The increasingly valuable Infovaticana has a piece by Martin Grichting (Swiss canonist of the Diocese of Chur) argues that Vatican synodality is anachronistic because it draws laypeople into ecclesiastical structures rather than sending them into civil society.
Vatican II envisioned the laity transforming politics, culture, and social life from within. Synodality (“walking together”) instead risks clericalizing the laity, confusing ecclesial roles, and weakening their proper secular apostolate.
Excerpt (READ the whole thing!):
Synodality suggests to the laity that, when it comes to ecclesiastical and apostolic action in secular reality, only—or primarily—the institutional Church matters. Thus, they wait for the synodal assembly to tell them what they should do. In this way, they fail to realize what their task already is today: to make Jesus Christ—prophet, priest, and king—present in the midst of the fragmented and confusing reality of civil society. And because the current Church leadership is unable to transmit to the laity an appropriate spirituality for this, one that corresponds to their nature, they are drawn into the activity of the hierarchy. From there, they are supposed to collaborate—supposedly—in the Church’s mission. The laity are indiscriminately mixed with the successors of the apostles in the so-called synodal bodies, just as once happened in the Synod of Bishops. This once again ignores the Second Vatican Council. For in LG 10 it had still taught that there is an essential difference between the hierarchical priesthood and the common priesthood. Vatican synodal activists have for years been trying to push for the equalization of clergy and laity also in the particular Churches. The most recent example is the “Notes for the use of Bishops and synodal teams” published at the end of July 2026 by the Apostolic See. This is done with ever more verbiage and greater desperation. And it does not take root, because it does not help the faithful to live their Christianity in today’s world.
As per my brilliant texting group:
1 – Now laity are important only insofar as they are incorporated into decision making
2 – AKA Soviets. “All power to the soviets!”. Places where “the proletariat” votes and decides, meaning endless, pointless talks on pre-ordained outcomes by the puppet masters who have “class consciousness” the oppressed masses still lack because of their ignorance forced on them by reactionary forces
All sorts of clear thinking people are pondering the strategy and tactics driving “walking together”. It is clear that process process process is a key to whatever the final goal is.
Some thoughts about what could be in the air.
Long term goals: Transformation of the Church into an NGO.
Proximate Goals: Gay marriage and women priests.
Strategy: Rewrite Lumen gentium.
Tactics: 1) Incessant process confusing the roles of clergy. 2) Appointment of a certain kind of bishop both to major sees and smaller for testing for promotion. 3) Ghettoization of Tradition.
Far fetched?
Personal is policy.
LifeSite recounts that Pope Leo “on Tuesday appointed a dozen consultors to the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, including several individuals who have advocated for the “ordination” of women to the priesthood, synodality, changes to the Catholic teaching on sexual morality, and even one with ties to the World Economic Forum (WEF).”
Ghettoization…
Pittsburgh
Charlotte
Tyler
Knoxville
Washington DC
Monterey
Etc.
Moreover.
FRANCE ??
Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes Jean-Marc Micas has BANNED the SSPX from celebrating the sacraments at Lourdes Shrine, following the illicit consecrations at Écône
The SSPX regularly hosted large Masses at Lourdes, including in the huge underground Basilica pic.twitter.com/PSNeiVVF4X
— Catholic Arena (@CatholicArena) August 21, 2026
BUT WAIT…. the Diocese of Tarbes and Lourdes has invited homosexual couples to Lourdes to celebrate Valentine’s Day. HERE
“The invitation is open to all types of couples—married, unmarried, same-sex…,” explained sanctuary administrator Thierry Castillo. He clarified, however, that the couples will not receive any blessing from the Church.
By the by, how long did the Lourdes Shrine directors insist on keeping the creepy Rupnik “art”? So, they are covering it up now, I hear, before Leo comes. Why now? Why cover and not remove? What’s covered can be uncovered.
UPDATE: From a reader… “Hi Padre- just wanted to clarify, while the Lourdes shrine is exempt from French “ownership” laws, the bishop is still not legally able to remove the Rupnick art because of “landmark” laws, so it was covered, and the rest is about to be covered. He is fighting the legal battle and doesn’t want it up…”
And did you know that the current, official, 2002 3rd editio typica of the Novus Ordo Missale Romanum contains throughout artwork by Rupnik?
So, think about it. A bishop forbids his priests from using the Missale for the TLM and says, instead, they have to say Mass in Latin with the Missale for the Novus Ordo. Now Father has to see that “art” from the chapel in the Apostolic Palace in the Missale… on the altar. Have yourself a nice dollop of moral injury, Father, with your serving of oppression.
(Fathers… keep your previous edition if you have one.)
