Today begins the final week of the synod.   A draft of the “Letter to the People of God” was read and applauded by the participants.  They can make additional comments until 6pm today, and then the final text is going to be approved and published on Wednesday.

The work this week for Module 5, will be making changes to the final document – the map that will be used for the next year as we head to the 2024 Synod on Synodality.

Sr. Maria Grazia Angelini O.S.B gave a beautiful spiritual reflection today about the new stories, new parables, and new narratives  we are telling in the church today.  She ended with:

I pray that this Synod will receive the art of new narratives, the radical humility of those who learn to recognize the likeness of the Kingdom in the truest, most vital dynamisms of the human, of the primary bonds, of the life that pulses mysteriously in all the worlds and spheres of human existence, in an admirable hidden harmony. With such patience. The ability to peer into the night.

Wishing you good final work: in the telling of new parables that help you to think, grow, hope, walk – together.

Dominican Timothy Radcliffe also offered some thoughtful, tender remarks.  Anybody who quotes Rilke has my attention.

In a few days’ time, we shall go home for eleven months. This will be apparently a time of empty waiting. But it will be probably the most fertile time of the Synod, the time of germination. Jesus tells us: ‘The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how’.

We have listened to hundreds of thousands of words during the last three weeks. Sometimes we have thought: ‘Too many!’  Most of these have been positive words, words of hope and aspiration. These are the seeds that are sown in the soil of the Church. They will be at work in our lives, in our imagination and our subconscious, during these months. When the moment is right, they will bear fruit.

The poet Austrian Rainer Maria Rilke wrote:

In spite of all the farmer’s work and worry,
He can’t reach down to where the seed is slowly
‘Transmuted into summer’. The earth bestows.[1]

Then he continued:

These eleven months will be like a pregnancy…

So this is a time of quiet pregnancy…

This is a time of active waiting. Let me repeat the words of Simone Weil I quoted during the retreat. ‘We do not obtain the most precious gifts by going in search of them but by waiting for them…This way of looking is, in the first place, attentive. The soul empties itself of all its own contents in order to receive the human being it is looking at, just as he or she is, in all their truth.[3]’

This is profoundly countercultural. The global culture of our time is often polarised, aggressive and dismissive of other people’s views. The cry is: Whose side are you on? When we go home, people will ask, ‘Did you fight for our side? Did you oppose those unenlightened other people?’ We shall need be profoundly prayerful to resist the temptation to succumb to this party-political way of thinking. That would be to fall back into the sterile, barren language of much of our society. It is not the synodal way. The synodal process is organic and ecological rather than competitive. It is more like planting a tree than winning a battle, and as such will be hard for many to understand, sometimes including ourselves!

These are beautiful and gentle words.  But if we can use a metaphor like pregnancy, it will be all the more heartbreaking — and the metaphor will be all the more empty — if we do not see genuine and clear movement toward full equality for women in our church.  And while I do understand the counsel for waiting for the seeds of the synod to grow, I can’t imagine anything other than continued action for justice.  Martin Luther King Jr. may have recognized that that seeds for racial justice were beginning to sprout, but would not have counseled waiting, but moving and working with hearts full of love for the church, for women, for LGBTQ+ people, for those women, children, and men who live at the edges of poverty and war, and more.

God is Waiting for Your Reply

Father Ormond Rush from Australia gave a synthesis report reminding participants of the theological tensions at the Second Vatican Council and what we can learn for the Synod today.  He liberally cites Joseph Ratizinger who was very much about moving the church forward in those days and using Ratzinger he directly addresses those who hold a rigid claim to truth as well as those who need a way out of that mindset.  But the line I love most is, “God is waiting for your reply.”

Having listened to you over these past three weeks, I have had the impression that some of you are struggling with the notion of tradition, in the light of your love of truth. You are not the first to struggle with this. It was a major point of discussion at the Second Vatican Council. I thought it might be helpful to recall the questions they debated, and the answers they came up with. Their answers are, for us, the authority for guiding our reflections on the issues that confront us today. So, maybe Vatican II has some lessons for this synod, as you now bring to synthesis your discernment regarding the future of the church.

