Photo collage by FutureChurch

At the press briefing today, Paolo Ruffini and Sheila Pires were joined by Sr. Liliana Franco Echeverri, a member of the Company of Mary and president of the Latin American Confederation of Religious and Cardinal Joseph Tobin, a Redemptorist, Archbishop of Newark, and, one of the men Pope Francis appointed to be a part of the synod.

A Sister’s Love Note

Sr. Liliana Franco Echeverri is one of those people who radiates the Holy Spirit.  In her comments she said that she wants to bring the Spirit of Jesus who welcomes the other to the synod. “We really have a desire to live as Jesus lived.  A Jesus who humanizes and gives dignity and who is inclusive.  A Jesus who opens the door to the other,” she said.  She wants to be a part of a different journey that relies on conversation in the Spirit.  “In our small groups, we recognize this dignity, a dignity that comes from mutual respect and communion,” said Sr. Liliana.

Cardinal Tobin expressed his gratitude to be in a small group that is diverse with a Russia woman and a Ukrainian mother and where he is able to listen and learn from others.

Paolo Ruffini shared the list of 13 who will oversee the writing of the draft report for the synod.  Sr. Patricia Murray is one strong woman, but it is sad to see that more women weren’t chosen for this critical task.

Seven members were elected by the synod assembly yesterday.  Three members were personally appointed by Pope Francis, and three are members from the Secretariat of the Synod.  The following list was created by Courtney Mares.

Below is the list of those who will oversee the drafting of the synod synthesis report.  This is always controversial because some worry that the voices that do not agree with Pope Francis will be written out or diminished.

The Overseers: The Commission Writing the Final Synthsis

Members Appointed by Pope Francis

Father Giuseppe Bonfrate, Italy, is a theology professor at the Pontifical Gregorian University, where he teaches courses on the sacraments and the Second Vatican Council. He is the director of the university’s Alberto Hurtado Center for Faith and Culture and served as an expert in the 2015 Synod on the Family and the 2019 Synod on the Pan-Amazonian region.

Sister Patricia Murray, IBVM, Ireland, has spent nearly a decade as the executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG). The sister with the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loreto Sisters) previously worked as a secondary school teacher, principal, and a peace education officer and was appointed as a consultant for the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education earlier this year.

Cardinal Giorgio Marengo, IMC, apostolic prefect of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is the world’s youngest cardinal at the age of 49. Originally from northern Italy, Cardinal Marengo has spent two decades as a missionary in Mongolia, where he was appointed apostolic prefect in 2020.

Members elected by the synod assembly 

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, OFMCap, Democratic Republic of Congo, is the archbishop of Kinshasa and is the president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). He was made a cardinal by Pope Francis in 2019. The African cardinal said at a synod press conference on Oct. 7 that the outcome of the Synod on Synodality will be “welcomed by everyone as the will of God.”

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, France, is the archbishop of Marseille, where he has emphasized the importance of dialogue between Christians and Muslims and welcoming migrants. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2022. The Algerian-born Frenchman has headed the French bishops’ conference council for interreligious relations since 2017. He welcomed the pope to Marseille last month.

Cardinal Gérald Cyprien Lacroix, ISPX, Canada, has served as the archbishop of Quebec and primate of Canada since 2011. He spent eight years as a missionary priest in Colombia with the Pius X Secular Institute and served as director general of the institute for nearly 10 years. He was named in early 2023 to the pope’s Council of Cardinals.

Bishop Shane Anthony Mackinlay, Australia, has served as the bishop of Sandhurst since 2019 and was the master of Catholic Theological College in Melbourne for nearly 10 years. He participated in the German Synodal Way session in March, where he is an advocate for LGBTQ people.

Archbishop José Luis Azuaje Ayala, Venezuela, has been president of the Venezuelan bishops’ conference and is currently vice president of CELAM. He participated in the 2019 Synod for the Amazon. In an interview in 2018 he said: “I think Pope Francis is doing what a pope should do: encourage, get to the heart of the message. … With parrhesia the pope carries the weight of renewal and does so looking to the future with hope. We see it in the convocation of the youth synod, in the agreement with China, and in its constant rapprochement with minorities.”

Bishop Mounir Khairallah, Lebanon, has served as the eparch of the Maronite Catholic Eparchy of Batroun, Lebanon, since 2012. He studied at the Pontifical Urbaniana University in Rome and at the Catholic University of Paris.

Father Clarence Sandanaraj Davedassan, Malaysia, is the director of the Catholic Research Center in Kuala Lumpur. A priest of the Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur, Davedassan is the executive secretary for the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences’ Office of Theological Concerns and has been a consultor to the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue since 2013. He gave a livestreamed testimony at the Synod on Synodality’s General Congregation on Oct. 9.

Members from Synod Leadership 

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, relator general, is one of the leading organizers of the ongoing Synod on Synodality as the relator general. The Jesuit archbishop of Luxembourg was added to Pope Francis’ council of cardinal advisers earlier this year. He said in an interview in March that he believes that a future pope could allow women priests and that he finds “the part of the teaching calling homosexuality ‘intrinsically disordered’ a bit dubious.”

Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the General Secretariat of the Synod, is the former bishop of Gozo, Malta. He was one of two authors of the Maltese bishops’ pastoral guidelines on Amoris Laetitia, which stated that divorced and remarried Catholics, in certain cases and after “honest discernment,” could receive Communion. Last year, Grech decried criticism of the German Synodal Way.

Father Riccardo Battocchio is one of two special secretaries for the Synod on Synodality. The Italian priest from the Diocese of Padua is the rector of the Almo Collegio Capranica in Rome and the president of the Italian Theological Association.

