VATICAN CITY – One of the persistent criticisms of the last meeting of the Synod on Synodality was that, despite the frequent emphasis on listening and dialogue, many relevant and important voices were not heard.

In his finale evaluation The Synod’s George Weigel identified some of these voices as happily married couples, Catholic educators resisting today’s “woke” culture, and healthcare professionals living a culture of life.

But another group conspicuous by its absence were the faithful who valued traditional liturgy and apostolic tradition; It’s a small but thriving group, both in terms of vocations and Church participation, but is currently the subject of Pope Francis’ sweeping Vatican restrictions since 2021. motu proprio Traditionis Custodes.

During the worldwide consultation phases of the 2021-2024 synod, traditional groups such as the Latin Mass Society of Great Britain (LMS) and the International Federation of Una Voce (FIUV) encouraged their members to contribute, and many responded by sharing their views. It is part of the synodal process.

Written contributions, mostly from Europe and the United States, appeared in synodal reports during the continental phase, which lasted from late 2022 to March 2023, and continued to be recorded by bishops in subsequent synthesis reports.

Writing in FIUV magazine Gregory Magnus last winter, LMS President Joseph Shaw observed Some bishops’ conferences, such as those in Malta, Italy, France and Australia, tended to ignore them altogether. But in dioceses and countries where the traditional Mass is well established, he wrote, diocesan and national synthesis reports tend to “acknowledge the presence of Catholics adhering to it and report their points of view.”

These were often mentioned in the context of a desire for a more respectful ritual, concerns about divisions, and a sense of exclusion and marginalization among adherents of the old ceremony.

However, as the synod progressed, these contributions did not become part of the discussions at the meeting and were not included in the final document. “They just kind of got blown away,” Shaw told the Register, adding that they were “like seeds falling among thorns.”

Direct appeals to the synod organizers were also ignored.

In April this year, Jean-Pierre Maugendre, president of the French traditional group Renaissance Catholicism, sent An appeal directly to the synod office for complete freedom of the traditional Mass because he wanted the entire traditional world to attend the synod, but the Register learned that Maugendre received no response, not even acknowledgment of receipt.

Noah Peters, founder and president of the Latin Mass Community of Arlington in Virginia, told the Register: “From its inception to its final document, the Synod of Synodality refused to accept or act on the input it received from both lay and lay Catholics.” those who are not.

He said this highlights how the traditional Latin Rite “is the source of professions, conversions and conversions, and the restrictions are hurtful and cruel,” even though traditional Catholics offer “well-considered views throughout the process.” But he added: “It was clear from the outset that the Synod leadership was not interested in hearing or acting on these views.”

This discrepancy became clearly evident when the synod participants discussed the issue of vocations and shortage of priests in the West.

Traditional Catholic communities described Groups such as the Traditional Priestly Brotherhood of St. Peter (FSSP) as the only growing Catholic demographic in the Western world record Number of professions and significant growth in 2023 general membership. More generally, participation in traditional rituals growingand pilgrims participating in events such as the traditional annual pilgrimage to Chartres in France breaking records.

A traditional priest in the United States told the Register on condition of anonymity because of restrictions on ancient ceremonies that traditional communities are “overflowing with vocational pursuits and struggling to accommodate those who desire to join their ranks.” He added that only since then will many of these emerging vocations have approached local dioceses in the near future. traditions Them They feel that they “can no longer entrust their professional understanding to those who have effectively canceled out traditional understandings of what it means to be Catholic.”

The synod’s final document acknowledged the vocational crisis but, apart from emphasizing traditional liturgies, offered solutions such as “expanding and stabilizing” lay ministries.

This issue also came up in some press conferences. Cardinal Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen, Germany, told reporters on October 22 that “so far we have not found an answer to the priest shortage” and suggested that there must be a “new answer regarding women in the Church.” including the official appointment of female preachers.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Synod’s general officer of Synodality, also drew attention to the problem of priest shortages in his highly secular country, Luxembourg. He told reporters that to combat this, his diocese was merging congregations not only because of a lack of priests but also because of a “lack of faith.” The traditional ritual failed to register as a possible solution.

Abbé Claude Barthe, a writer specializing in traditional liturgy and priest of the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon in France, told the Register: “There is no one in the synod, not even bishops who know the traditional world well. Bishop Matthieu Rougé “It is mentioned that Nanterre benefited from the opportunities of the traditional world, where there were a significant number of professions.”

When the Register asked Cardinal Hollerich at the end of the synod why traditional Catholics and their views on vocations and other issues were not taken into account in the final stages of the process, he replied: “I have people who celebrate Mass with the old rite, and I am friends with them. I can’t imagine being affected by that in a postmodern world.” I can; I do not condemn it.”

When asked to follow up on the question, he replied that traditional Catholicism was “not up for debate” and added: “We were not against them; we were not for them.” When asked how such an approach could be called synodal when it should include listening to all points of view, he replied: “We discussed issues from God’s people, and these people did not write to us.”

The Cardinal was asked again about the issue outside the press box, but he said he was “too tired” before entering the room to interview Vatican media. When asked if he could once again explain why traditional Catholicism was not included, he once again declined, saying it was young people who would see who was waiting for him.

Speaking to the Register at the end of the meeting, Archbishop Andrew Nkea From Bamenda, Cameroon, a member of the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod, which oversees the functioning of the 2021-2024 process, acknowledged that traditional Catholicism was being ignored and said the reasons for this were: Tradition Custodes. “We were not going to discuss the Pope’s (motu proprio) in the synod,” he said.

According to Abbé Barthe, exclusion from the synod and synodality was “clearly ideological” and pointed to “other areas where traditionalist ‘recipes’ worked,” such as “Mass participation, youth movements, and Catechism teaching.”

Peters said that while the final document was “perhaps not as bad as feared, the biased process unfortunately failed to reflect the voices of the Catholic laity and religious who have made many voices on behalf of the traditional liturgy and the immutable judges of the Church.”

He added: “It is clearer than ever that traditions It completely contradicts the concept of a synodal Church,” but said he was “confident that future synods will not be able to escape the prayerful and impartial deliberations needed in these difficult times for the Church.”

Members of the synod secretariat were also contacted for this report but did not respond at press time.