrumentum Laborisof the next session of the Synod of Bishops undoubtedly contains statements which deviate in a striking and serious manner from the perennial teaching of the Church. First, we must publicly reaffirm our faith. In this, bishops have the duty to confirm their brothers. Today's bishops and cardinals need a lot of courage to confront the serious errors that come from within the Church itself. The sheep are dependent on the courage of the shepherds who must protect them from the poison of confusion, error and division.
However, I would like to conclude by urging you to pray for help from Heaven against all the powers, human and preternatural, who dream of the destruction of the Church. No prevail ! We know that good is always held in esteem in God's eyes and will be justly rewarded, just as evil will be punished. Many young people are aware of this and seek to live, with the support of the sacraments, an authentic life of Faith, Hope and Charity; to live ever more fully in Christ, with a heart that offers itself ever more, with the Immaculate Heart of Mary, to her Sacred Heart. This is where the true future of the Church clearly lies, the only one that will truly bear fruit (cf. Mt 7:15-17).
Today, good Christians must be prepared to suffer the white martyrdom of incomprehension, rejection and persecution, and sometimes the red martyrdom of bloodshed, in order to be faithful witnesses of Christ, his “cooperators in the truth.” Although the current confusion is particularly great, and even of historical importance, not to say unprecedented, we cannot believe that the situation is irreversible. As I just said, the gates of hell will not prevail against the Church. The Lord has promised to remain with us in the Church “until the consummation of the ages.” He does not lie. He is always faithful to his promises. We can always trust the Lord who lives for us in the Church. And it is certain that we must never abandon the Lord, but remain with him in the Church which is his mystical Body. We must always remain branches firmly united to the vine that is the Lord. However, it is clear that many souls take the path to perdition because of this confusion, which is why we must pray a lot and act to dissipate it as quickly as possible.
Let us invoke the Blessed Virgin Mary, in particular her Immaculate Heart, Saint Joseph, Protector of the Holy Church, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, so that each of us remains faithful to Christ and to His Church, One, Holy , Catholic and Apostolic, the Holy Roman Church; and that the Church itself, without stain or wrinkle, can free itself as quickly as possible from the current state of confusion and division to shorten these times when the risk of loss of souls is great. Salus animarum “in Ecclesia suprema semper lex esse debet”.
Thank you for your attention. May God always bless you and your homes, and may the Virgin Mother of God, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul and all the saints guide you and protect your path.
Raymond Leo Cardinal BURKE
