Two stories are at play in our world and each is vying for our allegiance: one is death-dealing while the other is life-affirming, writes Good Samaritan Sister Patty Fawkner.
“Global Culture is immersed in a destructive story of separation” asserts Charles Eisenstein, an American author and activist. Eisenstein recognises instances of domination, conquest, and harm in all spheres of life – ecological, economic, political and personal.
But he also identifies a story of human flourishing characterised by participation, co-creation, regeneration, and healing. To amplify this story, he says, the world is in desperate need of a revolution and “the revolution is love.”.
For the past 13 years, Pope Francis has been a story-teller of love.
An arch-protagonist in the destructive story of separation and domination is undoubtedly Donald Trump.
Our friend Francis has died. Leo has succeeded him, and the disruptor, Trump, continues to dismantle and destroy.
It occurs to me that Pope Francis’ reinvigoration of synodality, and its unequivocal endorsement by Pope Leo XIV, offers a compelling counterpoint to ‘Trumpism’, to the policies and behaviour of the American President and his ilk. Trumpism resembles similar nationalist movements in countries like Hungary, Brazil, and India.
Synodality – that strange word which simply describes an inclusive way of being Church – emphasises walking together, active participation of all, mutual listening and discernment in the service of human flourishing. I believe it offers a hope-filled vision of leadership, good governance and communal relationships suitable for ecclesial and secular organisations alike.
Synodality diverges from Trumpism in five key ways.
The first is synodality’s emphasis on listening rather than the Trumpism’s authoritarianism.
Pope Francis. Image: @palinchak/123rf.com
Authoritarianism doesn’t listen. Pope Francis confessed that as a very young Jesuit Provincial in Argentina, his leadership was deeply marred by his authoritarianism. Through bitter experience he learnt that a fundamental aspect of servant leadership was the ability to listen. “A synodal church,” he said, “is a Church which listens … the faithful, the bishops, and the Bishop of Rome all listening to each other.”
Pope Leo concurs. His first speech was synodal in its emphases: walking together, building bridges and dialogue.
Francis often apologised for past mistakes. Trump apologising? I’d like to see that!
In his second term Trump’s authoritarianism has intensified. The plethora of his executive orders in his first 100 days has literally been misery-making for millions of people throughout the world. Witness the mass firings of federal employees, the erosion of civil rights protections for immigrants and the destruction of the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
Because of the abolition of USAID’s vaccination and HIVAID programs in developing countries, the UN estimates hundreds of thousands of people, including 500,000 children, are expected to die. The policies and how they have been implemented have been cruel in the extreme.
Second, synodality’s commitment to inclusion and solidarity is in clear contrast to Trump’s program of exclusion and egregious nationalism.
Trump’s MAGA (Make America Great Again) mantra has been used to justify anti-immigration stances, economic protectionism, punishing trade tariffs and a global isolationism. It fuels a relentless scapegoating of vulnerable groups.
In contrast, synodality calls for a Church of inclusion and solidarity. “We want to be a Church of the Synod,” Pope Leo declared from the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, “a Church that walks, a Church that always seeks peace, that always seeks charity, that always seeks to be close, especially to those who suffer.”
A commitment to diversity of opinion is integral to the synodal process. Francis urged us not “to fear diversity”, rather to celebrate it as a gift from God. We wait expectantly to see how Pope Leo will express this commitment to diversity.
In the Trumpian world diversity is threat not gift. Trump has aggressively dismantled Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs, which were introduced by previous presidents to enhance a more tolerant, equitable and inclusive society. Racial minorities and gender diverse people are understandably fearful.
A third element is the dichotomy between communal discernment and individualism coupled with egocentric leadership.
US President Donald Trump. Image: Gage Skidmore / CC BY-SA 2.0.
Trump’s narcissism seems boundless. At a press conference celebrating his first 100 days in office, he skited: “The first time, I had two things to do – run the country and survive … And the second time, I run the country and the world.” And it seems he would have loved to have run the Church also, having posted an AI image of ‘Pope Donald’. Thankfully, another American now has the honour of being Pope.
The ‘new media’ hand-picked to attend particular press conferences tend to be Trump loyalists, non-diverse conservative influencers, podcasters and commentators. ‘Yes’ people all.
By contrast, the modus operandi of synodality is communal discernment, which gathers wisdom from a diverse group of voices in open, frank and honest speech, and a humble and real listening to others even when – especially when – there are disagreements.
Fourth, synodality celebrates one of Pope Francis’ favourite words, “encounter”, an encounter characterised by presence and healing rather than a culture of division and polarisation.
Pope Leo has previously said that synodality is a means of healing polarisation in the Church.
Rejoicing in his papal election, Peruvian President Dina Boluarte spoke of Leo’s healing presence and commitment to encounter in his adopted country. “He chose to be one of us, to live among us, and to carry in his heart the faith, culture, and dreams of this nation.”
There is potential for encounter in the big and small moments of life. “So often people eat while watching TV or writing messages on their phones,” Francis once said. “Each person is indifferent to that encounter. Even right there at the core of society, which is the family, there is no encounter.”
There was no real encounter, no mutual presence during the first White House meeting between the two Presidents Trump and Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky. Bullying rather than respectful encounter making for cringe-worthy television.
A last example is synodality’s commitment to moral leadership grounded in the Gospel, a belief in human dignity and the common good, rather than the wielding of abusive partisan power.
Let the images, media feeds and symbols speak: a photo of Pope Francis tenderly washing and kissing the feet of prisoners on Holy Thursday; the then-Cardinal Prevost’s social media feeds critiquing Trump’s harsh immigration policies, and previous feeds on race relations, climate and COVID-19.
And the name. By taking the name of the revered 19th Century Pope Leo XIII whose encyclical, Rerum Novarum, commits the Church to social justice and lays the foundation for Catholic Social Teaching, Pope Leo XIV is flagging his social justice, mission-oriented agenda.
An image that encapsulates Trumpism is that of deportees arriving in El Salvador’s infamous CECOT mega prison. They are shackled, bent over, and forced to march by masked prison officers. The image speaks of what Pope Leo would call an “appalling violation of human dignity.”
Trump’s disdain for “moral leadership grounded in the Gospel” was revealed with his misogynistic and temperamental backlash against the Episcopalian Bishop of Washington, the Right Rev Mariann Budde, the day after his inauguration when she asked him to have mercy on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people. Trump and his team equated the Gospel and the need for mercy and compassion to ‘wokeism’.
I am as thankful for Pope Francis and his commitment to synodality as I am disturbed by the toxic actions of Donald Trump. I am confident that Pope Leo will follow in Francis’ ‘woke’ Gospel way. May synodality and the revolution of love prevail under his leadership.