Over the four sessions of the council, one of the major recurring points of tension was this matter of “tradition”. In the first 1962 session, a draft text was presented to the assembly on “the sources of revelation”; it was styled in the categories of neo-scholasticism, which spoke of revelation, faith, scripture and tradition in a mostly one-dimensional way: in terms only of propositional doctrinal statements. When put to the council, the bishops virtually rejected it. The next day, Pope John XXIII agreed that a new text was indeed needed. On the historic significance of this debate, as well as the pope’s decision to intervene, the council peritus Joseph Ratzinger wrote at that time:

The real question behind the discussion could be put this way: Was the intellectual position of “anti-Modernism”—the old policy of exclusiveness, condemnation and defense leading to an almost neurotic denial of all that was new—to be continued? Or would the Church, after it had taken all the necessary precautions to protect the faith, turn over a new leaf and move on into a new and positive encounter with its own origins, with its [fellow human beings] and with the world of today? Since a clear majority of the fathers opted for the second alternative, we may even speak of the Council as a new beginning. We may also say that with this decision there was a major advance over Vatican Council I. Both Trent and Vatican Council I set up bulwarks for the faith to assure it and to protect it; Vatican Council II turned itself to a new task, building on the work of the two previous Councils.[1]

That new task was an engagement of Christian faith with history. What Joseph Ratzinger saw during Vatican II as the source of tension here were basically two approaches to tradition. He calls them a “static” understanding of tradition and a “dynamic” understanding.[2] The former is legalistic, propositional, and ahistorical (i.e., relevant for all times and places); the latter is personalist, sacramental and rooted in history, and therefore to be interpreted with an historical consciousness. The former tends to focus on the past, the latter on seeing the past being realised in the present, and yet open to a future yet to be revealed. The council used the phrase “living tradition” to describe the latter (DV, 12). In speaking of the dynamic rather than a static understanding of “the apostolic tradition”, Dei Verbum 8 teaches: “The tradition that comes from the apostles makes progress [proficit, “develops”] in the church, with the help of the Holy Spirit. There is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on.” And it goes on to speak of three interrelated ways through which the Holy Spirit guides the development of the apostolic tradition: the work of theologians; the lived experience of the faithful; and the oversight of the magisterium. Sounds like a synodal church, doesn’t it?

According to a dynamic understanding of tradition, says Ratzinger: “Not everything that exists in the Church must for that reason be also a legitimate tradition; in other words, not every tradition that arises in the Church is a true celebration and keeping present of the mystery of Christ. There is a distorting, as well as a legitimate, tradition… Consequently, tradition must not be considered only affirmatively, but also critically; we have Scripture as a criterion for this indispensable criticism of tradition, and tradition must therefore always be related back to it and measured by it.”[3] Pope Francis alluded to these two different ways of understanding tradition, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Tradition is a living reality and only a partial vision regards the ‘deposit of faith’ as something static. The word of God cannot be moth-balled like some old blanket in an attempt to keep insects at bay! No. The word of God is a dynamic and living reality that develops and grows because it is aimed at a fulfilment that none can halt”.[4]

At the heart of Dei Verbum’s retrieval of a dynamic understanding of tradition was its retrieval of a personalist understanding of revelation, as found in the Bible and in the patristic writings of the early centuries of the church. Revelation is not only a communication of truths about God and human living, which is articulated in Scripture and in the statements of doctrine at particular times in the church’s history, in response to time-conditioned questions put to the tradition. Revelation is primarily a communication of God’s love, an encounter with God the Father in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Dei Verbum speaks of divine revelation in terms personal friendship and encounter, and especially in terms of love and truth. Let me quote DV 2: “By this revelation, then, the invisible God, from the fullness of his love, addresses men and women as his friends, and lives among them, in order to invite and receive them into his own company… The most intimate truth [intima veritas] thus revealed about God and human salvation shines forth for us in Christ, who is himself both the mediator and the sum total of revelation.”

