Roberto de Mattei
IL FOGLIO
October 20, 2015
On October 17th 2015, Pope Francis announced how the Synod on the Family is going to conclude. Just a few days before the end of the work by the assembly of bishops, they have reached an impasse, and the way out of it, according to the Pope would be the decentralization of the Church. (---)
Rome would remain in the background, devoid of all real authority, with the sole function of ‘charismatic impetus’. The Church would be ‘de-vaticanized’, or better still, ‘de-romanized’ . They want to substitute the Roman-centric Church with a poly-centric or polyhydric Church. The image of the polyhedron has been used frequently by Pope Francis “The prism – he stated – is a unity, but all its parts are different; each has its own peculiarity, its own charisma. This is unity in diversity. It is on this path that we Christians do what we call by the theological name of ecumenism: we seek to ensure that this diversity may be more harmonized by the Holy Spirit and become unity” (Discourse to Pentecostals at Caserta, July 28th 2014 [taken from Vatican site]).
The transfer of powers to the Episcopal Conferences, was already foreseen from a passage in “Evangelii Gaudium” where it is conceived as “subjects of specific attributions, including authentic doctrinal authority.[…]Excessive centralization, rather than proving helpful, complicates the Church’s life and its missionary outreach” (n.32). Now Pope Francis, enunciates this “principle of synodality” as a final outcome of the meeting in progress.
The old heresies of Gallicanism and Ecclesiastical Nationalism are appearing again on the horizon. The primacy of jurisdiction of the Supreme Pontiff, in whom resides the supreme authority of the Church, over all Pastors, over all the faithful, independent of any other power, is, in fact a dogma of faith, promulgated by the First Vatican Council. This principle guarantees the unity of the Church: unity in government, unity in faith and unity in the sacraments. Decentralization is a loss of unity which lead inevitably to schism. Schism is, in fact, the rupture which inexorably occurs when a central point of reference is missing, a unitary criteria, on the doctrinal level as well as those of discipline and pastoral care. The particular Churches, divided on praxis, but also on doctrine which praxis comes from, are destined inescapably to be in conflict and produce fractures, schism and heresies.
Decentralization not only damages the Roman Primacy, but also denies the principle of non- contradiction, that: “A thing cannot be A and not A at the same time and in the same sense, be what it is and not be what it is .” It is only on basis of this primary, logical and metaphysical principle that we are able to use our reason and grasp the reality which surrounds us.
What happens if the Roman Pontiff renounces, even partly, the exercise of his power to delegate it to the Episcopal Conferences or individual bishops? A diversity of doctrine and praxis among the Episcopal Conferences and among dioceses is created. What is prohibited in one diocese will be admitted in another and vice-versa. The common-law husband or wife will be able to approach the Sacrament of the Eucharist in one diocese and not another. However, sin is – or it isn’t. The moral law is the same for everyone or it isn’t. And it is either one or the other: or the Pope has primacy of jurisdiction and exercises it, or in actual fact, someone else governs other than him.
The Pope admits the existence of a sensus fidei, but it’s precisely the sensus fidei of bishops, priests and lay folk, that is scandalized today at the strange things they hear coming out of the Synod Hall. These strange things offend common sense even before they offend the sensus Ecclesiae of the faithful. Pope Francis is right when he affirms that the Holy Spirit doesn’t only assist the Pope and bishops but also the entire faithful (on this point: Melchior Cano, De locis Theologicis (Lib. IV, chap. 3, 117I). The Holy Spirit nonetheless is not a spirit of novelty; He guides the Church, infallibly assisting Her Tradition. Through fidelity to Tradition, the Holy Spirit still speaks to the ears of the faithful. And today, as in the times of Arianism, we may say with St. Hilary: « the ears of the faithful are holier than the hearts of the priests » (Contra Arianos, vel Auxentium, n. 6, in PL, 10, col. 613).
[Translation: Contributor Francesca Romana]