Father Nicholas Nelson: Can the Holy Spirit change revealed truth?

Handing on the Faith 

We are nearing the first of two global gatherings for the Synod on Synodality. It will take place in Rome Oct. 4-28. Pope Francis has said, “In the one People of God, therefore, let us journey together, in order to experience a Church that receives and lives this gift of unity, and is open to the voice of the Spirit.” He has stressed that the synod is an “ecclesial moment,” not a parliament or an investigation into opinions, but “an ecclesial moment” whose protagonist is the Holy Spirit. He said, “Without the Spirit, there is no Synod.” 

In preparation for this gathering, there has been the opportunity for a vast amount of people to share their opinions, thoughts, and insights into all sorts of matters concerning the Catholic Church. Some of these people weren’t Catholic and have heterodox opinions. There have been people named as voting members to the synod who have advocated against current church teaching. The Catholic Church in Germany concluded their own Synodal Way this spring in which they approved same-sex blessings, lay preaching, and reexamination of priestly celibacy. 

Though our Holy Father has denounced the Synodal Way in Germany and said the universal Synod on Synodality in Rome is different, some Catholics are concerned that October’s synod will be used as an opportunity to advance un-Catholic ideas and teachings. 

The president of the German Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing, defended the German Synodal Way as an expression of the Holy Spirit. People who advocate for changes in the church’s teaching claim the Holy Spirit wants these changes. 

But is that true? Can people claim that it is the will of the Holy Spirit that church teaching change? The short answer is “no.” 

The Holy Spirit cannot contradict revelation 

The Holy Spirit gives us revelation. He did so through both Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. The Holy Spirit is the author of Sacred Scripture, and therefore the Bible is inerrant. What Scripture teaches is true and cannot change. For example, Sacred Scripture is clear that homosexual acts are sinful (1 Corinthians 6:9). The Holy Spirit can’t now say that homosexual acts are holy. To do so would be to contradict his earlier revelation. 

Another example is the reservation of priestly ordination to men. The Holy Spirit revealed to us through Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture that only men can become priests. In 1994, Pope St. John Paul II made this clear and said that the church has no authority to ordain women to the priesthood. Jesus revealed to us of the reservation of the priesthood to men. The Holy Spirit could not now say otherwise. 

The Holy Spirit cannot contradict natural law 

As God, the Holy Spirit created the world. He built the world in a certain way, he built a certain law or order into it. We call that law natural law, or, when it pertains to humans, human nature. Human nature doesn’t mean “what humans normally do,” because we are fallen and we normally do what is contrary to our human nature. Rather, human nature means the way were designed to live — what is in accord with what it means to be human. 

Things go well and people flourish when we act in accord with that law. Things go badly and there is more pain and suffering when we disregard or act contrary to that law. 

Times change, but the law or order that God built into the world cannot change. Human nature is the same today as it was with Adam and Eve. What was contrary to natural law and human nature in the beginning is contrary to it now. And because the Holy Spirit created Natural Law, he cannot contradict Natural Law even if it is many years later. 

In the end, the Holy Spirit cannot do whatever he wants. As the Spirit of Christ, he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The Holy Spirit is beholden to the revelation he revealed and the order he built into the world. There are some things that can change, some disciplines and some practices, but matters of faith and morals, revealed to us or expressed through natural law, cannot be changed. What was true before is true today. 

In the upcoming months, you will hear about the possibility of this or that revealed teaching changing in the church, but be at peace. It cannot. Rather, help bring truth and clarity into the discussion to combat the confusion that some are perpetrating. 

Father Nick Nelson is pastor of Queen of Peace and Holy Family parishes in Cloquet and vocations director for the Diocese of Duluth. He studied at The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Rome. Reach him at [email protected].