Sentimentalists Go to Rome, by Sheryl Collmer

By Sheryl Collmer, Crisis Magazine, Nov. 1, 2023

Sheryl Collmer is an independent consultant for several non-profit organizations. She holds a Masters in Theological Studies from the University of Dallas, as well as an MBA. She lives in the diocese of Tyler, Texas.

Last month’s Synod was pervaded with sentimentality, which glossed over the ugly realities it was seeking to condone.

When I was growing up, there was a woman in our parish who became a staple in our family folklore: Joan Langley (name changed). She became an icon of all things showy and sentimental. We would say, “Don’t be such a Joan Langley,” or call something cloying a “Joan Langley.” When everyone was holding hands during the Our Father at Mass, we thought of it as a Joan Langley. The “COEXIST” bumper stickers—as though being a Catholic didn’t imply any hierarchy of belief—were Joan Langleys.

The iconic Joan Langley would have been a natural synodalist in Rome this past month. Dripping with synodality, Joan Langleys would open Church doors so wide that everyone could enter without repentance or conversion; and through those same Church doors, the Tabernacle would be thrown out because Jesus is not a tame lion, and He might make some uneasy. …

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