Is This a Synod of Bishops or a Stealth Vatican III?

I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this Extraordinary Synod is the most important gathering of the pastors of the Universal Church since Vatican II. I'm going out on a limb, because I'm no scholar, nor am I the son of a scholar, but it could be argued that in ages past the pope would have called an ecumenical council to address what is a crisis of meaning, both inside and outside the Church, of the family. The debate, both public and private, has centered on the doctrinal understanding of the sacrament of matrimony and it's pastoral application. But, as at least one bishop has pointed out, the real issue being addressed in these two weeks isn't simply marriage in isolation, but the impact of the present cultural and social conditions on the family, of which marriage is a key component. Since the family is the building block of both Church and society the shifting definition of marriage and family is forcing the Church to ask existential questions of meaning and relevance. When the Church has faced other such crisis of meaning in the past, whether over the nature of the person of Jesus Christ or the number and definition of the sacraments, an ecumenical council was called. By opening up the synod process to greater input by the bishops themselves, Francis has called a sort of stealth council.

This is not meant as a criticism, simply as an observation.

Ecumenical councils can be messy affairs. They can take years to prepare for, and this lag time can give various factions within the Church too much time to push their agendas, or even sabotage the council itself. Once convened you don't know when it's going to end or even if it's going to end. Tent proceeded in fits and starts for 18 years before finally competing its work. Vatican I was cut short because of the Franco-Prussian War with the intention of reconvening but never did. Here Francis identified an issue challenging the life of the Church at its deepest level, shrewdly took a mechanism already in place, summoned an extraordinary session, which is not unprecedented, and gave the bishops time, but not too much time, to formulate their positions and debate them. The bishops have two weeks this year and next to do their job, and that's that, so they can't dally. He's also given them freedom to speak and even shape the agenda, which was the case with Vatican II, but may not have always been the case with the synods that have followed. And like an ecumenical council, the results, whatever they end up being, will effect Catholics at the grassroots level around the world; definitely not something that can be said of your average synod. This will be accomplished with all the benefits of a council and few of the hassles.

One of the great benefits of this more open, councilor style synod, is that voices from all over the world are being heard. The issue of divorced and remarried Catholics may be a burning issue in Europe and North America, and has gotten much of the news coverage in the West leading up to the synod, but isn't necessarily the number one priority in other places. African bishops are concerned with prevalence of polygamy in some parts of the continent, something culturally accepted that is in conflict with the Catholic view of marriage. Bishops from some predominantly Muslim countries face laws that force Catholics who marry Muslims to convert to Islam. The impact of poverty on family life is something which effects people from all over the world. We also shouldn't underestimate the presence of so many lay people participating as observers, who are not simply listening, but speaking as well.

Unlike Vatican II the focus of the synod is far more concentrated, but, again if I can go out on a limb, the results will be no less important. I leave off with some videos from the Catholic News Service, Catholic News Agency and Canada's Salt+Light Network to allow us to hear from some of the synod fathers themselves.