Pope Francis has a 'wonderful approach' for the synod, says Archbishop Wester

Oct. 8—Pope Francis declared the Catholic Church is for "everyone, everyone, everyone," last week, opening a meeting in Vatican City that will discuss its future.

"I think it's a wonderful approach that the Holy Father Pope Francis is putting forward," said Archbishop of Santa Fe John Wester.

The General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be a three-week closed door gathering of over 300 where bishops and laypeople are debating issues. This is the first time laypeople and women have been allowed to vote in a synod of bishops. There will be another meeting in 2024.

"I think it's important to remember that we just don't know what will come out of the synod," said Wester. "I think it's not good to have expectations, I hope he does A, B, and C, so we have to wait and see where the Holy Spirit is guiding the church."

According to a 2018 Gallup report, New Mexico is 30% Catholic — well above the national average, and there are 1.4 billion Catholics globally, according to the Catholic World Report.

Some of the proposals under discussion are allowing women to take on more decision-making roles in the church and making the Catholic Church more welcoming to LGBTQ+ members.

Wester spoke at a Mass in New York's St. Paul the Apostle Church for an LGBTQ+ conference last summer sponsored by Father James Martin — a Jesuit priest who has advocated for more inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the church and who has been invited to participate in the synod.

"Sometimes members of that community feel judged, and we're not here to judge them. We're here to journey together," Wester said.

New Mexico Catholics have participated in the preparation for this meeting, as did the entirety of the Catholic world, through surveys of church members in the years leading up to the meeting to determine which issues should be discussed.

A year ago in New Mexico, over 400 trained facilitators met with people to hear their concerns and got thousands of responses. Catholics in New Mexico are concerned about youth participation in the church, said Wester.

"I think that a lot of young people, I really believe that they're longing to get in touch with their spiritual selves," Wester said. "They have a desire for the infinite, for God. So, how to respond to that, I think is one thing. I think secondly, young people have a real sense of compassion for each other and for others, and I think that the church can engage them on that level too."

One of the synod topics, whether women should be allowed to become deacons, has been under discussion for a while, said Wester. Pope Francis started a commission several years ago to study the dynamic of women deacons.

Deacons can minister in various ways, including preaching, leading prayers, conducting wakes and performing baptisms.

"I personally am in favor of women deacons. I think it's a good move. I think it's something that will require, obviously, preparation, because it's a cultural thing," Wester said. "The church culture is something that moves at a certain pace, so it will take time."

Albuquerque's Father Anne was excommunicated from the Catholic Church when she was ordained as an unsanctioned Roman Catholic priest in 2021. She was a practicing Catholic for 18 years before pursuing ordination and was ordained through the Roman Catholic Women Priests movement. Ordaining women as priests goes against church law.

"To be excommunicated means you cannot receive the sacraments," she said. "So, I cannot receive communion or confession. I won't receive a Christian burial, which I find so sad."

She's opposed to allowing women to become deacons within the church without also allowing women full priesthood.

"I find it irresponsible to ordain women as deacons without ordaining them as priests in an organization that has historically abused its power against women and children," she said.

Father Anne would like to be a priest. In the meantime, she offers Zoom services and is on a speaking tour about gender equality in the Roman Catholic Church.

But she is hopeful about the outcome of the synod.

"Some synod reports are calling for women to be ordained as priests, and others from around the world are saying it's a closed issue. So, it's on the table. If some are against and some are for, well, what's the invitation from God? You have to go into the question," she said.

Some Catholic clergy have criticized the synod's approach, but Wester sees the synod as an opportunity to follow the Holy Spirit and reach out to new generations.

"I know a lot of people get nervous, and they go, 'Oh, my goodness, gracious, is the whole Catholic Church going to be different?' No. The Pope is not looking to change doctrine, or any kind of a radical departure," he said. "The church always follows a continuum. It's always building on all the good that's gone before."