Sandro Magister skrev nylig en lang og meget innholdsrik artikkel om bispesynoden. Han begynner med å skrive at den tysktalende gruppen av biskoper etter hvert forstod at synodens sluttdokument ikke kunne bli så tydelig (for kommunion for gjengifte) som de hadde håpet på:
The turning point was the third report of the German-speaking circle, drafted on the evening of Tuesday, October 20, entire sections of which entered into the concluding document of the synod in at least three crucial points: “gender” theory, “Humanae Vitae,” and communion for the divorced and remarried. …
… The reactions against Kasper’s ideas from the cardinals and bishops were however such as to astonish even Pope Francis, who in effect from a certain point onward seemed to distance himself a bit from him.
And there was even more substantial opposition at the synod this October, to the point of inducing Kasper himself to withdraw his proposals and to double back to a minimal solution, the only one he saw as presentable in the assembly with any hope of success. ….
… in the German circle during the last week of the synod there was unanimity on precisely a hypothesis … presented as a study case: that of entrusting to the “internal forum,” meaning to the confessor together with the penitent, the “discernment” of cases in which to allow “access to the sacraments.” And in the “Germanicus” in addition to Kasper were cardinals Marx and Christoph Schönborn, plus other innovators. But there was also Gerhard Müller, prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of the faith and a staunch Ratzingerian.
But when the “German” solution went into the final document – which in turn was replacing a previous draft torn apart by criticisms – and went to the assembly for a vote, it could not be approved without further softening of its language, to the point of eliminating all innovation. And thus “access to the sacraments” was diluted to a generic “possibility of fuller participation in the life of the Church.” In the text that was ultimately approved, in the paragraphs on the divorced and remarried, the word “communion” does not appear even once, nor does any equivalent term. Nothing new, in short, with respect to the ban in effect, at least not if one holds to the letter of the text. …
I artikkelen skriver han også om hvordan bispesynoden har vært en fortsettelse av to store debatter mellom kardinalene Kasper og Ratzinger, både om Kirken som universell (Ratzinger sier den universelle kirke er det fundamentale, mens Kasper vil gi den lokale kirke mer myndighet) og om muligheten for kommunion for gjengifte (Ratzinger sier nei, og Kasper sier ja (under visse betingelser)).
Magister skriver også om det «interne forum», som er mye diskutert og ganske uklart:
But here as well there is a big gap between theory and practice. The “internal forum” is already a beaten path in many cases of the divorced and remarried who receive communion with – or more often without – the approval of a confessor. But there are also those who go much further. And they theorize a complete freedom of behavior in this field. …
Til slutt skriver han om hvilke 12 biskoper som under årets synode ble valgt inn i rådet som skal forberede de neste bispesynodene, der tydeligvis flere kjente, konservative biskoper fikk mange stemmer og ble valgt inn, bl.a. Pell, Napier, Sarah og Chaput.