In Dei Verbum—and this is important for understanding synodality and the very purpose of this Synod—this divine revelation is presented as an ongoing encounter in the present, and not just something that happened in the past. The event of God’s self-revealing (always in Christ, through the Holy Spirit) and God’s offer of relationship, continues to be a living reality here and now. That doesn’t mean there can be some new revelation of who God is. But, the same God, in the same Jesus Christ, through the enlightenment and empowerment of the same Holy Spirit, is forever engaging with, and dialoguing with, human beings in the ever-new here and now of history that relentlessly moves humanity into new perceptions, new questions and new insights, in diverse cultures and places, as the world-church courses through time into an unknown future until the eschaton.

We see this present-nature of the divine-human dialogue in Dei Verbum 8: “God, who spoke in the past, continues to dialogue with the spouse of his beloved Son [the church]. And the Holy Spirit, through whom the living voice of the Gospel rings out in the church—and through it in the world—leads believers to the full truth and makes the word of Christ dwell in them in all its richness.” Therefore, according to Joseph Ratzinger, in Dei Verbum we are given “an understanding of revelation that is seen basically as dialogue… [T]he reading of Scripture is described as a colloquium inter Deum et hominem [a dialogue between God and human beings]… The dialogue of God is always carried on in the present… with the intention of forcing us to reply.”[5]

This Synod is a dialogue with God. That has been the privilege and challenge of your “conversations in the Spirit.” God is waiting for your reply. At the end of this week of synthesis, you might well want to begin that synthesis by saying, as did that first Council of Jerusalem, described in Acts 15: “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” In their time, their letter to the churches then went on to address an issue on which Jesus himself had left no specific directions. They and the Holy Spirit together had to come to a new adaptation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ regarding that new question, which had not been envisaged before.

Vatican II, accordingly, urged the church to be ever attentive to the movements of the revealing and saving God present and active in the flow of history, by attending to “the signs of the times” in the light of the living Gospel.[6] Discernment of the signs of the times in the present seeks to determine what God is urging us to see—with the eyes of Jesus—in new times; but also urging us to be attentive to the traps—where we could be being drawn into ways of thinking that are not “of God”. These traps could lie in being anchored exclusively in the past, or exclusively in the present, or not being open to the future fulness of divine truth to which the Spirit of Truth is leading the church. Discerning the difference between opportunities and traps is the task of all the faithful—laity, bishops, and theologians—everyone, as Gaudium et Spes 44 teaches: “With the help of the Holy Spirit, it is the task of the entire People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to hear, distinguish and interpret the many voices of our age, and to judge them in the light of the divine word, so that revealed truth can always be more deeply penetrated, better understood and set forth to greater advantage.”[7] That “revealed truth” is a person, Jesus Christ. So, as we move to discernment of our final synthesis, may we be guided by the injunction of the Letter to the Hebrews 12: 2: “Let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.”

This is just brilliant.  He reminded participants that at the Council of Jerusalem they addressed “an issue on which Jesus himself had left no specific directions. They and the Holy Spirit together had to come to a new adaptation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ regarding that new question, which had not been envisaged before.”

May the Synod produce such good results as we look forward to a genuine conversion when to comes to women in the Church, LGBTQ people, and more.

Press briefing

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Austria, Mexican Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline, Metropolitan Archbishop of Marseille, France, and Sr. Samuela Maria Rigon, General Superior of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother who is a psychologist and professor at the Gregorian.  She was appointed by Pope Francis to participate in the synod.

Cardinal Schönborn commented on what will come out of the synod.  He said, “If out of this council, faith, hope, and charity do not increase, this whole council has been in vain.”

He also spoke about the movement away from a Eurocentric church to a global church where synodality is already much more present in the structures.