Q & A

Joe Tobin Rocks

Sandro Magister, a long time Italian journalist who is quite explicit in his criticism of Francis and Francis’s Curia, asked Ruffini about the division of the small groups and the questions small groups would be discussing.  Magister objected to these divisions arguing that they are “coming from the top down.”  I have to smile.  Sandro loved Benedict XVI’s top down management style, but again, this is a veiled complaint about the person at the top — Francis — and not the process.  Nonetheless, Ruffini gave a very long answer about the process and then Joe Tobin spoke.

This whole process has really impressed me.  I’ve been involved in the planning since 2018 and what has impressed me has been the sensitivity to reflect honestly on what has been heard, first, at the diocesan phase in this very complex diocese that I serve in northern New Jersey, where we celebrate the Eucharist and 23 languages every Sunday. And where we had to prepare materials for at least eight or nine major language groups.  At the end, when people examine the report that we sent to Washington, like all the US dioceses, people said ‘yes’ what I said is there.  Maybe not with the emphasis everybody wanted because people have different passions. But they didn’t say ‘I was ignored,’ which is amazing. And then this was repeated in the national synthesis that served as a basis for the continental meeting.  Now North America, uniquely among the continents, choose to do conduct our continental meetings online.  So I purposely went to one meeting in English, one meeting in French, and one meeting in Spanish. And I was very impressed and I would say a little surprised that I didn’t hear of any of those people saying, ‘what I said or what was said in our our local church isn’t there.’  That is a real tour de force. Now, I think the Instrumentum Laboris is following in that tradition. We will see as we go ahead because we’re still fairly new in the process, but I am quite confident that things did not come down from on high rather the beauty of this process is it begins from the base.

Another journalist asked about how the conflicts in the world are playing out in the synod hall and at the small group tables.  She also wanted to know how topics like polygamy, divorced and remarriage, LGBTQ relationships, etc. were being addressed in the synod hall.

Joe Tobin answered first.

The war in Ukraine did come up as well as the conflict which broke out, as we all know, over the weekend.   The wars are in the headlines, but there are also  wars that unfortunately are not always covered in the press like the wars in Africa of the conflicts in Asia.  These are part of our reflections as well.

I think the other outreach that is a concern is a concern of my diocese is outreach to people who feel that they are not at home in the Catholic Church. Not so many years ago, I welcomed a pilgrimage of people who felt marginalized because of their sexual orientation, LGBTQ+ people, to the Cathedral. I couldn’t stay for the whole service because I had another commitment, but I welcomed them and one of my auxiliary Bishops, a Cuban-American, had a wonderful reflection.  He said after I gave the initial welcome, ‘We have a very beautiful cathedral and I hope you see it sometime. It is arguably the most beautiful cathedral in North America and it’s 5 feet longer than Saint Patricks in New York (laughter).  It is French Gothic and it was made by the Italian architect who had immigrated and built this wonderful structure in 70 years….This is a wonderful, wonderful, beautiful place but it’s most beautiful when the doors are open.’  I  think are the real beauty of our Catholic Church is clear when the doors are open and welcoming.  And its my hope that this synod will help us do that in a more significant way.

The synod is based on the context, our land…a world that wants to build walls….An option that allows us to understand we are all brothers and sisters.  In my small group we talk about the people who are excluded.  We have a cruicial role to go and look for those who are not in our church.  Those who are the victims of trafficking, etc.  We must protect human rights.  We must have a voice that is prophetic.  

Joshua McElwee of National Catholic Reporter asked Joe Tobin about the blocking of the media.

Tobin said that Pope Francis wants the synod to be free.  He went on to say that he didn’t really understand the problem.  “I think there will be plenty of time to be accountable.”

Another journalist asked, “Among the problems that were raised in the continental assemblies, one that emerged was the issue of liturgy.  In the B1.5 there is a specific question — addressing the need for re-developing liturgy according to the local cultures.  Was this topic addressed?”

Ruffini said that those topics would be taken up the next day.

Diane Montanya asked Joe Tobin about the banishment of Catholics from parishes that held the Traditional Mass.  She explained that while the cardinal had suggested the church is most beautiful when the doors are open, that Catholics who are trying to live a good life and attend the Traditional Mass are being turned away and that is not being addressed in the Instrumentum Laboris.

Joe Tobin started his response by talking about the pain Catholics feel when their parishes are closed due to demographic and population changes.  But then, he also acknowledged that changes in the Mass have shifted the opportunities for attending Traditional masses and that he understood the grief.  And he knows that there are people who identified with that mass, but “I don’t think they have been banished from the Catholic Church.”

Another reporter from the National Catholic Register asked again about the composition of the Small Groups and the fact that they are being assigned to specific themes.  “How would you respond to concerns that this approach won’t allow all the members to weigh in on all the themes evenly.”

Ruffini replied that every member can speak freely on every topic. During the general congregations, anyone can ask for the floor and give their opinion.

Joe Tobin followed with a response.

Sr. Lilliani and I and all the members, in advance, were asked to provide personal information, contact information, but also our preferences regarding the language of the small groups and the list you of the different aspects of the three sections, communion, mission and participation.  We saw the list that you’ve seen and we were asked to give in order of preference a couple of choices.  I believe I heard Cardinal Grech say that just about everybody got their preferences.  So it wasn’t that you were frog marched into a group when you didn’t want to be there.  I also think that people do have an opportunity to weigh in because listening to the interventions has happened across the floor. Last week people who were not looking at a particular aspect, still have the opportunity to talk about it. This is different from prior synods. I can tell you.  This is the first time of those seven synods that I come as a bishop.  But I came in the first five synods as a superior general.  I used to feel very sorry for the bishops, especially in some of those synods..because ‘we can’t talk about what we want to talk about.’ I don’t think anyone of us can say that now.  And more importantly, the bishops and other members have come prepared because they’ve been listening in different configurations the people of God for several years now to hear what they believe is important.  So I don’t feel handcuffed at all and I don’t think I’ve heard that at least expressed to me.

