Originally published at The Catholic Thing
Just weeks before the beginning of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis spoke to Jesuit clergy, one of whom asked about the pontiff’s vision of the Church of the future in light of synodality. “The synod we are conducting is on synodality,” Francis said about the second gathering taking place in Rome throughout October. Several observers have expressed concern that a Synod on Synodality is almost by definition emblematic of the “self-referential” Church Francis spoke about before his election to the papacy. Then-Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio said in 2013 that the Church is suffering from self-centeredness and “theological narcissism.”