A very strong impression for me comes not so much from decentralization, but the fact that Europe is no longer the main center of the church. There are other centers, and this is evident from the daily meetings at the synod with Latin America and Africa.  The Commission of the European conferences have been unable to have the potential that the FABC has developed or CELAM. It hasn’t been enabled to, to develop as they have. So, it is a bit of a criticism that we are lugging behind in the way in which we live synodality among the local, local churches in Europe.  I think we need some stimulus to, to go further, to move on.

Now I have to say that the cardinal has one of the most synodal leaders right within his reach.  Fr. Helmut Schuller has been working with lay persons to create a vibrant synodal church for years and in 2013 shared his message with Catholics in the United States.  The cardinal should learn from one of his own master teachers.

Q & A

Saturday is the Big Day

A journalist began with the question, “When is the final synthesis report going to be published? Is it going to be voted paragraph by paragraph? And when is it going to be published?

The voting of the document is going to take place on Saturday evening. The document is going to be published Saturday evening. It’s perhaps not very convenient in terms of timing, but this is how it’s going to take place because we don’t have the synthesis report yet.  It’s been drafted, so at the moment, I cannot tell you if  we’re going to vote by paragraphs or bullet points. I don’t know. But I imagine that every part is going to be voted on.

He also asked the cardinals on the panel, “In your opinion, will the future conclave have to consider what was said during this month?  And if so, in what way?

Cardinal Retes responded.

My answer if very simple.  If we put into practice what we have defined here, what we have discussed, and what we have experienced, I think that there is a path before us, unless we do this, if we just listen and we, we do not reach the daily life with our responsibilities where nothing is going to happen. So everything really depends on us and on what we do when we go back to our own dioceses, when we put into practice what we have been saying, what we expect as as a church in the future.

The Schönborn Fest

Most of the questions were directed to Cardinal Schönborn.  Another journalist asked the cardinal:

Of all the synods you took part in, it seems to me evident that this assembly is not going to come up with concrete decisions concerning the individual issues and topics that were discussed also, because there’s going to be another assembly next year.  But I would like to ask if a consensus is emerging concerning this method. So we can imagine that  in the near future, in the church at all levels, this synodal system is going to be adopted from the parish level to the diocese level. Are you going to adopt this system of an assembly that includes laypersons and women voting on decisions, even though at the end it is a pastor…or the bishop who takes the final decision. Can we imagine that the synodal method, which is the model of the second Vatican Council — discussion, vote, and then the Pope who decides — can this method be adopted also in a binding and structural way at all in all levels of the church? Or this method going to be limited to synodal assemblies and it’s not going to be introduced in the concrete life of the church?

Cardinal Schönborn responded,

Starting from the Council of Jerusalem, which is as old as a church, the method is listening.  First of all, what type of listening?  Listening to what God is showing us through the experience of journeying. First, Peter speaks about his experience and after Paul and Barnabas speak, in turn, the decision comes from this common listening and discernment.  I am used to a similar method that we adopted in the Archdiocese of Viena since 2012, up to the present day.  We have had five diocesan assemblies with 1,400 participants – with priests, bishops, laypersons, everyone, well, the People of God. And, we did not vote, but we experienced listening and communion. And, of course, we must come to some decisions. 

Christopher Lamb of The Tablet asked:

We have heard the integrity of the Synod Assembly questioned by some because the synod includes lay members as delegates. As someone who has attended many synods, what would you say to the claim that this synod is somehow lesser or can be questioned because it’s not really a synod of bishops?

Schönborn was quick to respond:

I can’t see, I can’t see the problem.  It remains an episcopal synod with real participation of non bishops. But it’s a real participation. The fundamental position of the episcopal synod was created by Pope Paul VI. It is a consultative organ for the exercise of the papal ministry. This does not at all diminish synod votes.  Whenever we have voted in the synod, we have voted for something we consider to be important that the Holy Father should consider for his own magisterium, in collegiality with the bishops, in a communion with the whole church, and mainly in communion with the faith of the church, which is neither invented by the Pope, nor invented by the synod, which is the faith of the apostles we all share…So it has not changed in nature. It has been enlarged. And my experience is that it is a very positive experience…And I remember some interventions of lay experts that have been of great importance.

