Six weeks after Pope Francis' Extraordinary Synod on the family sparked a media firestorm - for the use of positive and welcoming language about divorced couples and gays - top Catholic theologians who advise the pope have decided to examine the entire synod process. At a time when the Roman Catholic Church and its supreme pontiff are drawing greater global attention, it's not surprising that its doctrine keepers want theologians to check and double check the means through which changes flow.
Such a responsibility falls to the Vatican's International Theological Commission, which began its new 5-year-term in December. Its first move as a group was to propose and vote on important doctrinal problems to study during the next term.
The commission picked three broad topics: religious liberty, faith and sacraments, and the synod process.
Synods, which are meetings of the world's bishops called by the pope to talk about urgent church matters, were established after the Second Vatican Council to promote collegiality and unity among Catholic leaders. The October synod proceeded as a series of closed-door meetings, so only attending bishops can say for sure whether such collegiality was achieved. But one thing that is for sure is that the synod caused worldwide excitement and tension.
Moira McQueen, one of only seven women on the commission that includes 30 scholars, tells HNGN that the choice to look at synods is directly related to the recent Extraordinary Synod and some of the questions it raised.
One such question is about who should take part in the global meetings -- only bishops or regular Catholics as well? And if non-clergy are placed in the mix, does that staffing choice impact the "authority," or weight, of the group's work and decisions?
McQueen, a Canadian theologian with a bioethics background, says additional topics for the commission's study are also related to current events. Religious liberty has been a Catholic battle cry in the United States because of church opposition to the Affordable Care Act's contraception clause.
Regarding the sacraments, she says the group may study the order in which sacraments are received - something that currently varies between different Christian denominations.
Ultimately, the work of the commission will inform the influential Vatican doctrine office - the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
In the meantime, the Theological Commission itself is slowly catching up to the times. Pope Francis spoke to the current members about the importance of female theologians, saying he wants more and upping the number to seven for the current session. That's leaps and bounds above female percentages from previous commissions, which, as recently as 1999, amounted to zero.
Kathryn Elliott covers the Vatican, Pope Francis and all things related to the Catholic Church for HNGN. She is a producer for EWTN News Nightly, an international cable news show airing weeknights at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. EST on the Global Catholic Television Network. Kathryn has reported for the National Catholic Register, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Catholic Spirit, The Minnesota Daily and The Word Among Us Magazine. She has a BA in professional journalism from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Kathryn lives in Washington, D.C. Follow her on Twitter at @kmelliott90.
