Middle East synod reveals east-west tensions in the Catholic

The Vatican hoped to use the unprecedented Synod for the Middle East to reinvigorate the eastern Catholic hierarchies and strengthen their loyalty to Rome. A show of solidarity with Christians in the region was to encourage spiritual revival around revitalised churches.

The stated reason for the synod was to help stem the tide of Christian emigration from the Middle East. This is a genuine concern for the Catholic church. The continued Christian presence in a Muslim-dominated region keeps alive the model of coexistence as a viable alternative to a "clash of civilisations" view of religions as destructive forces. It also maintains a link to Christianity's Semitic heritage and holy places.

Another motive for convening the synod, however, has become apparent during the last two weeks of intense discussions: the Vatican wants to curb the politicisation of the eastern Catholic churches. Its officials repeatedly raised concerns that Catholicism in the Middle East is being fragmented and weakened by parochialism among its various branches. In more veiled terms, they accused Eastern clergy of letting sectarianism go unchecked and fostering isolationist ethnic churches.

It is a classic case of the sprawling Catholic church's centre-versus-periphery dilemma. The Vatican views the regional situation from above, through its representation at the UN and the Arab League, and its near-global diplomatic network. The local churches' perspectives are grounded in the politics of their communities and countries.

The Vatican held a similar Synod for Lebanon in the 1990s. It put the spotlight on Lebanese Christians, politically marginalised and thoroughly demoralised under the post-war Pax Syriana. It bolstered their flagging sense of community, with the church as focal point. As such, it also succeeded in restoring the authority of the hierarchy headed by Maronite Patriarch Sfeir, to the extent that he was able, in 2000, to start a movement against Syrian domination that would culminate in the "Cedar Revolution" of 2005, with Christian politicians once again partners in government.

The Synod of Lebanon created a strong Maronite hierarchy, loyal to Pope John Paul II and his Middle East policy. In the process it marginalised ethno-nationalist elements within the Maronite church that had actively supported a federal solution for Lebanon. These were objectives that the Vatican had tried and failed to achieve through a decade and a half of heavy-handed interventions in the Lebanese church.

Pope Benedict XVI may have wanted to mimic John Paul II's approach this month, but the Arab delegates had other ideas. The patriarchs and bishops of the eastern Catholic churches were not interested in being told how to run their own shops. On the contrary, it looks like they went into the synod hoping to mobilise the Vatican's considerable political and diplomatic resources for their own ends. Time and again they turned the discussions – which the pope sought to keep to pastoral, not political, issues – towards the Palestinian question. Certain comments in the statements issuing from the synod have caused offence in the Israeli establishment, potentially shaking the fragile relationship on which the Vatican relies to fulfil its policy objectives in Jerusalem and other holy sites.

Eastern patriarchs are also frustrated with the limitation of their power within the Catholic communion as a whole. Their authority is limited in Catholic canon law to local patriarchal territories in the Middle East. More than a century of emigration has, however, left large parts of their Eastern-rite congregations under the territorial authority of the "Patriarch of the West" – the pope.

Barely concealed beneath the official rhetoric is an age-old gripe about the distribution of power. Some of the eastern patriarchs have long felt that their status as heads of churches should give them parity with the pope as head of the roman church, or at least a clear superiority over western bishops. These aspirations are based on claims to direct succession from the apostles, who founded churches in the Middle East before going on to European centres such as Rome. Several Arab delegates used the synod to call for the eastern patriarchs to be "ipso facto members" of the college that elects the pope.

For all the heart-warming platitudes about unity, hope and coexistence that have and will come out of the Synod for the Middle East, the eastern and western churches have serious differences to settle.