The Sins of Our Fathers

Another journalist asked if the Catechism could be changed to reduce the damage it causes to LGBTQ+ people because the language of “instrinsically disordered” is used.

Here is the text:

Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity,¹⁴¹ tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.”¹⁴² They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.

Schönborn gave a disappointing response saying that the Pope has changed the Catechism on the death penalty but not on this.  He said it is up to the Pope.  It is hard to imagine how this atrocious language can stand and that fact that it does is just plain sinful.

A journalist from Catholic News Agency asked Schönborn:

This morning in the Synod Hall delegates heard from theologian Fr. Orman Rush about the Synod being in dialogue with God and that God “is waiting for your reply.”  This week, as you work on the synthesis document, Rush also quoted extensively from Vatican II’s Dei Verbum on divine revelation, which says there’s no new public revelation before Christ returned.  What, your eminence, is the proper relationship between the authority of the magisterium and bishops to teach and preserve the deposit of faith, and the contribution of theologians and the sensus fidelium? And what role will the latter, the theologians and the laity, have in the determining of church teaching going forward? And how is the synod exploring structures and processes to incorporate this? 

The cardinal replied

That would need a whole lecture on fundamental theology. But it is clear that there are two elements. Look at the talk of Saint John XXIII at the opening of Vatican II where he spoke about the immutability of the doctrine and the way to present the doctrine. There is a big development in deepening the understanding. But there is immutability of our faith. What we believe in can never change — the Holy Trinity or in the Incarnation, or the institution of the Eucharist by Jesus. These are beliefs that are immutable, as the creed says. That is valid everywhere in the world.  The cultures may very different, but the substance of the faith cannot be changed. 

I was kind of glad to have the Schönborn fest come to an end.  He has a wealth of knowledge, but his instincts are, too often, to stay safe rather than lead.

One More Week

The participants have finished their discussions of module B3 on participation, mission and authority and have handed their reports in.  Monday begins the final week and the module 5, which according to Cardinal Hollerich will “be devoted to the discussion and approval of the synthesis report, which we will then hand over to the Holy Father.”

According to Paolo Ruffini Friday afternoon discussions was marked by “some very strong and impassioned witnesses,” coming from places of war or suffering in the world, Middle East, Ukraine, the Amazon, and many others.  “And there were very sincere rounds of applause by the assembly,” Ruffini related.

Sheila Pires also reported on some of the topics discussed.

Once again, the role of women, the inclusion of women, the role that consecrated women play in the church, and also the inclusion of these voices, especially in decision making was also stressed. We also spoke about clericalism once again, that was once again brought out. And the need to have ongoing formation was stressed, ongoing formation to deal with the whole issue of clericalism and the issue of abuse, the need to have proper structures in place. And of course, uh, we thank Pope Francis for, um, introducing new structures that have been in place to deal with the issues of abuse. So it was also stressed that it’s important that we have such policies at a conference level, diocesan level, parish level, and to ensure the protection of all the vulnerable adults and children when dealing with issues of abuse.

Sheila also noted that one expression really stood out,  “God will examine us for how much we have taken care of the little ones and not for the knowledge we have.”

The Press Speakers Today

The speakers at the press briefing included, Peruvian Jesuit Cardinal Pedro Ricardo Barreto Jimeno, Archbishop of Huancayo, and President of the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck of Essen and Military Ordinary for Germany, Bishpo Jean-Marc Eychenne of Grenoble-Vienne in France, Sister Maria Nirmalini, an Indian sister, General Superior of the Apostolic Carmel Congregation, and President of the Conference of Religious in India.