After an important question about human trafficking and a response from Sr. Lilliana, another reporter from Australia asked about the way the “sensus fidelium” fit into the process of the synod.  He wanted to know if Pope Francis will end up deciding what goes forward.

Joe Tobin’s response was practical, but also somewhat distressing since there was a consensus from the bishops at the 2019 Amazonian synod regarding married priests and women deacons — but those ideas were not accepted by Pope Francis at the time.  I think many of us who have been following the synods, and know what Pope Francis wrote in Episcopalis Communio felt betrayed by his unwillingness to follow thru with the Spirit of the synod then.

Before I left the diocese, somebody asked me a question about discernment.  I said you could decline the verb to discern this way in the context of the synod, I discern, you discern, he decides.  Now that may sound rather authoritarian or totalitarian, but actually it is not because I have an able to cooperate with the Francis in different things. He listens very carefully.  He is remarkably well informed and he takes seriously the unity of the church.  So I am confident that, whatever he does, accept, and thgere have been synods recently, where the pope didn’t accept it at the time.  I believe he said, ‘This is a parliamentary decision.  It wasn’t a decision that was reached by serious discernment.’  That aspect, that value is built into the process.  For example, this value of silence….after people speak, after about four speakers, there’s a pause for 3 to 5 minutes, just so people can can be silent and try and process, even ask the Holy Spirit to help you understand what was said.  The prayer is anything but perfunctory.  It’s actually a preparation and it’s a theme that goes through goes through the whole day.  And there are particular moments like you probably were aware yesterday, where we began with a beautiful Catholic liturgy of the Eucharist in the Byzantine tradition….And yes,  I think there are discernment is opportunities Brother Mark.  I hope we’re availing ourselves of it.  I believe that the Holy Father is going to take seriously whatever comes out of th

 

 

 

 

The second module, B.1, “A Communion that Radiates” was set into motion today.  As such, the session was videotaped.

Cardinal Grech announced that some people are not attending because they have Covid.  He also said that medical experts had been contacted and that this was not a threat to the entire assembly as long as they take precautions.

Cardinal Grech also announced that the election of the members  writing the synod synthesis report would take place this afternoon.

Scary changes

As participants begin discussing Module 2 (B1) there are some significant changes in the process from last week, changes that are scaring the socks off some synod skeptics since it plays into their greatest fears that those who seek inclusion for LGBTQ persons will be dominating those discussions.

According to Cardinal Hollerich the changes are as follows:

There is also something new: the composition of the groups has changed…This time, the groups are formed based on both language and thematic preferences. We have followed the choices you made as much as possible. Unlike the first Module, the groups do not all follow the same track, but each one tackles just one of the five Worksheets that the Instrumentum laboris sets out in Section B1…”

A Humble Cardinal

In his opening remarks Cardinal Hollerich also shared an example of how the church has failed when it comes to creating a “communion that radiates.”

I happened to listen to the story of a family who had moved from Africa to a European country. They found it very difficult to find a parish in which to live their faith. The Catholic parish they first attended was a parish of churchgoers, but the community did not offer a deeper sense of communion. They were frowned upon because they had different religious customs. They felt excluded. They found a Methodist community where they were welcomed, they got concrete help in taking their first steps in their new country. Above all, they were welcomed as brothers and sisters, not as objects of charity, they were not simply a means for people who wanted to do good. They were accepted as fellow human beings, walking together. When I heard this testimony, I thought of my own country, my own Church. Probably the same thing would have happened, with the exception that we have no Methodist Church to welcome them. 

Falling in love

Fr. Timothy Radcliff breaks hearts open with his words about the first preacher, the woman at the well.  With her at the center of the story, he shows us God’s wild, radical love and invites us to share that love with others.

So out formation for synodality means learning to become passionate people, filled with deep desire. Pedro Arrupe, the marvellous superior general of the Jesuits, wrote: ‘Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute, final way. What you are in love with, what seizes your imagination, will affect everything. It will decide what will get you out of bed in the morning, what you do with your evenings, how you spend your weekends, what you read, who you know, what breaks your heart, and what amazes you with joy and gratitude. Fall in love, stay in love, and it will decide everything.

Professor Anna Rowlands, Siu Wai Vanessa Cheng, and others also gave beautiful reflections and testimonies regarding communion.  If you have a chance, listen to them or read their words.  You will be inspired.

Communion: Ties that Bind

Prof. Anna Rowlands (pictured above) is the St Hilda Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice Dept of Theology and Religion & Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University, UK.  Her theological reflection on Communion has three main points that bring the reality of our lives together into sharp focus.

Can we find the courage to encounter reality, as it really is? This was Fr Timothy’s beautifully challenging question to us. He placed before us the paradox of our call to be Christ-like: to hear, see and feel the condition of our world, and yet to be gently honest with ourselves that we do not find bearing reality so easy. Section B1 of the Instrumentum Laboris leads us into the heart of this basic Christian paradox: hope and difficulty, the beauty and freedom of God’s call and the challenges of growing into holiness. The Instrumentum Laboris uses the language of Lumen Gentium § 1 – inviting us to reflect on the mission of the Church to be in Christ the sign and instrument of unity with God and all humanity. The life of communion is given to us as the graced way of living together in Christ, learning to ‘bear with’ reality, gently, generously, lovingly, and courageously, for the peace and salvation of the whole world.

The first thing to say about communion, then, is that it is the reality of God’s own life, the being of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In this sense, it is the most real thing there is: the ground of reality and source of the being of the Church.

Our first action in relation to this reality is a joyous, non-anxious, non-competitive reception. To participate in the life of communion is the honour and dignity of our lives. Communion is how we understand God’s ultimate purpose for all humanity: to draw the creation he loved into being ever more completely into His own life, in embrace, and through so doing, to send us out to renew the face of the earth. The call to be the Church that serves this kingdom is described in Lumen Gentium § 9: “that it may be for one and all the visible sacrament of this saving unity”. The Church both shows and gives communion with God, who is communion for all creation. Communion is then our being and our doing.

