Bishop Eleganti: The ‘synodal’ Church is diluting the core message of Christianity

By LifeSiteNews (Faith) | Created at 2025-01-12 12:07:57 | Updated at 2025-01-12 18:34:28 6 hours ago
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Sun Jan 12, 2025 - 6:44 am EST

Editor’s note: The following essay from Swiss Bishop Marian Eleganti was originally published in German on the blog Stilum Curiae on January 10, 2025.

(Stilum Curiae) — I begin with a preliminary remark: synodality in the sense of consultation and mutual listening and taking each other seriously, in the sense of mutual recognition of one’s own, God-given position (ministry and charisma), is a matter of course for me. That’s not what I am talking about below, because it is undisputed.

What I’m talking about is this: The Church in our present day does not behave like a bride in love with Jesus Christ.

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By “Church” I do not mean individual believers to whom the accusation does not apply, but rather missing aspects in the official proclamation of the Church today at all levels.

The Church wants to be a church that is open to dialogue, inclusive, learning, and flexible and fluid in all its positions, not condemning anyone or anything, let alone one that knows better or knows the truth. “Fluidity” in all areas and positions is her hallmark. Therefore, all determinations in it should be in a constant process and fundamentally reversible. Nothing is forever. In her, “process” is another word for “Holy Spirit.” The correspondingly propagated “new openness” is called “synodality.”

Once again: It is striking that the synodal church speaks very little about Jesus Christ, but a lot about all kinds of things (other things): including its own forms of organization and communication, its spiritual tools and its structures, questions about its own power of definition in church operations. Here too, the magic word is “synodality,” in this context a synonym for a flattened hierarchy between lay people and ordained people. The emphasis is on the general priesthood of the baptized, as it was in the Reformation period for the same reasons.

This church speaks to everyone about what is to be welcomed and wants to include everyone unconditionally. It generally and indiscriminately views all people as children of God, regardless of religion or denomination. She shows herself to them unconditionally in promising salvation, no matter how they live or what they believe.

Specifically, however, according to the Gospel and apostolic tradition, no path to salvation leads past Jesus Christ. And we should proclaim that, not just trust it. In any case, Jesus Christ Himself knows the admission requirements for the kingdom of God, above all faith in Him, the Son of God.

The Church no longer speaks of a danger to eternal salvation in this sense, not even at funerals or in an interreligious context. For the past 2,000 years of Church history, however, this was the question of all questions and the main focus of the proclamation: “Salvation comes through Jesus Christ!”

One hopes indiscriminately and confidently that the deceased, or all people, enter into the peace of God, no matter how they lived, or what they believed or did not believe, loved or fought against, possibly even with violence. The explicit rejection of Jesus Christ does not appear to be a problem or one that is decided positively postmortem, even among people who adhere to other religions.

Only missionaries like St. Francis Xavier still wanted to save souls and baptize or thereby save as many people as possible.

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This church offers a lot. It is pastorally open. But it no longer speaks of Jesus Christ as the answer to everything, as “God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not created, of one being with the Father” (Creed). At this point there is a lot of rumbling in the mindset of the representatives of the Church of the present and future. You don’t hear such confession from their mouths (my humble perception). At best it is somehow still believed, but more likely not or with huge concessions or internalization of this scandal. For example in interreligious dialogue, you don’t hear anything about it. In return, you learn something that is easy to digest socially, psychologically, pastorally, and interreligiously.

It’s all about ‘being human’

For this type of Christian, Jesus Christ is one of several solutions, at best the preferred option, but not the only valid, irrefutable, exclusive, and indispensable one to reach God, the truth and in (this) truth, to oneself (Romano Guardini ) or, better said: To be saved!

I often doubt whether these baptized people and often those who are ministers in the Church are really deeply convinced of the deity of Jesus Christ and of His absoluteness or of His universal validity (here I do not mean charity and humanity, but hard truth claims). At least you don’t feel or read anything about it.

Actually, the Church should only speak to the world about Jesus Christ. In fact, she doesn’t have anything else better to offer. You read little about this in their most recent documents. Instead of presenting Him to every human heart as life itself; as a light that illuminates and brings light to everything in his life; as an ointment that soothes and heals every pain; as the truth that concerns everyone; as a concrete God, besides whom there is no other; as a visible God who addresses every person and asks them to enter his life and heart; as fulfillment par excellence; as the only way to salvation; as the redeemer and forgiveness of our sins – the list is long – it proclaims “synodality,” which is definitely not an issue for those who are primarily concerned with their mission to the peoples.

The Church of today no longer plays the card that trumps and pockets everyone on the table. She throws all kinds of newly created cards into the game to include fellow players or those who want to become one or who have left the game because they think they have bad cards. But she doesn’t win a single round. Others clear away. Christianity – and that is Jesus Christ (Romano Guardini) – is evaporating and is no longer passed on to the majority, at least here.

Why? Because the players are neither in love with Jesus Christ nor convinced of Him in an exclusive sense. Because they no longer consider Jesus Christ to be the trump card that beats everyone else. It is no longer played out interreligiously today, anyway.

The players talk about other things. The main thing is that you are together as brothers and sisters and try to stay in the game or in dialogue with each other. Everyone can get involved. The rules are currently being renegotiated in the church in order not to show victorious airs or rejections towards those who believe differently or think differently or “other Catholics” (a new word coined by Bishop Georg Bätzing).

But the game is lost due to the reasons described. It’s because of the trump card that isn’t played, for whatever reason. The main thing is to stay in the game, albeit to the detriment of those involved. Exclusive rules (or truths) that would mean the exclusion of players and fellow players are not adhered to by all sides and are viewed as outdated. There has never been anything like this before; but it is happening before our eyes. “Apocalypse now!”

A look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Oct. 11, 1992) would help everyone.

“No one comes to the Father except through Me!” still applies.

+ Marian Eleganti

Reprinted with permission from Marco Tosatti.

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