The Amazonia Synod: The end of Tridentine Catholicism

The Church has now embarked on a less clerical, less masculine chapter in its history

Make no mistake about it; what happened at the Synod of Bishops' special assembly for the Amazon in Rome was nothing short of a revolution for the Catholic Church.

It might not happen overnight but it will happen. Pope Francis is not obliged to follow the bishops' opinions unconditionally but that said, it is hard to see how he can avoid them, especially since they were the result of a process that he has himself encouraged so widely.

Ending the principle of celibacy

By asking for Amazonia to ordain married men as priests, by considering the creation of new "ministries" (i.e. responsibilities within parishes or dioceses), with even the recognition of a ministry for "women who lead communities" and finally, by demanding to reopen the explosive debate on the female diaconate, the bishops have clearly signaled the end of nearly five centuries of a type of Catholicism and a model that emerged from the Council of Trent.

Structured around the 'holy priest'

We are still, consciously or unconsciously, largely dependent on this Council, which dates back to the 16th century. Aiming to consolidate a religion damaged by the powers of the princes and the Lutheran Reformation, the Council of Trent structured Catholicism around the figure of the priest.

The cleric, one single person, then becomes the central character. He concentrates on his person all the sacred functions, starting from the Eucharist and confession. This concept of the ideal priest, the "holy priest" identified with Christ, placed above the faithful, condemning them to be nothing more than a simple flock of docile sheep, has deeply marked the mentalities of all Catholics, and greatly favored the prevailing "clericalism," including among the laity.

Even though Vatican II recalled in 1962 the importance of the role of all the baptized, all called to be "priests, prophets and kings," the figure of the "super-powerful" ordained priest remained very prominent on church benches.

The management of the crisis of sexual abuse has starkly revealed how the excesses of this clericalism, distorting as it does the way authority is conceived in the Church, can have dramatic consequences.

For biodiversity in the Church

This is all that the Synod of Bishops' assembly for the Amazon has just definitively condemned. How so?

By advocating for a true "biodiversity" in the Church, which leaves room for other forms of responsibility. In addition to the traditional celibate priest, there would be mature married men, and also new ministries, defined according to local needs, and possibly even open to women.

In reality, this "Catholic biodiversity" already exists to a large extent, but we do not see it. Above all, it is not officially recognized.

Are readers aware that in France most dioceses only operate smoothly thanks to women? These are lay people trained in theology — more than 12,000 of them today — whom the bishops rely upon. Or that there are already 2,700 married deacon men, who provide many services in the parishes? All this in addition to only 5,600 priests in ministry.

A revolution already in motion

This "silent revolution" is gradually transforming the face of the Church in France. It is now necessary, as the Synod Fathers for the Amazon have just requested, to give it more visibility, to formalize it and structure it.

From this point of view, by inviting for the first time, during their annual Plenary Assembly which begins in Lourdes on Nov. 5, lay men and women, at their side, the bishops of France will finally reflect a less clerical and masculine image of the Church.

An image more faithful to the reality of Catholicism in France. And another way of ending, here too, the legacy of the Council of Trent.

Isabelle de Gaulmyn is a writer and editor of La Croix.

