Lost amidst all the news from the just-concluded Synod was the election by the Synod fathers of the new "Synod Council" that will assist the Synod Secretariat until the next ordinary Synod (which is yet to be scheduled or announced, although it should take place in the next 3-4 years).
The names of the 12 elected members of the Synod Council have not yet been officially revealed pending the appointment by Pope Francis of 3 more members, but Sandro Magister published the names yesterday:
But meanwhile here are the names of the twelve already elected, three per continent, with Asia and Oceania together:
AFRICA
- Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the congregation for divine worship, Guinean;- Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, archbishop of Durban, South Africa;- Mathieu Madega Lebouakehan, bishop of Mouila, Gabon.
AMERICAS
- Charles J. Chaput, archbishop of Philadelphia, United States;- Cardinal Marc Ouellet, prefect of the congregation for bishops, Canadian;- Cardinal Óscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
ASIA and OCEANIA
- Cardinal George Pell, prefect of the secretariat for the economy, Australian;- Cardinal Luis Antonio G. Tagle, archbishop of Manila, Philippines;- Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay, India.
EUROPE
- Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, archbishop of Vienna, Austria;- Cardinal Vincent G. Nichols, archbishop of Westminster, United Kingdom;- Bruno Forte, archbishop of Chieti-Vasto, Italy.
At the end of every ordinary synod, these elections are always interpreted as an excellent indicator of the tendencies of the hierarchy worldwide.
If indeed this is an indicator of the hierarchy's "tendencies" then it is evenly split, with the Africans electing a solid slate of three conservatives, the Europeans electing a solid slate of three "progressivists" or "moderates", and the remaining six from the Americas and Asia-Oceania split between the two tendencies. Chaput, Ouellet and Pell are solid conservatives while Tagle, Gracias and Maradiaga are aligned more or less with the liberal camp. However, in a sign of the greater numbers of the "conservatives" it was Chaput who got the largest number of votes among the 12 Council members.
Magister notes that Cardinals Scola and Caffarra actually received more votes than Forte but Forte still managed to be elected due to a technicality in the process ("the dispersion of votes among the other Italians," although Magister does not elaborate on it).
Magister notes that Cardinals Scola and Caffarra actually received more votes than Forte but Forte still managed to be elected due to a technicality in the process ("the dispersion of votes among the other Italians," although Magister does not elaborate on it).
With this "split" the three papal appointees -- whose names have not yet been made public -- will play an even more decisive role in determining the direction of the next Synod.
(NB: when applying the terms "conservative" and "liberal" to Synod fathers we are referring mainly to their views on morality in relation to the main schools of thought that were revealed in the course of the Synod.)
