THE VATICAN BATTLE OF BISHOPS: A VIEW FROM THE PEW
There are two problems with the Catholic Church: the Hierarchy thinks they own the Church, and the pew-Catholic is too comfy in his cushioned pew. The Catholic Laity have been enablers of the Hierarchy. The basic and formal difference is that the Hierarchy sees they own the Holy Spirit. In general, the lay folks have had their voices ignored. The Bishops of Vatican II have decreed and Pope Francis has issued a formal invitation to the pews to present their thoughts. Invited to speak, the pew-Catholics voice their inspirations. The Hierarchy [most] disdain the Faithful's inspirations. That suggests a Vatican Battle: Bishops defending the status quo versus Bishops defending the pews.
Three factors explain why the Church Hierarchy does not listen to the Holy Spirit from the pews. The Hierarchy is not open to "becoming." They view the status quo as sacred. Second, the Hierarchy is truly convinced they constitute the Church. The oils of Holy Orders mark the anointed with the special gifts needed to guide God's society. Finally, the Hierarchy has traditionally been a caste of privilege. The Roman Emperor Constantine gave the clerics official Roman rank which in turn offered a paycheck. The clergy were no longer required to work for a living alongside the regular believers. They lost touch with all the other believers. In their minds, the ordained are above listening to the laity.
In the pews, Catholics have long been second class citizens. They need question how did the Hierarchy arrive at their status. The Roman Emperor Constantine saw the community-minded Christians as a unifier for his empire, and made all clergy officials of the State. The clergy were the ones who had the time and leisure to make memorial meal arrangements. That's when the clergy took on a culture of clericalism, i.e. The clergy own the Church and the Holy Spirit through ordination.
That was Ancient Rome. Now priests are abusing the innocence of the youth. Pope Francis calls that Church "a bride caught in adultery." In Biblical terms the use of "adultery" is reserved for the Jews when they went off to worship other gods, idolatry! Pope Francis asserts the Hierarchy worshipped a false god. They worshiped their "ordained-only-church," a sham church, trying to keep the appearance of "Holy." They were covering up the sin [also legal crime] of priests who abused children to fake holy.
What about the People of God when all of this was going on? Did they just sit there? The answer is "yes" and "no." Most pew-Catholics did nothing because most did not know what was really going on. Some heard but concluded it must be a lie from some disgruntled Catholic trying to make trouble for one of the priests. These Laity were true enablers of the Hierarchy to sin. But the Holy Spirit managed to alert some of the Catholics. They followed up on what they had heard: "Trust but verify." When they learned of the abuse, they warned their pastors and Bishops about the problem priests. Their pastors and Bishops went numb, denied, hid the abuse, and some Bishops had their law team actually dishonor the victims in courts of law.
Again, the Holy Spirit did not allow silence to cover the snub the Hierarchy had dealt the Spirit's counsel. An offended Spirit counseled Pope Francis to call for a Synodal Process to allow the pew-Catholics voice. Because the pew-Catholics had listened to the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete now favored them with the spiritual opportunity of a Synod. Thus, the pew-Catholic had a chance to speak.
The agenda for the Bishops is out. The issues are clearly controversial, (women priests, optional priest celibacy, foundations of sexual morality, divorced-remarried catholics) for The Vatican Battle Of Bishops.
