A â??reforming popeâ? was the hope of some of us in the long years from 1978, after Paul VI, when the Catholic Church seemed to shelve Vatican IIâ??s progressive prescriptions about governance. Instead of the councilâ??s college of pope and bishops on the pattern of the Apostles around Peter, an absolute monarchy reasserted itself in Rome with the papacy of John Paul II. Centralized rule, the historian Eamon Duffy has regretfully observed, is by now a part of the Catholic Churchâ??s DNA.
As John Paul IIâ??s long reign unfolded, followed by Benedict XVI, none of us actually thought we would see any such reforming pope in our lifetimes. But, we suggested, were he to appear, the place for him to start would be the synod of bishops. He should transform that body from functioning as a rubber stamp on decisions taken in Vatican offices to an active governing structure in its own right. This move, we thought, would surely receive massive support from the worldwide episcopate as its members found themselves restored to being vicars of Christ in their dioceses as well as sharing in the care of all the churches.
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