The synodal path is not a way forward for the Church

My dear sons and daughters in Christ:

It is with a shepherd’s heart, compelled by duty and love, that I must speak plainly about a matter that weighs heavily upon my mind and heart at this time: the so-called “synodal path.” It presents itself as a way forward for the Church – but in truth, it leads away from the foundation laid by our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Church is not ours to reinvent. She is the Mystical Body of Christ, founded on the rock of Peter, guided by the successors of the Apostles, and sanctified by the Holy Ghost. Any attempt to redefine her divine constitution – by flattening her hierarchical nature or by distributing the doctrinal authority of the papacy among bishops’ conferences, assemblies, or lay committees – is not renewal, but rupture.

The “synodal path” departs from the clear teaching and structure handed down to us from the Apostles. It undermines the Petrine office, which Christ instituted when He said: “Thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). It introduces confusion in place of clarity, democratic sentiment in place of divine authority, and compromise in place of fidelity.

The Church cannot contradict herself. She cannot teach today what she condemned yesterday. The deposit of faith is not subject to evolution by consensus. As St. Irenaeus of Lyons wrote, “The Church, though dispersed throughout the whole world, even to the ends of the earth, has received from the apostles and their disciples this faith … and she carefully preserves it” (Against Heresies, 1.10.1).

In the Book of the Apocalypse, we see the souls of the martyrs beneath the altar, crying out to God (cf. Apoc. 6:9-11)). These are they who held fast to the faith even unto death, refusing to bend to the spirit of the world. They remind us that to be Catholic is not to follow the fashions of the age, but to cling to the cross of Christ, come what may.

The blood of the martyrs is not only the seed of the Church – it is also her standard. They died in fidelity to the one holy Catholic and apostolic faith, not a synodal experience. They died in fidelity to a Church with one voice, one faith, one baptism (cf. Eph. 4:5). We dishonor their witness when we seek to replace apostolic truth with the shifting winds of popular opinion.

We pray for the pope, we love the pope – but we follow Christ. And if the Holy See promotes a path that departs from the faith of the Apostles, we must respond not with rebellion, but with steadfast fidelity. And we must say, with Peter and the apostles, “We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

I urge you, dear faithful, do not be shaken. Hold fast to what you have received. Stand with the saints and martyrs. Be as the wise virgins, with your lamps trimmed and burning, ready for the Bridegroom.

Let us cling to the faith of our fathers – unchanged, unchangeable, and ever true.

Yours in Christ,

Bishop Joseph E. Strickland

Bishop Emeritus