Cardinal Raymond Burke emphasized before the Synod on Synodality in 2023 that 'the Church is not described as synodal but, instead, as hierarchical communion.'
'As God did not call men to be mothers, God did not call women to be fathers, and to be sacramentally ordained as a minister for Christ in His Church, Our Lord calls for men to be spiritual fathers and bridegrooms to His bride, The Church. This role can only be filled by one properly ordered to this role.'