The Synod on the Family has seen many observers and participants expressing almost daily frustration over the apparent confusion in, or “confusing signals” being sent by: the Synod as a whole, the freewheeling media conferences and even the very process. One small group called the Instrumentum Laboris, that is, the working document, "chaotic." Other small groups expressed a more general fear about "confusion" at the Synod. Last year, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said that the feared that any “confusion” that might come from the Synod, and how it is perceived, is “of the devil.” Stakes are even higher now that some have hinted that Pope Francis would not produce an “apostolic exhortation,” which often smooths over differences, but rather that the Synod’s final report may be the last word on the recent deliberations on important issues in the church.
As with many aspects of Pope Francis’ leadership, his approach to the Synod may best be understood through his background as a Jesuit. For example, his initial selection of a group of nine advisers, the so-called “G-9,” which surprised most Vaticanologists, who wondered why the pope wouldn’t rely on the heads of major congregations, made perfect sense to Jesuits. They grasped that Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., was simply doing what every Jesuit provincial does: selecting a group of “consultors” from outside the normal chains of command to advise him.
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