In the film, the Posiden Adventure, the group going up, following Gene Hackman, towards the keel, cross paths with others, being led by the purser, heading down, towards the now upside-down top of the ship. Who you gonna walk together with…?
“This is done with ever more verbiage and greater desperation.”
Perfect. And pathetic.
Isn’t the underground basilica at Lourdes named after St. Pius X, too? I remember when my wife and I went into it for the first time – it’s a pretty monstrous thing. Like a gigantic bomb shelter or underground stadium, with the altar squarely in the middle so Mass would be “in the round.” I also remember the kneelers being so uncomfortable that we only used them once. After that, we just knelt on the concrete floor for adoration which was much more comfortable.
I think the strategy outlined above is, sadly, more than plausible. Pope Leo, thus far, is showing himself to be either a helpless figure continuing to flow with the tainted currents that burst forth from the papacy of Francis, or another Francis himself, only with heaps more tact and restraint in presentation. The course set by Francis has not changed. We are being steered straight towards the leeward shore.
Given the state of clergy, I don’t mind lay involvement. On the whole they are more solid, and are far more free of the weaponized demands of Church law that is frequently used to destroy a faithful priest/religious’s soul in the name of obedience
Rupnik’s scribbles are very evocative, every time I see one I think of something else. Usually they evoke nostalgic memories of my early childhood, when I drew things badly and was told by my kindergarten teacher that I’d never be an artist. Or the waves or emotion that wash over me when I recall walking into churches and finding all of those ancient statues and outdated images replaced by something modern which – we were told – was designed to appeal to us because we were modern man.
Other times I look at those odd faces and see apes: elderly, simian faces; whose expressions I cannot divine… perhaps they are wiser than me? This morning, I looked at the images in this post and suddenly saw another vestige of my childhood: those pointed faces reminded me of “Spy vs. Spy” from “MAD” magazine… yep, truly one of the most significant artists of our time!
I threw up. I then went to my local parish and made a holy hour.
The madness is appalling.
All I can think of when I read things like this is the notion or possibility that many of our ambitious clerics (those who want to become bishops) are more interested in worldly honors (and hence they want to be known and adored by the world) than they are in the hidden glory of aiding souls who are pursuing salvation, because this glory is either hidden from the world or despised by it. This does not have to be a conscious decision, it is only human nature to want to be liked or appreciated by those that one likes or admires. But if our clergy mainly admire those with obvious worldly success rather than, say, humble couples struggling to raise several children in a manner that will make them more likely to choose to remain in the faith while struggling with their own sins and own financial problems, then what motivation do our clergy have to sit in the confessional hour after hour hearing the confessions of people whom the world despises. My goodness! Who cares if you committed adultery or used artificial birth control, don’t you know your spending time protesting the villain of the year makes up for that? Don’t you know that things like your destroying the faith of your children and humiliating your wife are not important if CO2 levels are still going up?
Perhaps it would help if celebrants were required to hear confessions for at least 30 minutes before any Mass. It may seem like a small thing, but such a rule might help some clergy at least act like they believe the salvation of souls is the highest law.
@Luke Welborn
Those members or the laity of whom you speak won’t be selected. That’s how these panels work.
We went to Lourdes last month. The beautiful towering basilica looking down from above reminds one of the grandeur of God. That was not good enough, though! We must also have the underground “worship center” that makes one feel like Jonah in the belly of the giant fish–bones and all, or in the Bark of St. Peter, but turned upside down, and dead in the water. From the ancient tower above the city, that upside down Bark looks just like a giant coffee bean in front of the basilica. How sublime!
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None of the Rupnik work was covered last month. My daughter pointed out that you can always identify his work by the dead eyes, which stood out there, in contrast with the truly beautiful mosaic faces nearby. They just reminded me of the ugly covers of the Oregon Press Missalettes of my youth.
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Two weeks ago my daughter-in-law went to Fatima and texted the family photos in front of a glorious church, and also of a brutalist cement-block of a building with an enormous black stick-figure man on a crucifix in front.
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It’s like Satan himself could not let all of that awe and beauty and glory, inspiring worship of our great triune God, stand unopposed, so he designed some ugly with which to smear it up–almost like Satan agrees with CS Lewis and his sublime waterfall. He, too, knows sublime when he sees it, and is always at work to bring it all down a peg or two.
This article gives me hope. I know they’ve had synods in the past and I’ve wondered how and why they are so unbelievably bothersome now. Confused roles seem to be a problem. It’s why we have priests painting “art” and the laity are delivering “homilies”. Everyone needs to find a zone proper to their state in life and stay in it.
The Church, because its truths are basic and timeless, should perhaps be more basic in its discussions, synods, and councils. The complexity and grandeur should be found in other areas: the beautiful artwork, architecture, and music that surrounds and supports Catholic worship.
