One of the biggest religion-beat stories of the year is currently playing out and most people are probably unaware of it, due to lack of mainstream-news updates. Maybe this story is too Catholic?
I say this because the three-year process that began in 2021 known as the Synod of Synodality is reaching its most contentious and potentially dramatic stage. I wrote back in March 2022 that the mainstream press had largely ignored the story.
This is what I wrote at the time:
A phrase like Synod on Synodality certainly won’t ever make it into a punchy headline, not even at The New York Post.
The secular press isn’t all that interested in doctrinal issues that don’t appeal to a larger audience or lack a political connection. It’s the reason why the pope going after the Latin Mass got little mainstream news attention while bishops batting President Joe Biden about receiving Holy Communion got tons of coverage. Then again, the synod will almost certainly contain strong LGBTQ news hooks.
Here we are 16 months later and the mainstream press is still largely ignoring the story. Our own tmatt had a very detailed podcast and post regarding one hook with the Synod of Synodality (#Vatican3) and the issues swirling around Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich’s past comments and current role, in which he will help shape synod debates about some of its most controversial issues.
Now, it’s quite interesting that the mainstream press — in the United States, at least — has largely been silent regarding a very important new synod document.
In fact, the Vatican’s release of the Instrumentum Laboris (Latin for “working document”) head of October’s Synod of Bishops makes clear that it’s “not a document of the church’s Magisterium.” The 50-page document, however, has plenty to say about the issues Pope Francis has openly discussed over the past decade regarding female deacons and gay unions.
In Italy, mainstream-news coverage of the pope and Vatican affairs are a staple of daily coverage — akin to White House reporting in the United States.
