As for the Amazon Synod, it is said that by means of Amazonia, the changes are introduced so that, later, liberal theologists around the world could point at the region and refer to its authority so that the exceptions could become the rules. Then, they would implement the decisions of the Amazon Synod in their own countries
On the last day of this gathering, October 26th, exactly 120 paragraphs were put to a vote. For each paragraph, in order to be adopted, a two-third majority was required. All 120 paragraphs were adopted in that manner, among which, three most controversial ones
Female Diaconate – 103
In many consultations carried out in the Amazon, the fundamental role of religious and lay women in the Church of the Amazon and its communities was recognized and emphasized, given the multiple services they provide. In a large number of these consultations, the permanent diaconate for women was requested. For this reason, the theme was important during the Synod. Already in 2016, Pope Francis had created a “Study Commission on the Diaconate of Women” which, as a Commission, arrived at a partial result based on what the reality of the diaconate of women was like in the early centuries of the Church and its implications for today. We would, therefore, like to share our experiences and reflections with the Commission and await its results. (Passed by 137; non placet: 30
Ordination of Married Men in the Amazon – 111
Many of the ecclesial communities of the Amazonian territory have enormous difficulties in accessing the Eucharist. Sometimes it takes not just months but even several years before a priest can return to a community to celebrate the Eucharist, offer the sacrament of reconciliation or anoint the sick in the community. We appreciate celibacy as a gift of God (Sacerdotalis Caelibatus), to the extent that this gift enables the missionary disciple, ordained to the priesthood, to dedicate himself fully to the service of the Holy People of God
We proposed to establish criteria and dispositions on the part of the competent authority, within the framework of Lumen Gentium 26, to ordain priests suitable and esteemed men of the community, who have had a fruitful permanent diaconate, and have received an adequate formation for the priesthood, having a legitimately constituted and stable family to sustain the life of the Christian community through the preaching of the Word and the celebration of the Sacraments in the most remote areas of the Amazon region. In this regard, some were in favour of a more universal approach to the subject. (Passed by 128; non placet: 41
Amazonian Rite – 119
The new organism of the Church in the Amazon must constitute a competent commission to study and dialogue, according to the customs and customs of the ancestral people, the elaboration of an Amazonian rite that expresses the liturgical, theological, disciplinary and spiritual patrimony of the Amazon, with special reference to what Lumen Gentium affirms for the Oriental Churches. This would add to the rites already present in the Church, enriching the work of evangelization, the capacity to express the faith in a proper culture, and the sense of decentralization and collegiality that the catholicity of the Church can express. It could also study and propose how to enrich ecclesial rites with the way in which these people care for their territory and relate to its waters. (Passed by 140; non placet: 19
As you can see, the strongest opposition – however, still not strong enough – was to proposals regarding clerical marriage. In this regard, one of the secretaries of the Amazon Synod, cardinal Michael Czerny, suggested that there were more radical approaches to this subject, meaning the legitimization of clerical marriage throughout Roman Catholic Church
Brazilian bishop Erwin Kräutler, grey eminence of the Amazon Synod, did not hide his enthusiasm regarding the adopted decisions. He publicly advocated clerical marriage and female diaconate. He stated that Amazonian indigenous people simply do not understand the concept of clerical celibacy. He referred to the example of former Anglican priests who, although married, were accepted to be priests in Roman Catholic Church. Reactions to this synod are horrifying. Negative comments sum up to a conclusion that the Amazon Synod is worse than what was feared
Dutch cardinal, Willem Ejk, bluntly poses the question whether the pope is the predecessor of the Antichrist. In an article published in “National Catholic Register” he refers to Roman Catholic Catechism which announces that in days ahead of the Second Coming of Jesus people will depart from faith and accept the Antichrist’s deception of solving critical problems of humanity at the cost of renouncing the faith. The cardinal lists examples of the pope’s apostasy
Bishop Athanasius Schneider is one of the loudest defenders of the true Roman Catholic faith; in his extensive interview for the “Life Site News” he also lists examples of pope denying the faith and with theological background negates Francis’s beliefs and heretical expressions
Cardinal Robert Sarah published a book “The Power of Silence”. Before Pope Francis, the Roman Catholic Church was a sturdy brightest lighthouse of the Christian ethical doctrine. Now, says the cardinal, when the Church surrendered to this world, it is sliding down towards its own destruction at fast speed
Critics become more numerous every single day. It is a matter of day when those individual, although very strong and formulated, critics will take the shape of an organized protest that might lead to a division within Roman Catholic Church equivalent to that of 1517 if not more destructive
Decisions of the Amazon Synod do not have binding significance. These kinds of gatherings are organized for the consulting purposes. It is common that after such assemblies the pope publishes his “apostolic instructions”
It is expected that within six months after this synod the pope will publish his instructions. It is hard to believe that his “apostolic instructions” will be, even a tiny bit, against the proposals that he initiated and advocated for years.