This is a mechanical English translation from the original Italian from Silere non possum:
Who wrote the 'Propositions'? The truth behind the document that shook the Second Synodal Assembly in Italy
In his book Faith, Truth, Tolerance, Benedict XVI addressed the theme of the ambiguity of language and the risk that ideologies insinuate themselves into the Church. The Pope warned that, in the name of tolerance and adaptation to the times, one can end up relativizing the truth of the faith, opening the door to secular ideologies in ecclesial discourse. This phenomenon manifests itself in particular when terms such as "dialogue", "opening" and "update" are used vaguely, without a clear reference to Catholic doctrine. A dynamic that was also evident in the four years of synodal journey of the Italian Church.
From March 31 to April 3, 2025, the Second Synodal Assembly was held in the Vatican, with the participation of 1,008 delegates, including 168 bishops (seven cardinals), 252 priests, 34 religious, 17 deacons and 530 lay people. It was an event characterized by strong tension. “Moments of tension have always been part of the synodal journey and, if lived in a constructive way – as happened in this Assembly – they can become spiritual experiences,” said Monsignor Erio Castellucci, trying to sugarcoat the pill. The real crux of the matter, however, is that few have grasped the authentic meaning of this Synod, while many seem to have lost sight of the primary mission of the Church: to announce Jesus Christ and his Gospel.
On March 28, 2025, an online meeting of the National Committee of the Synodal Path took place, and on March 29, 2025, at 4:29 p.m., the Secretariat of the Synodal Path sent an email to the participants of the Second Synodal Assembly, attaching two documents: Propositions and Group Methodology
When both bishops and lay people noted that the text containing 50 propositions was “excessively synthetic,” a widespread sense of discontent emerged. “Four years’ work has been reduced to nothing,” protested especially the bishops and progressive lay people, who have invested their entire existence in this path.
Already on March 31, the first interventions proved to be highly critical and, during the group work, rather than limiting themselves to proposing simple amendments as requested by the presidency, the request was made to completely rewrite the text. “The amendments were too substantial, they served to bring the document back to what had actually been developed in recent years, but which was completely ignored in the synthesis work”, explain some of those present.
In recent weeks, the Permanent Council of the Italian Episcopal Conference had entrusted S.E.R. Mons. Claudio Giuliodori the task of elaborating a summary of the synodal work. Mons. Giuliodori, current General Ecclesiastical Assistant of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart and the Italian Catholic Action, Bishop Emeritus of Macerata-Tolentino-Recanati-Cingoli-Treia and President of the Episcopal Commission for Catholic Education, School and University, was busy condensing the path taken in some propositions, while trying to stem the drift that the Synod has taken. So he chose to summarize and cut. A text that was more than fine.
"At this point I point out and admit some shortcomings in the March process, also due to the fact that the transition from these syntheses to our Assembly had to be contracted within three weeks. In the first days of the month, the Presidency of the Synodal Path read all the contributions and some of the members drafted a first summary text, of 74,000 characters, read in full and discussed on March 11 in the Permanent Episcopal Council; in that meeting it was asked for a drastic reduction, so that the form of Synthetic and targeted Propositions (as per Regulation) could be reached. The diet was probably excessive, having also eliminated all the quotes and reduced the text to 46,000 lines," explained Mons. Castellucci reconstructing the process of recent months.
In the meantime, as expected, some press began to launch sensationalist headlines on "gays and women" to attract clicks, diverting attention from the real problem. Mons. Giuliodori tried to limit the damage, but the error dates back upstream: having granted 530 frustrated lay people the opportunity to transform the Synod into an arena in which personal ambitions and subjective opinions take over the primary mission of the Church, namely the proclamation of the Gospel. It was inevitable that the usual protests would start, just as it was obvious that they would resort to the media to whine and put pressure.
The climate has been particularly tense, so much so that the criticism has annoyed a lot S.E.R. Mons. Claudio Giuliodori, who this morning preferred not to show up. In light of the situation, it has been decided to postpone everything to the meeting of October 24-26, 2025, on the occasion of the Jubilee of the synodal teams, where the text will be voted on (October 25). Although there are those who offer sweetened visions of the situation that has been created in the Paul VI room, the assembly applauded the bishops only when they bowed to the wishes of those who protested. It was not an acclamation of faithful and clerics obedient to their pastors. It would be appropriate to start seeing the world with a bit of realism, instead of living in the world of fairy tales.
Most of the participants today left the classroom with expressions of disappointment, and today's Holy Mass celebration was brought forward by an hour. What is striking is that the only noteworthy moments of this event were the Eucharistic Celebrations celebrated by Cardinal Pietro Parolin and Mons. Rino Fisichella It suggests that these presuli, which are not directly linked to the Catholic Church in Italy, were the only ones to offer significant and interesting ideas.
Consequently, the 80ª General Assembly of the Italian Episcopal Conference will not be held in May, as is tradition, but will slip to November in defiance of the Statutes. The reason? The Church now seems to have chosen to transform itself into a democracy, despite the fact that someone had already warned against this drift years ago, in Rimini.
"We have reiterated that the Church is not composed of guides who ignore the "feeling" of the people (of God), pulling straight as if they were always right - which is unfortunately very widespread today in sovereignist and dictatorial tendencies - but is composed of guides called to discern the presence and action of the Spirit in the People of God, of which they are part," said Mons. Castellucci
Yet, it is necessary to remember that the Church is not even a parliament, where anyone can express his opinion and one remains in a perpetual "listening to the voice of men". The Church needs pastors, faithful to Christ, who make decisions, not in a dictatorial way - a method that, paradoxically, seems to be a prerogative of Pope Francis when he imposes his will in defiance of what the bishops ask - nor according to synodal logic, which claims to transform the voice of a thousand people into an unquestionable dogma for 1 billion and 390 million Catholics. The Church needs to "listen to the voice of God" and our task is not to indulge the careerism or ambitions of individuals but to testify to Jesus Christ and remain faithful to that Church that He has given us.
M.R.C.
Silere non possum
