KUDOS TO ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT FOR SPEAKING UP AT THE SYNOD

In his second intervention at the Youth Synod, Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia lamented that the “wealthy societies of today’s world are in fact underdeveloped in their humanity” and stuck in a “moral adolescence” they seek to impose on others.

Archbishop Chaput began his remarks with a reflection that Pope Francis had described Jesus as “eternally young” in his opening Mass homily.

Yet, after thanking the pontiff for the “beautiful” and “powerful” image of Jesus as “forever young,” Chaput stressed that the Saviour is not, however, immature.

“The Jesus who came into the world as an infant did not end his mission as a youth,” the Archbishop observed. “He matured into an adult man of courage, self-mastery, and mercy guided by justice and truth.”

Chaput then reflected that the developed world is underdeveloped morally:  “The wealthy societies of today’s world that style themselves as ‘developed’ – including most notably my own – are in fact underdeveloped in their humanity. They’re frozen in a kind of moral adolescence; an adolescence which they’ve chosen for themselves and now seek to impose upon others,” he said.

He suggested that the Instrumentum Laboris, or “working document” of the Youth Synod – which acknowledges the roots of this moral adolescence – inadequately defends Church teaching.

“The instrumentum does a good job of exploring the roots of that underdevelopment and the challenges to young people that flow from it,” Chaput said. “But it needs to be much stronger and more confident in presenting God’s Word and the person of Jesus Christ as the only path to a full and joyful humanity. And it needs to do this much earlier in the text.”

In his first intervention at the Synod, Archbishop Chaput questioned the working document’s claims that young people are “the watchmen and seismographs of every age.”   

“This is false flattery, and it masks a loss of adult trust in the continuing beauty and power of the beliefs we have received,” Chaput stated.     

Kudos to Archbishop Chaput for speaking up and defending the ancient teachings and traditions of the Church.  It appears no one else in the Synodal Hall is prepared to do likewise.

The Bishops are to be first and foremost teachers of the Faith.

Where are they?