A friend tells me that Raymond Brown, the American biblical scholar, was fond of teaching his students that the language of koinonia first appears in the New Testament in connection with the practice of money exchange, expressing the idea of the Church’s common pot. The money – the currency of the Church is not cash – rather, our common pot is the riches of the gifts, charisms and graces God pours out in the Church, which he “distributes […] with his own authority” (Bas., fid. 3), and we are called to discern. As baptised Christians, we all have our hand in this pot.

We think of communion as both the first and last words for a synodal process: the origin and horizon of our path. With Christ and his Spirit at the centre, communion is the very power of this room.

The joke often made is that God became flesh, and the theologians turned God back into words again… and my time is short, so I will choose just three different dimensions of thinking about communion to name very briefly.

Firstly, communion is the beauty of diversity in unity. In a modern world that tends towards both homogeneity and fracture, communion is a language of beauty, a harmony of unity and plurality. This beauty lies in its celebration of the richness and diversity of a creation that gives glory to God, a plurality that finishes only when each created thing has exhausted its createdness, and all is enfolded back into God through Christ in the Spirit.

St Bonaventure, the great Franciscan theologian, wrote beautifully about how creation’s plurality allows all the different colours of the divine light to shine through. The divine light is perceived in a communion that radiates through a glorious diversity – of persons, creatures, cultures, languages, liturgies, gifts and charisms. Henri de Lubac emphasised that the Church is never in competition with culture. In the cultures she dwells in, She confesses and receives Christ. A communion that radiates is a non-competitive, genuine diversity with a single point of unity in the Trinitarian God.

In the face of a worldliness which so often worships competitive and assertive strength and the logic of possession rather than relation, God draws us into a communion of humility and service. Jean-Marie Tillard wrote that, unlike any other entity in the world, it is in embracing weakness, in suffering and in poverty that the Church ‘succeeds’ in becoming the sign of God’s grace. Our beauty is not the world’s beauty. Section B1 invites us to grow in communion by reflecting with humility with those who are vulnerable, suffering or weak and on the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of the Church. In Section B1, we ask with courage how we might be closer to the poorest, more able to accompany all the baptised in a variety of human situations, disposed of false power, closer to our fellow Christians, and more engaged with our particular cultures.

The Church was born inseparable from the human drama: in a temporary shelter, on the Cross, at Pentecost. Our Catholicity continues to be lived amidst our human drama. We speak of communion, not out of a calm perfection that lies just out of our reach, but out of our necessary location in the struggle of every culture and context for truth, beauty and goodness. Section B1 invites us to reflect positively on the meaning we find in those places of encounter and struggle, to hear echoes and differences.

Secondly, communion exists in concrete, tangible realities. It is the life that offers bread for the hungry, healing for the suffering, rest for the troubled. Perhaps the most relatable and vivid image of communion is, as a feast, the wedding supper of the Lamb. God appeals to our senses: taste and see, take and eat.

It is in the Eucharist that the different dimensions of communion meet: this is the place where the communion of the faithful is made manifest, where we receive the gifts of God for God’s People. The sacramental order teaches us, by feeding us, communion.

The Scriptural portrayal of the feast is also an image that unsettles the perceived natural order of things. In the feast that is set, the powerless, despised and suffering shall be first. This is so, because of the closeness of God to those who suffer and the closeness of many who suffer to the knowledge and mystery of God. A survivor of clergy abuse wrote to me when he knew I would be at the Synod, he said, ‘be bold about the need for healing. This is a pascal journey we must walk together. And tell them the Eucharist is life saving.’ Not all abuse survivors feel this way, but I share this because it has the character of a prophecy of communion; it calls for repentance, and proclaims the central truth of our faith.

The scandalous friendships of Jesus that drew a community of disciples together were so often table friendships. And table friendships matter. When I worked with a Catholic refugee charity in London, I asked the refugees who came for assistance why they chose this particular service. I will never forget their reply: because here I am welcomed at the door by name, and the staff sit and eat with us at the same table. This dignifies me, it gives me back my humanity. At the other centres, the staff do not eat with us. Worksheet B1.1 focuses our discussions on precisely these questions of a dignified communion where the Church encounters Christ who already sits at table with the poorest.

Thirdly, communion is a participation that ties us to others across time and space. The koininia language of the Scriptures is instructive; it implies: ‘to share, to have a part in, to have something in common with, to act together’; a participation in a shared reality from which no one is, in principle, excluded. It is a reality that becomes more itself as it is poured out, extended outwards to every corner of the globe, and shared more intimately and completely between the Churches. Accepting truth means there is always more truth to know.

We are always acting in the light of what has been, acting now, and acting towards what beckons – towards unity and service of the kingdom. Each of these actions – started but incomplete – tie us to the realities of the past – the joyful ones that need to be sustained, the harmful ones that need to be repented and healed – the praise of God and call of our neighbour in the present, and the future we long to be received into. A crucial part of why communion language is Pascal and therefore hopeful language is because it ties past, present and future with a golden thread. In an age often intent on severing those connections, our faith holds tight to them. It is part of its orientating intelligence for us.

This reality of a communion that radiates, mysterious yet utterly practical, already before us, and still ahead of us, offered as bread for the world and words that save lives, needing to be expressed in every context – local, regional, global – that the Church inhabits, this is the paradoxical horizon of hope, the reality that if we have the courage, the Lord invites us to place ourselves within.

