Synod: Reform, Renewal, or Revolution?

A swath of American churchgoers do believe that the synod has been manipulated, or set for a predetermined outcome, with the deliberations at the synod’s round tables serving as a kind of window dressing for results already determined by a group of Vatican influencers. Americans aren’t the only ones. Several bishops from countries outside the U.S. have told The Pillar that Catholics in their countries — both “conservative” and “liberal” are skeptical that the synod is really a free deliberation, or that voices outside the mainstream are being heard. For the most part, participants in the process tell a different story.