Ordained men should be strong in proclaiming the unchanging truths of the faith so that the laity can get back to their proper roles within the family and society. I’ve seen old videos of past Popes walking fast in the street, with dozens of competent looking priests alongside him. The Church was respected, the Pope was loved, and the men were in charge. Let’s get back to that.
The laity have their own concerns. The world needs strong families that are able to pass on the faith to their children. They should develop talents in themselves and their children that they can bring to the Church in acceptable ways. Talents in art, music, and perhaps in teaching roles, if they are qualified. Right now, to teach religious ed, nothing more is needed than a simple desire to share the faith with others. Sadly, this is not enough. The laity themselves don’t often know the faith sufficiently, nor are they expected to care enough about how other children turn out. Parents, on the other hand, have a God-given duty to teach their children. It matters most to parents how their children turn out. If parents need to learn the faith alongside their children in order to ensure they are being taught properly, then so be it. They can’t afford to rely upon others in this essential duty. This is how the laity will be formed properly. Then these future members of the Church will be able to contribute to the Church in meaningful ways using their talents and gifts.
The institutional Church needs to get busy and clean house. I want the Church hierarchy to start defending their individual roles as worthy of respect. Clean house in an impressive way and start promoting ordained men to high positions in the Church who will make their jobs easier: competent, talented, qualified, strong leaders who will easily do what is needed for the Church in this day. These men exist and Church leaders should stop wasting time on failed endeavors such as inclusivity and lukewarmness, rather get the best possible talent among the ordained to move into high positions now. This will relieve the pressure on the laity who don’t have any business deciding things within the Church.
The Church can run smoothly in very little time and make a big difference in the world. It is necessary that the news coming from the Church is not embarrassing, confusing or scandalous. This weakens the general public’s idea of the usefulness of the Church in society. The Church is extremely needed in society, it’s just bogged down with nonsense that is distracting our leaders and making them look like fools. They aren’t fools, they know their faith. They can make the Church attractive to the world by confidently proclaiming the truths of the faith that the Church has always taught. It’s easy, really. Truth itself is attractive, it just needs to be confidently proclaimed.
They won’t go immediately to priestesses; they’ll begin with female deacons.
They’ve been working up to that since allowing female lectors. The long war.
The Pope’s appointments seem to be, at best, in line with his predecessor’s. I hope I’m just misreading things.
As for the Synod, it has always appeared to me to have been constituted solely for the purpose of “updating” Church teaching.
Tradition is winning insofar as younger people who are still involved in the faith are much more orthodox than preceding generations, particularly among the clergy. It seems to me that another impetus for synodality is to head off this reality by installing modernist laity into positions of power, where they can thwart authentic revival.
It’s really a race to the finish. Can the orthodox hold on long enough until the spirit of Vatican II has evaporated? Or will the modernists be able to entrench a commissariat sufficient to thwart the organic return to orthodoxy?
It’s ironic, of course, that the only growth in practice is among the orthodox, but the Church never seems to “listen” to the spirit when it calls from that direction.
The Episcopalians/Anglicans have synods, which is where they get to vote on changing their beliefs. Nothing at all like Orthodox synods, where bishops get together to discuss heresies and discipline.
Re. banning the FSSPX at Lourdes, I have the impression that this is a widespread phenomenon – or policy?
Re. the Rupnik Missale Romanum: are they all excisable plates (and a cover illustration subject to removal by sandpaper,or whatever), or are printed pages also involved?
There have always been priests who were also artists. For example, the retired Roman army officer whom St. Jerome wrote a letter to, and who decorated his parish church with painted flowers while cleaning and arranging everything with military precision. (He probably learned sketching on the army too, for maps, recon, and assault planning.)
But most religious who have been artists have also lived blameless lives. Heck, even most artists who lived scandalous lives did not do dishonest, creepy things within their own art and the process of making it.
Rupnik has more in common with serial killers than with other artists. It would not surprise me if he has stashed some victim corpses somewhere.
Spy vs. Spy was created by Antonio Prohias, a Cuban political cartoonist who fled Cuba for the US on May Day, 1960.
He traveled to New York and submitted his cartoon series idea to Mad Magazine on July 12, 1960. It was soon accepted, after some editorial back and forth. He left with a check for 800 dollars, having sold three Spy Vs Spy cartoons. That is how he survived in a new country.
Mad Magazine actually had a ton of classically trained artists and famous cartoonists, partly because it was steady work. Kelly Freas, the science fiction artist, also did covers for Mad for seven years, in a totally different style from his normal one.
Rupnik was a bad man and a bad artist. Almost everybody is a better artist and human.
Recently I had the use that Missal, and I had to endure the horrible drawing of the Canon Romanus. I did not know it has Rxxxxx.