Sister Hope

Today, Pope Francis appointed Sister Simona Brambilla, M.C., an Italian-born Consolata Missionary, as the Secretary of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.  Since 2019, she has been a member of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life and will now take up the #2 position in the Dicastery.  The International Union of Superiors General (UISG) praised the move as another concrete step in raising more women into positions of authority in the Church. 

The press briefing summing up the work of the week and the end of Module A was held today.  For the first time, two guests accompanied Paolo Ruffini and Sheila Pires.  Secretary of the synod and President of Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu and head of the diocese in Kinshasa, Congo, as wellas, Sr. Leticia Salazar, Chancellor for the Diocese of San Bernadino, were present.  Sr. Leticia has been part of the synodal process from the beginning and took part in the drafting of the final continental documents.

Paolo Ruffini explained that the reports for each Small Group were sent to General Secretary of the Synod.  Topics covered included being a welcoming church and ending clericalism and Sheila Pires reported that the small groups that met in the afternoon yesterday, listened to more reports and heard some participants give a short presentation about their experience thus far.

Sheila Pires explained that there were 302 members at the assembly.  It has been reported that some of the members were sick with Covid.  She relayed information about prayer opportunities and explained that Cardinal Grech offered information about pilgrimage next Thursday – a compulsory pilgrimage Catacombs of St. Domitila, a second century catacomb.  During FutureChurch pilgrimages there, Sr. Chris Schenk and Sr. Lyn Osiek pointed out a fourth century fresco of two women, Veneranda and Petronilla, holding a codex and scrolls, signs of their ministry of the Word, a very important bit of history of all Catholics, but especially those at the synod.

Sr. Leticia Salazar shared that the experience of being with the Global church has been amazing and that she is constantly learning new things.  Cardinal Besungu shared that this synod is the fourth synod that he has participated in, but this synod is not like the others.  The cardinal is persuaded that this will bear will bear good fruit for the church.

Q & A

One of the reporters asked if Pope Francis was at the synod in the afternoon on Friday.  Sheila responded that he was there, even though it was not expected, and many of the participants expressed gratitude for his presence.

The same reporter asked Cardinal Besungu about whether the topic of married priests was discussed.  The cardinal responded saying that the topic is being discussed but there will be no decisions until October 2024.

Sr. Leticia was asked about the discussions on migration.  Sr. Leticia was adamant that in her diocese and throughout the Church, we need to be a welcoming church.  At this worldwide synod, “it is for us to discern how to be a welcoming church,” she said, “and to learn to be brothers and sisters to each other.”   Sheila added that the discussions also touched on how migration affects the family structure and how there are now many child-headed families now because of poverty and war.

Non-bishops with Authority?

Another reporter challenged the idea of a collective discernment and asked if it was really the General Secretary that decides.  He

also wanted to know what gives the non-bishops the authority to make decisions.  Cardinal Besengu responded to the challenge by saying that it is baptism that gives all the authority to speak and discern.  He also asked, “How do we together try to find the best solution?”  We adopted this method and we believe this will bring us much closer to what would be the will of God.  Sr. Leticia added that the prayer element is helping the collective community to be attentive to the Spirit of God.

Stoking Fear

Edward Pentin of the National Catholic Register, representing Catholics fearful of gay people, asked Cardinal Besungu, “Given how

much the homosexual issue is taboo in Africa, what is your opinion on the emphasis being placed on the LBGT issue during this synod, and are you concerned that these discussions may lead to an acceptance of same sex blessings in the church?  And if that happens, will the African bishops accept it as the will of God?” The cardinal, responded by saying that this is a synod on synodality.  In journeying together, he asked how they could address the issues that are being raised?  “If there is the LGBT and homosexual issues, then the Lord himself through the collective discernment, will tell us ‘you need to follow this direction,” replied the cardinal. He continued, “I don’t want to express my own opinion because that would move away from the spirit of synodality.”

Justin McLellan, an Ecuadorian American journalist based in Rome with Catholic News Service, asked if the Africa and other developing countries are being properly represented in the synod.  Sr. Leticia explained that synodality is not a concept but an experience and this experience is new for her.  She did feel that all were being represented.  Cardinal Besengu, responded by saying that the synodal participants did talk quite a bit about seminary formation. He agreed that there is not a lack of seminarians everywhere but that it is a problem in other places.  Referring to his own diocese he explained, “I have more than 130 seminarians.”

A final reporter asked if the huge expectations around the synod would just cause frustrations.  The cardinal explained that the synod is defining a new way to act and to addressing problems.  It is a call to conversion.  Sr. Leticia’s agreed, expressing her greatest hope for the synod, “How can we learn to be brothers and sisters?”

 

The above photo is my favorite of all!  I love the determination on the faces of these women!  The future is bright friends!

During the press briefing, Sheila Pires explained that each language group contains participants from difference geographic regions which makes the sharing richer.  She also explained that women’s roles are a priority at the synod with a woman religious opening with prayer at the synod today.

Forming Men

Some of the topics that are coming up are formation of priests and seminarians, the church being a welcoming home, the plight of migrants, ecumenicism, and inter-religious dialogue.  Sheila also explained that the topic of women’s participation was also discussed and that a religious woman opened the synod today.  There are also discussions about young people and the concerns they share.

Ruffini explained that there were reports from the Small Groups and generally, there was agreement that the atmosphere of fraternity, but there were also fears.

What to Do with Mueller

During the Q & A, Christopher Lamb of The Tablet asked if Cardinal Gerhard Mueller’s interview with EWTN was a break in the rules regarding confidentiality that Pope Francis laid out on the first day.  Ruffini answered saying that Mueller’s interview falls within the realm of discernment.  Joshua McElwee of the National Catholic Reporter asked if there would be a punishment for participants, like Cardinal Mueller, who speak about the synod in public.  Ruffini replied that there was no policeman, and that compliance was more along the lines of trust.

Another reporter asked if the participation by women was felt by others and by Ruffini himself.  He said that he did experience the difference and that the notion of being a welcoming church was especially expressed by the women present.

