The Conciliar Circularity of Synodality
Logicians have identified – and demolished – what they term a “circular argument.” Basically, to propose an example, a circular argument goes something like this:
The synodal Church is the Church foreseen by the Second Vatican Council.
Why?
Because the Second Vatican Council foresaw the synodal Church.
In a circular argument, the conclusion is in the premise – and that’s that.
For anyone proposing this particular argument, it doesn’t matter that Lumen gentium(“The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church”) never uses the term synodal as it is used here and doesn’t remotely suggest what the circular argument assumes. Yet the Gregorian University in Rome announced Monday that it will hold a three-day conference at the conclusion of the current synod titled, “From the Council to the Synod. Rereading a Church’s journey 60 years after Lumen Gentium (1964-2024).”
