The Post-Conciliar 'Synod of Bishops'

[Stone]

The Post-Conciliar 'Synod of Bishops'

Pope Benedict XVI: the “synodal dimension is constitutive of the Church: it consists of a coming together of every people and culture in order that they become one in Christ and walk together, following him, who said: ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life.’”

While the traditional Catholic encyclopedia notes that a 'synod' is a term used synonymously with 'council,' the history of a Synod of Bishops since Vatican II is a different entity, which unfortunately was born out of a novel and erroneous promotion of collegiality.

The lines sometimes become blurry trying to put these novelties into context. Many decades have gone by since Vatican II. Many people have forgotten about some of these errors that have been so 'normalized' that we don't even recall their insidious roots.

But it is important to understand that these synods are a part of the Vatican II revolution. Their use and promotion began under Pope Paul VI and have occurred under every post-Conciliar pontificate since. In fact, Paul VI states (below) that the whole point of these synods is to further the goals of Vatican II. Is this not what we see continually under Pope Francis - an aggressive promotion of the goals of Vatican II?

And let us not forget the infamous German Synodal Path, where even top Vatican officials are expressing concern over their radical departure from universal [conciliar] Catholic teaching. Again, it is important to recall that these post-Conciliar synods are revolutionary in nature. 

A SiSiNoNo series of articles entitled, The Errors of Vatican II note that Vatican II promoted

[a]n erroneous notion of collegiality. This idea is juridically abnormal because it recognizes, contrary to tradition and the Church's constitution, two subjects of the supreme power of jurisdiction: the Sovereign Pontiff and the College of Bishops with, at its head, the Pope, although only the latter can exercise it freely (Lumen Gentium §22; also Nota Praevia). Moreover, this erroneous collegiality entails the de facto disappearance of the personal responsibility of each bishop in the government of his diocese, and its replacement by the collective responsibility of the episcopal conferences (Christus Dominus [CD] §37), which now also are ascribed legislative powers (CD §38), and even a wide autonomy in numerous domains traditionally reserved to the exclusive competence of the Holy See.

To take it one step further, the plan for the use and manipulation of episcopal synods is right out of a freemasonic blueprint. The following is taken from an article entitled The Masonic Plan for the Destruction of the Catholic Church:

22. Fight Papal Authority, putting an age limit on his activity. Reduce the age limit gradually, explaining that you want to preserve him from excessive work.

23. Be bold. Weaken the Pope by introducing Episcopal synods. The Pope will then become only a figurehead as in England where the High chamber and the Low chamber reign and from them the queen receives orders. Then weaken the authority of the Bishop, giving rise to a concurrent institution at the level of the priests. Say that in this way the priests receive the attention they deserve. Finally weaken the authority of the priest with the formation of groups of lay people who dominate the Priests. In this way you will give rise to such a hatred that even Cardinals will abandon the Church and then the Church will be democratic ... the New Church ...

Archbishop Lefebvre spoke frequently about the dangers of these collegial bodies: 

They have collegialized the pope's government and that of the bishops with a presbyterial college, that of the parish priest with a lay council, the whole broken down into innumerable commissions, councils, sessions, etc. The new Code of Canon Law is completely permeated with this concept. The pope is described as the head of the College of Bishops. We find this doctrine already suggested in the Council document Lumen Gentium, according to which the College of Bishops, together with the pope, exercises supreme power in the Church in habitual and constant manner. This is not a change for the better; this doctrine of double supremacy is contrary to the teaching and Magisterium of the Church. It is contrary to the definitions of Vatican Council I and to Pope Leo XIII's encyclical Satis Cognitum. The Pope alone has supreme power; he communicates it only to the degree he considers advisable, and only in exceptional circumstances. The pope alone has power of jurisdiction over the whole world. We are witnessing therefore a restriction on the freedom of the Supreme Pontiff. [b]Yes, this is a real revolution![/b] The facts demonstrate that what we have here is not a change without practical consequences. John Paul II is the first pope to be really affected by the reform. We can quote several precise instances where he has reconsidered a decision under pressure from a bishops’ conference.

For the purposes of a quick overview, the following is a brief (secular) history of the post-Conciliar Synod of Bishops, taken from here. 
Note every part of these are post Conciliar and promoted by each of the Conciliar Popes.

Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church

In the Catholic Church, the Synod of Bishops, considered as an advisory body for the pope, is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office. It is described in the 1983 Code of Canon Law as "a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world." In addition, each patriarchal church and each major archiepiscopal church within the Catholic Church has its own synod of bishops. Unlike the body that normally assists the pope only by offering advice, these synods of bishops are competent, and exclusively so, to make laws for the entire sui iuris church that each governs.[...]

The papal Synod of Bishops is permanent, even when not in session. Periodically, it holds assemblies, which are either general, if called to consider matters directly concerning the universal Church, or special, if called for problems of a particular geographical area. The general assemblies are either ordinary (held at fixed intervals) or extraordinary (held to treat of some urgent matter).

The papal Synod of Bishops also has a permanent secretariat headquartered in Rome but not part of the Roman Curia. Pope Francis greatly increased both the authority and influence of the Synod in September 2018.


Establishment and nature

In 1959, three years before the Second Vatican Council began, Cardinal Silvio Oddi proposed a permanent consultative body of bishops drawn from many parts of the world to discuss major concerns of the Church, and Cardinal Bernardus Johannes Alfrink proposed a permanent council of specialized bishops to legislate for the Church in union with the Pope and the cardinals.

Within the framework of the Council itself, the first to put forward "the idea of a 'permanent synod of bishops' surrounding the pope" was Melkite Patriarch Maximos IV. In 1963, during the third session of the Council, he proposed that "a relatively small group of bishops [...] with rotating membership would always be in session in Rome to assist the pope. They would work with the pope in collegial fashion". The model he proposed was what the 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches was to call the synod of bishops, but that he himself called the holy synod of his sui iuris church, a collegial body comprising both the patriarch and other bishops.

On 14 September 1965, at the opening of the fourth and final session of the Council, Pope Paul VI announced that on the following day he was to establish the Synod of Bishops in a form that "could hardly have been further from what Maximos had proposed in the previous year". He noted that "the Ecumenical Council ... gave Us the idea of permanently establishing a special Council of bishops, with the aim of providing for a continuance after the Council of the great abundance of benefits that We have been so happy to see flow to the Christian people during the time of the Council as a result of Our close collaboration with the bishops." The Pope sought "to make ever greater use of the bishops' assistance in providing for the good of the universal Church" and to enjoy "the consolation of their presence, the help of their wisdom and experience, the support of their counsel, and the voice of their authority." This preempted action by the Council, and made the Synod "immediately and directly" subject to papal authority, ensuring that it would be strictly an advisory body. The Synod of the Bishops does not constitute collegial governance of the Church, but represents a collaboration with the Pope: it discusses topics proposed to it and makes recommendations, but does not settle questions or issue decrees, unless the Pope grants it deliberative power in certain cases.


Collegial governance under Pope Francis

See also: Theology of Pope Francis § Decentralization

From the beginning of his papacy, Pope Francis expressed his desire to strengthen the collegial aspects of the Church's governance, and he argued for more recognition of charismatic gifts in the Church. He has held major synods on the topics of the family (2014), on youth (2018), and on the Church in the Pan-Amazon region (2019).[...] Some analysts surmise that the greatest achievement of Francis' papacy may be his creation of a more synodal Catholic church, where synods serve as a platform for open and energetic debate.

On 6 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed Nathalie Becquart an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, making her the first woman to have the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops.


Secretariat and Council

The Synod of the Bishops has its own permanent general secretariat, composed of the General Secretary and a fifteen-member council, twelve of whom are elected by each general assembly and three are appointed by the Pope. The secretariat assists in preparing the apostolic exhortation which the Pope publishes on the basis of the recommendations of each general assembly, and it prepares the next assembly. Their function ceases with the start of a new general assembly. A similar function is performed by specific special councils elected by the special assemblies.


Secretaries-General of the Synod of Bishops

• Wladyslaw Rubin (27 February 1967 – 12 July 1979)
  
• Jozef Tomko (12 July 1979 – 24 April 1985)
  
• Jan Pieter Schotte, C.I.C.M. (24 April 1985 – 11 February 2004)
  
• Nikola Eterović (11 February 2004 – 21 September 2013)[30]
  
• Lorenzo Baldisseri (21 September 2013[30] – 15 September 2020)[31]
  
• Mario Grech (15 September 2020[31] – present)