A synod skeptic, Diane Montagna of the Catholic Herald asked if the synod is being led by the Holy Spirit or another spirit.  Ruffini’s answer was short, and as expected, he defended the process at the synod.

Can you hear the women marching?

On Friday, a group of women and their allies marched from the church of St. Giovanni dei Fiorentini to the Vatican holding signs calling for women’s ordination.  The church of St. Giovanni dei Fiorentini was a worthy starting point for these prophetic women because it contains a relic of the foot of St. Mary Magdalene, the “Apostle to the Apostles.”  Like Mary Magdalene, who courageously proclaimed the Word of God in the face of doubters, these women faithfully proclaim God’s word even in the face of those who would scoff.

During the press briefing, the head of Vatican media, Dr. Paolo Ruffini explained that the participants introduced themselves today, and voted for the person in their group who would report to the wider body.  The person who is chosen to report is important.  There was a total of three votes taken within the small group to determine who that person would be.

A Shero

One of our sheroes at the synod, Sheila Pires was appointed by Pope Francis as Secretary of the Synod on Synodality Commission

for Information.  She is a veteran Mozambican journalist who serves in the communications office of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC).  FutureChurch was fortunate to have her join our 2020 Pilgrimage to Greece where upon returning to South Africa, she shared what she learned about Early Christian women during her show on Radio Veritas.

Small Groups

Sheila explained that the Small Language Groups met in the morning and discussed their experience of synodality prior to coming to Rome.  Participants had about 4 minutes (each) to share their experience.  After this sharing, there was silence, prayer, and then a kind of feedback where participants shared what touched them.

In the third round, the Small Groups made notes on areas that stood out, areas where they agreed and areas where they heard differences.  A report was drafted of this summary and shared with all the participants by the reporter from each group.

Finally, if a participant feels their comments were not taken into account, they can submit them directly to the Secretariat of the Synod.  Here is a link to the powerpoint that was given today showing the methodology used at the synod:  https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly/0510/ENG-Methodology.pdf

An Accuser

Q & A

During the Q & A period, Diane Montagna who writes for the Catholic Herald and used to write for the notorious LifeSite News started her question by asking why participants will be bound to silence, even after the synod.  A good question to be sure, but then she went on to cast aspersions some of the women who have been invited to participate in the synod because they “hold positions that are contrary to the Catholic faith.”   She went on to identify one such women, Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler, a synod participant

from Switzerland who supports the ordination of women.

Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my.

I have sat next to Montagna at former synods, and she never fails to get on my last nerve with her manufactured outrage and her mean girl attitude. The sound of fingernails on a blackboard is easier to bear than these brittle and often brutal comments.

God bless the women, and especially sheroes like Helena Jeppesen-Spuhler.

Wednesday, October 4, 2023

Release of Laudate Deum

As the synod opened, Pope Francis released his most pointed climate challenge to the world, but especially to the United States.  The hope is that this straight talk will spur U.S. bishops and all Catholics, many who are climate change deniers, into new ways of caring for our common home. 

If we consider that emissions per individual in the United States are about two times greater than those of individuals living in China, and about seven times greater than the average of the poorest countries, we can state that a broad change in the irresponsible lifestyle connected with the Western model would have a significant long-term impact.

Opening Eucharist: Laity First

The synod opened with a formal procession and Mass with Pope Francis presiding.  While there was still a lot of overdressing from our ordained members, it was symbolic to witness women and laity processing into the Eucharistic celebration before the prelates.

Introductions

Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sedrak, one of 10 delegate presidents, gave the first speech of the day. Pope Francis’ remarks were followed by speeches from synod Secretary General Cardinal Mario Grech and synod Relator General Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich who recapped the goals, spirit, and method of the three-year synodal process launched by the Pope in 2021.

Don’t Talk

The rules for the synod engagement were released and included codes of conduct, dress codes, voting rules, etc.  One of the most restrictive rules for journalists was stated as follows:

“To guarantee the freedom of expression of each and every person regarding his or her thoughts and to ensure the serenity of common discernment, which is the main task entrusted to the assembly, participants are bound to confidentiality and privacy both with regard to their own interventions and other participants’ interventions. This duty remains in effect even after the synod assembly has ended.”

It added that “recording, filming, and disseminating” speeches is prohibited.

Pope Francis made it clear that he wants to preserve the confidential atmosphere of the synod and asked that participants “fast” from speaking about what they know publicly.  But, of course, this makes it very difficult to learn what is actually happening inside the synod hall.  Journalists are rightly frustrated because, as with all such events, it is important to learn about the actual experience of synod participants, and not just what the Vatican wants to project.  My guess, is that there will be leaks and interviews that come our way despite the lock down.

Cardinal Mario Grech explained that, as in the past, there has been a Commission for Disputes created composed of three members appointed by the Pope.

He further explained that working groups will begin tomorrow.  Each working group has a facilitator, recorder, and reporter.  Also, the fraternal delegates and experts will join.  These delegates have a right to speak but not to vote.

Finally, Grech explained that each person must stay in their assigned place at the table and use the assigned tablet throughout.

Following Grech, there were two witnesses at the opening session, one by a newly appointed cardinal and one by a layman.

Especially touching was the witness of Cardinal-elect Archbishop Grzegorz Ryś of Lotz, Poland,.  He spoke of those who came to his synodal gatherings, and especially of one who had not participated in the church for decades.  He explained that after a whole day of listening, this person shared that he did not understand anything that had been discussed.  This informed the cardinal elect most.  For Ryś, the heart of the synodal work is to move far beyond talking to those who are already involved, and to reach out to those who have been excluded.  Let’s hope his words become action!

