Synodal Way Will Lead the Church to Anglican Fracture – Cardinal Zen

The Synod on Synodality was an “ironclad manipulation,” Cardinal Joseph Zen, 93, said in his three-minute intervention at the consistory held January 7–8. The text of his speech was published on the Substack account of Edward Pentin CardinalNews.Substack.com.

Prior to the consistory, Cardinal Zen was received in private audience by Pope Leo XIV.

Synod’s Invocation of the Holy Spirit Verges on Blasphemy

In his intervention, Cardinal Zen criticized the late Pope Francis and the synodal process he initiated: “The ironclad manipulation of the process is an insult to the dignity of the Bishops, and the continual reference to the Holy Spirit is ridiculous and almost blasphemous.”

Francis, he said, expected “surprises” from the Holy Spirit. Cardinal Zen responded: “What surprises? That He should repudiate what He inspired in the Church’s two-thousand-year Tradition?”

Cardinal Zen noted that Francis bypassed the Episcopal College, listened directly to selected members of the laity, and called this “the appropriate interpretative framework for understanding hierarchical ministry.”

Are the Roman Curia or the Bishops More Incompetent?

Another contradiction highlighted by Cardinal Zen is that Francis described the final document as magisterium, while also stating that it is “not strictly normative” and that its “application will need various mediations.”

Cardinal Zen asks: “Does the Holy Spirit guarantee that contradictory interpretations will not arise—especially given the many ambiguous and tendentious expressions in the document?”

He further asks: “Are the results of the ‘experimenting and testing’—for example, the ‘creative activation of new forms of ministeriality’—to be submitted to the judgment of the Secretariat of the Synod and of the Roman Curia? Will these be more competent than the Bishops to judge the different contexts of their Churches?”

Finally, he poses the question: “If the Bishops believe themselves to be more competent, do the differing interpretations and choices not lead our Church to the same division (fracture) found in the Anglican Communion?”

Cardinal Zen’s conclusion is stark: “Pope Bergoglio has exploited the word ‘Synod,’ but has made the Synod of Bishops—an institution established by Paul VI—disappear.”

Picture: Vatican Media, #newsZvepamytks