Today may have been one of the most interesting panels yet.  They dynamic was entertaining at times with the bishops speaking out about women deacons, married priests, etc. and Paolo Ruffini following with his own comments trying to soften the impact of their statements.

A Champion for Women in the Synod Hall

Sister Maria Nirmalini is an awesome champion for women in the synod hall.

Prior to being chosen as a synod discerner and voter, she was chosen to lead over 130,000 women religious in India.  And her goal is women’s empowerment and women’s equality at every turn.

According to an interview in Global Sisters Report, she advocates empowerment of women religious, mutual sharing, and leadership to tackle the oppressive patriarchal system and gender inequality within the Indian church.

Fantastic!

Sr. Nirmalini said, “I took over this post when the church in India was going through several challenges from within and outside, such as sexual exploitation, gender inequality, an unfair salary system and clergy domination. I don’t claim that the situation has changed now. But we have initiated definite plans and systems to address these challenges appropriately.”

She has set up grievance processes with independent review boards, training programs for women religious to teach them how to use their voice and think independently, and restructured the religious formation system as one of accompaniment and sharing.  No longer should women have to be along if they are being harassed or treated badly.

Sr. Nirmalini states unequivocally, “Silent suffering has no meaning any more. We need to develop platforms for mutual sharing and psychological well-being.”

That is one of the people who is lighting up the synod hall with visions of equality.

During the press briefing and Q & A she offered a powerful witness.

In her opening remarks she recalled the powerful witness of another women who was one of the first to attend the Second Vatican Council.

For me, when my name was read in the list of participants, it was like a dream, but for my congregation, it was history repeating itself as one of my predecessors, Mother M. Theodosia, who was General Superior, had come as auditors to the Second Vatican Council.

She also said that women religious offered a very beautiful prayer, “We send you on a mission.”  And as part of her witness she shared her personal experience of learning more about co-responsibility.

I’m happy to share that when there is a joint meeting at the conference of bishops, together with my national executive team, the bishops, they always invite me to co-chair the meeting along with them. And that’s how I got the, I grew deeper into the understanding of what it means to be co-responsible.

The Amazonian Cardinal Still Stands Strong on Reforms

Cardinal Barreto Jimeno from the Amazon has been working for reforms that meet the needs of his region where there are few priests and many women leading ministries.  He has done so even when attacked by conservative prelates for forwarding new forms of ministry such as married priests and women deacons.  He is firm in his belief that at the synod, “We are gathering and collecting what the Holy Spirit has told us and what the Holy Spirit has told the Church.”

Four issues: power, priesthood, women, sexuality

Bishop Overbeck from Germany

As a member of the Episcopal Conference of Germany, I would like to say a few words on the synodal journey of the Catholic church in our country, which we have carried out for over four years. We started in 2018, and it continued up until last year. the attention of the public was always very strong. The reason we started this journey is undoubtedly the many cases of abusers.

German bishops with the Central Committee of German Catholics, which was established in 1948 and represents a many groups in the church,  participated with us in this synodal way, a journey of repentance and renewal. Of course, we have to be self-critical in terms of what the church has done, and we have to ask ourselves what changes are necessary to renew collegial life as a whole.

The Bible, Catholic tradition and new discoveries in theology, the faith of the faithful, and the sign of the times — interpreting all this in light of the gospel.

He also explained the particular culture of German Catholics are rooted in a country where  30% of the population is Catholic, 30% is Protestant, and 40% atheists.

“And the consequence of this is that we are in a constant dialogue with people who are non-Catholics and who do not even understand our logic, our way of thinking, and living faith in our church,” he said.  He highlighted four issues.

1.  The abuse of power
2.  Priesthood because “we see in our country that the number of seminarians is very few close to zero.”
3. The role of women in the church
4. Questions concerning sexual morality

The bishop continued, “Even though we are not speaking about canonically binding synodal decisions, it was established right from the beginning that decisions would be considered as adopted only if they are approved by two thirds of all the bishops. Over a three year period or more, we have managed to adopt 15 texts of joint resolution that now are implemented in parishes, dioceses, or at the level of our conference.”