Video of first day

Vatican media is recording some of the synod meetings.  If you want to see some of the first day’s activities and view how the hall is set up, you can view the opening day here:  https://www.vaticannews.va/en/vatican-city/news/2023-10/synod-walking-together-and-listening-to-the-holy-spirit.html

It is Sunday, October 15, 2023.  Last week’s open-heart surgery on my beloved family member was successful. God is good. After the surgery, we rode the inevitable ups and downs of post-surgery complications and spent most nights at the hospital. But then things began to look up. On Thursday, after an extensive test, we received good news that we could go home.  From his hospital bed, my favorite patient sang, “Tonight there’s gonna be a jailbreak” by Thin Lizzie.  Everyone else in the room was dancin’.  On Friday, he was released into the arms of his children, the youngest who clung fiercely to him. And he had his first good night’s sleep in weeks.  God is so good.

With the most critical part of this journey behind us, I am returning to my work reporting on the synod.  This first report will be a long one since I am catching up on what has been happening in the synod hall.  I will try to recap other important events as well in other blogs.  So, dear friends, please read what is helpful and leave the rest.  I’ll give you my best and point you to some of the best articles, blogs, and podcasts out there.

SynodWatch, Roundup Style

One of my favorite podcasts is The Daily Beans, News with Swearing.  Dr. Allison Gill offers a roundup of the news each day followed by good news – photos of dogs, cats, and other cute animals.  It is informative, humorous, and, at times, raucous. Given my changed circumstances, I thought it might be a worthy format for reporting on the synod.

This year, all journalists in Rome are facing significant barriers in reporting on the synod. As the synod began, Pope Francis issued a formal request that participants “fast” from talking to journalists. He apologized to the journalists because it creates a kind of media grey-out.  Francis’s worthy goal is to create a space that is more retreat-like and prayerful and where participants can speak freely in their conversation circles without it ending up in a headline.  Yet, it also means that we won’t know many of the details of what is happening between October 4 – 29, or get those up-close-and-personal perspectives that journalists obtained in the past.

Happenings 

Even before synod participants gathered for the opening Mass on October 4, Catholics witnessed some strange shenanigans, and surprisingly, some significant breakthroughs.

September 30, 2023
Discerning Deacons Go To Rome

A number of women, including Tracy Kemme, SC from my Sister of Charity community represented Discerning Deacons as they travelled to Rome to raise awareness about one of the big issues on the table, ordaining women as deacons.  Since 2015, when Archbishop Paul-Andre Durocher first uttered the suggestion that synod participants should be talking about women deacons, to 2019 when bishops from the Amazon region asked that the issue be studied, to today, the issue has gathered lots of steam thanks to groups (including the pioneering work of FutureChurch, Voice of the Faithful, Association of U.S. Catholic Priests, Women’s Ordination Conference, etc) and many women including Phyllis Zagano, Sr. Carmen Sammut and the leadership at the International Union of Superiors General who prodded Pope Francis into developing the first study commission in 2016, and more.  The progress that has been made at the synod rests on the shoulders of many pioneering women.

Anna Robertson wrote a blog about some of the Discerning Deacons adventures and they were mentioned in an AP news article.

It is clear that this topic will be coming to the top again and again as synod participants gather.  And I think many who care about this issue are filled with hope that a new day is dawning in the Church for women!

October 2, 2023
Calling Out the Doubters

On October 2, Pope Francis published a response to a dubia sent to him in July from Cardinals Raymond Burke, Walter Brandmüller, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, Robert Sarah and Joseph Zen. Their letter containing misgivings or doubts about the synod process focused on five areas; a) the interpretation of Scripture, b) the blessing of same-sex unions, c) the assertion that synodality is a “constitutive dimension of the Church, d) the ordination of women, and e) whether repentance is necessary for a person to receive absolution. While the cardinals had published their dubia, they had not published Francis’s response.  Thus, the Vatican made the Pope’s response public.

The five hand-wringing cardinals who have long opposed the pope’s pastoral vision for the Church, expressed their concern about the way authority would flow at the synod.  Francis used it as an opportunity to teach and to invite them more deeply into the synodal process.

Francis not only reminded the five about the long interpretive tradition of the church, but, also signaled that the church could be open to blessing same sex relationships, a monumental softening of the church’s position.

And in almost the same breath, Pope Francis signaled openness to studying the ordination of women to the priesthood. If you read the dubia, the five cardinals were seeking assurances that the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood would remain closed.  While re-iterating John Paul II’s definitive statement, he suggested that even the notion of a “definitive statement” deserved to be studied and developed.

On the other hand, to be rigorous, let us recognize that a clear and authoritative doctrine on the exact nature of a “definitive statement” has not yet been fully developed. It is not a dogmatic definition, and yet it must be adhered to by all. No one can publicly contradict it and yet it can be a subject of study, as with the case of the validity of ordinations in the Anglican Communion.

That is a stunning admission making it possible to imagine a church that is no longer crippled by  Pope John Paul’s 1994 Apostolic Letter freeing all to recognize God’s call to ordination.

October 3, 2023
Troublemakers about town: The good, the bad, and the ugly

Two events occurred on October 3^rd – one with a tragic dystopian vibe, the other inspiring.

As the synod participants were finishing their three-day retreat, Cardinal Raymond Burke helped lead a nifty little retreat of his own. In the Ghione Theater near the Vatican about 200 people including Cardinal Robert Sarah came together for an anti-synod rally.  Lovingly called, “The Synodal Babel,” the group clamored other’s fears about ordained men losing their special status, “decadent Western sexual mores” and “radical feminist claims about the equality of women.”  In similar fashion, the Catholic Identity conference that took place in Pittsburgh at about the same time featured embattled prelates Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano and Bishop Joseph Strickland leading sessions like, “Francis’s Missionary Genocide,” “and “Pope of Surprises: Chaplain to the New World Order.”  You can’t make this stuff up.

