Cardinals McElroy, Cupich join Fr. James Martin in praising Synod on Synodality’s final text

VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Cardinals Robert McElroy of San Diego and Blase Cupich of Chicago joined Father James Martin, SJ in praising the Synod’s conclusions and calling for immediate changing of the U.S. ecclesial sphere in line with “synodality.”

The “whole hierarchy is called to embrace this important effort of building a synodal, missionary church,” Cupich said Sunday, hours after the Synod on Synodality’s concluding Mass.

Speaking to the National Catholic Reporter (NCR) along with McElroy, Cupich praised the Synod’s final text after Pope Francis made the rare step of adopting the final document rather than writing an apostolic exhortation. So rare was it that Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schönborn said he had not seen the like in 40 years of attending synods.

READ: Synod final text calls for continued ‘process’ with synodal ‘listening’ and dialogue

The two American cardinals – who were received in private papal audience recently along with Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey – called for a reform of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) leadership structure. Cupich said that in light of the Synod it is “very clear from the document that this is what we’re supposed to do.”

McElroy called for setting up “a committee on synodality,” adding that “I don’t think there’s any escaping it.”

The Synod’s final document made strong calls for implementing increased lay roles through the Church, especially with regard to governance. Some further limits would be also placed on papal power, with the document arguing a pope cannot “ignore a direction which emerges through proper discernment within a consultative process, especially if this is done by participatory bodies.”

Reforming the U.S. church structure in line with synodality “has to come in at the top of the list,” Cupich said, adding that the USCCB must commit to “holding ourselves accountable for building a synodal, missionary church.”

The role of women and LGBT issues emerged last year as some of the most contentious at the Synod. This year, such questions were officially moved to study groups, with that of women (including female deacons) being addressed by Study Group 5.

But the Synod text echoes the recent words of Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, in saying that “the question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open.”

McElroy has previously expressed his personal support for ordaining women to the diaconate, although the Catholic Church infallibly teaches that such an eventuality is impossible. Expanding on this to the NCR, McElroy said that “obstacles” to advancing women’s role in the Church are due to “prejudices that women shouldn’t be doing certain things or that men should be preferred.”

He opined that there is a “cultural change that needs to take place so those obstacles aren’t present.”

“I myself am in favor of women being ordained to the diaconate, and I hope to see that happen,” he added, while attesting that there is a “visible challenge” of the sanctuary being “all male.” “That’s such a countersign to the life of the church.”

Cardinal Blase Cupich entering the 2024 Synod

Another contentious issue is the Synod document’s proposal that liturgy and synodality between more intimately linked, and “to adopt celebratory styles that make visible the face of a synodal Church.” Referencing this, Cupich commented that “opportunities for lay involvement in the liturgy is (sic) not universally applied,” but added that some benefit could come from “looking at what point can there be testimony witness to the Gospel by the lives of people included in the homily presentation.”

Also speaking about the increased role of lay people envisaged by the Synod was Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, relator general of the Synod. Late Saturday night, he said that lay people would see a “Church where they count, where they are important, where their talents, their gifts, their life experience, are important because they belong to the people of the baptized.”

Such an opening attitude in the Synod on Synodality has been recognized by Martin, who highlighted a “surprisingly positive” approach to “LGBTQ” questions at the 2024 session contrasted with the 2023 session.

While noting that the final document mirrors the 2023 synthesis report in avoiding using the term “LGBT,” Martin said that “I was surprised to find the conversations about LGBTQ Catholics much friendlier, much more relaxed and much more open this year.”

The Synod final text said that “unfortunately, others (synod participants) continued to experience the pain of feeling excluded or judged because of their marital situation, identity or sexuality,” thus alluding to LGBT issues and the divorced and “remarried.” (Paragraph 50: 333 votes for/22 against)

This passage in particular Martin welcomed: “There is a general consensus that the church needs to reach out to LGBTQ people, even if the term is not used. (Frankly, the inclusion of the word ‘identity’ was a pleasant surprise to me.)”

He praised the Synod for having allowed LGBT issues to now be “on the table” for discussion in the Church. “But in the past two years in the Synod Hall, the overall attitude towards LGBTQ issues seems to have changed noticeably – for the good. Much of that was a surprise to me. But the Holy Spirit is full of surprises.”