Pope Francis wants the synod to be a political community—but one based on faith, not interest
We can accept as a given that our Roman church inherited much from its classical Roman ethos—including its sense of authority as growing from a past, and that is obvious enough when we think about the Catholic sense of tradition. But we can make a good case for a less noticeable but no less certain Roman inheritance: Our church can be seen in republican terms, as a republic.
Source: americamagazine.org