Synod Proposal to ‘Decentralize’ Doctrinal Authority Met With Major Pushback, by Jonathan Liedl

By Jonathan Liedl, National Catholic Register, October 16, 2024

Jonathan Liedl is senior editor for the Register. His background includes state Catholic conference work, three years of seminary formation, and tutoring at a university Christian study center. Liedl holds a B.A. in Political Science and Arabic Studies (Univ. of Notre Dame), an M.A. in Catholic Studies (Univ. of St. Thomas), and is currently completing an M.A. in Theology at the Saint Paul Seminary. He lives in Minnesota’s Twin Cities.

Decentralizing doctrinal authority, or deciding certain doctrinal questions at local levels rather than universally, has been seen as a pivotal step for those aiming to make dramatic changes to Catholic teaching.

A proposal to decentralize doctrinal authority in the Catholic Church was met with significant pushback Wednesday during the Synod on Synodality, three separate participants told the Register.

The pushback took place as delegates considered a proposal in the synod’s instrumentum laboris, or working document, to recognize episcopal conferences “as ecclesial subjects endowed with doctrinal authority, assuming socio-cultural diversity within the framework of a multifaceted Church.” …