Across town, at the Basilica of St. Praxedes, a group of women and men, organized by Women’s Ordination Worldwide entered into prayer and prayerful listening as they practiced synodality in real time.  Women from various geographical regions shared their sorrows and their hopes for a church that honors and cherishes the gifts, strength, and vocational call of women. Kate McElwee spoke of her experience moving through the synodal process.  Calling the synodal path a “synod of surprises,” she recounted the ways her voice and the voices of other women who are called to ordination were officially recognized, for the first time, as part of the synodal conversations.

 

Before We Begin
Spirituality; Technology; and Process

Hall Setup

This year, the synod gathering was moved to a new venue to accommodate the new process. The Paul VI Hall which holds 6300
people for papal audiences, has been revamped for the synod.  In past synods, the hierarchical order was evident in the large theater style space.  Pope Francis and prelates sat to the front and lay and religious auditors sat in the back.  This year, there are 35 large round tables that seat 10 to 12 participants for a total of 365 places and the prelates, religious, and lay persons are interspersed.  They are seated according to language groups – Italian, Spanish, French, English, and Portuguese.  As they move through the modules, they will also be seated according to topic, a move that is controversial to conservatives who fear this is stacking the deck on issues of women, sexuality, etc.

 

Attention to Spirituality

For the first time in synod history, there has been an intentional effort to create a spiritual atmosphere.  While at past synods, Each morning begins with the Eucharist.  This did not happen at previous synods. Moments of prayer and silence are also interspersed throughout the discussions.  After three or four people share, there is silence.

Advanced Technology

The technology has also advanced this year with features such as simultaneous translation for each participant in the major
languages.

At each table there are black encased touch-screen tablets for each voting member including Pope Francis (his tablet in encased in white). The device provides access to the Synod assembly’s reference texts such as the Instrumentum Laboris and a record of the discussions throughout the month. These devices will also be used for voting on the final text toward the end of the month – a document that will become the roadmap for the work over the next year.  When the participants arrive at their places, the first thing they do is to present the QR code on the back of their badge to the tablet bearing their name. Their tablets remain in the hall.

There are also four television sets per table which allow the participants to follow what the speaker of the moment is saying.

The Schedule & Process

The work is divided into five modules focusing on the three priorities outlined in the  Instrumentum Laboris

Each of the first four Modules has as its theme one of the sections of the Instrumentum Laboris (A; B1; B2; B3), while the fifth Module (C) is for drafting and approving (by vote)) the final document.  This powerpoint was shared to show how the methodology works.

Module A on the nature, meaning, and experience of synodality, was discussed from October 4 – 7, 2023.  Those discussions were structured as follows:

1. Cardinal Hollerich offers overview of module..
2. There were two sessions of the Small Groups at the tables which discussed the topic. They then prepared a summary of their discussions, main reflections, and questions which was delivered to all participants in the plenary session.
3. During the two plenary sessions, participants listened to the interventions of the Small Groups followed by free discussion.
4. Another session for the Small Groups was provided so they could draft a final report of their discussions. The small group wrote a final report and approved it as being an accurate reflection of their discussions.  It was then delivered to the General Secretariat Cardinal Grech.

Modules B1, B2, B3 on Communion, Co-Responsibility, and Participation have a slightly different structure with more plenary sessions. Discussions take place from October 9 – 21, 2023.

1. Cardinal Hollerich offers overview of module.
2. There are two sessions of the small groups with a report to be given during the plenary sessions.
3. There are three plenary sessions where all listen to all the reports of the Small Groups and to discuss what they hear.
4. The final session of the Small Groups is space to draft a final report, approve it by all the members of the small group, and deliver it to Cardinal Grech.

Module C is the final module for developing the final draft of the Summary Report of the first session of the Assembly, the report that will be used as a roadmap for the following year.  This module will take place from October 23 – 28, 2023.

1. The outline of the Summary Report for Module A will be presented in a plenary session.
2. The floor will be opened for debate around the outline of the Synthesis Report;
3. The Small Groups will have further discussion of the Summary Report.
4. There will be another plenary session for the presentation and debate of the outline of the Summary Report relating to Modules B1, B2 and B3.
5. The Small Groups will further discuss the Summary Report for those modules.

Finally, after all discussions and amendments, there will be a reading of the full text of the amended Summary Report to all members in a plenary session along with a vote for approval of the final report.

Useful Resources

Vatican list of participants at the Synod.

https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2023/07/07/0500/01109.html

The National Catholic Reporter Guide to the U.S. Participants at the Synod

https://www.ncronline.org/news/ncrs-guide-us-participants-synod-synodality

Synod resources and documents:  https://www.synod.va/en/highlights/xvi-general-ordinary-assembly-of-the-synod-of-bishops.html

Sisters involved in the Synod on Synodality

https://www.globalsistersreport.org/sisters-involved-synod-synodality

Important Articles and Podcasts

Sr. Angela Perez by Rhina Guidos

https://www.ncronline.org/news/sisters-vatican-synod-see-dismantling-hierarchical

Heidi Schlumpf interviews Kate McElwee

https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/francis-effect-podcast-no-gop-speaker-laudate-deum-kate-mcelwee-interview

Meet the Woman Who Led the U.S. Synod Process – interview of Julia McStravog by Coleen Dulle

https://cms.megaphone.fm/channel/AMMD9157570844?selected=AMMD5033622269

Vatican Synod on Synodality Signals Hope for Women’s Ordination Advocates by Claire Giangravé https://religionnews.com/2023/10/06/vatican-synod-on-synodality-signals-hope-for-womens-ordination-advocates/

LGBT Catholics subject of emotional debate by Christopher White

https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/lgbtq-catholics-subject-emotional-debate-synod-participants-say

The Vatican’s High Tech Synod

https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/the-vaticans-high-tech-synod/18487