Those texts include language that states, “The doctrine of ‘Ordinatio Sacerdotalis’ is not accepted and understood by the people of God in large parts. Therefore, the question must be addressed to the highest authority in the Church (Pope and Council) whether the teaching of ‘Ordinatio Sacerdotalis’ should be reviewed.

Of course, these discernments were met with stiff resistance from U.S. Bishops and others who shook their fingers at the unorthodox proposals.  Do you remember how you felt about tattle tails in school?

Bishop Overbeck also talked about the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, where bishops, priests, religious, and laity work together on issues of creation and the protection of local populations.  This is the first such conference approved by Pope Francis where lay persons are making decisions alongside bishops.  Overbeck believes this is a model that should be replicated everywhere.  “What is important is the heirarchy of truth.”

Bending the Law Towards Women

Bishpb Jean-Marc Eychenne said there are many impoverished people in his region (southern part of Toulouse).  In order to meet the needs of the people there, we need more than one person giving orders.  The Church must move from “from a Church of a few responsible individuals to one where everyone is responsible for the proclamation of Christ and the Gospel, a Church that is truly the Body of Christ where everyone expresses their opinion for a final decision that concerns all.”

The bishop also gave an example of how women are included in decision making roles, even when church law says they cannot.

In a small leadership team in diocese often there is an Episcopal council that is usually diverse with men, women and laypersons.  There is also a council of the bishops that is convened every weekend – a small Episcopal team with the bishop, auxiliary bishops, and the Vicar. This small team deals with everyday issues and decisions Into this Episcopal team, we integrated a general delegate. According to the law, we cannot appoint a woman as general vicar, but in our team, there is a bishop, the vicar, the general vicar, and a woman who serves as general vicar.  This gives a sign that responsibility is shared also with women in connection with the decisions to be made.

Q & A

Journalist Marco Politi asked Barreto Jimeno and Overbeck if reforms like married priests and women deacons are moving forward.

Barreto Jimeno did not answer directly, but did get his point across.  “The creation of this first ecclesial conference that includes all the baptized, all of them, nobody excluded — this experience, very clearly, is the first collegial conference in the history of the church.”

Overbeck gave a much more specific response.

We try to try to respond to the questions that emerged in our country, a post secular country where people have no idea about transcendence. They do not know what the church is, they don’t know what who Jesus is and what the life of a Christian is, whether the Catholic or Protestant. They have no idea about the other religions.  So this changes the entire framework for the things that we are carrying out. So these great questions concerning in the synodal process are also those you mentioned. So how can we integrate women in the church? Yes, we live in this world and these are questions that come up. And in our country with 30% Protestant, half their pastors are women already. Since 1968, we have permanent diaconate….This means that there are men who have a number of responsibilities in the church, including sacramental ones….

In addition to the questions on the role of women, the topic of women deacons has come up because of this framework I was referring to. And in the Instrumentum Laboris, there are also questions concerning the presence of women in the church of the future. In our own small group, we have talked about it and perhaps the day will arrive when women will be permanent deacons, I don’t know.

But what is important to me is that this has to be a vocation and it mustn’t just be a right just because there are women — that they have a right to be a part of the sacramental ministry of the church. We need to ask further questions on the quality of this vocation to then perhaps, allow women to enter this field. In my country, we have not come up with any solution, even though I have to highlight the fact that women are asking.  Some women are asking ‘Why can we not be priests?’ And there are many men who ask the same questions. So for us in our culture, it’s different compared with other countries.

Another journalist asked, “What effect or impact has the the German Synod way had on this Vatican synod…and the other way around?

Are You Still Catholic?

Overbeck responded:

Well, the first question is perhaps best to be asked for to others, but my impression is that everything that we did based on the journey of the church in Germany, this has had the effect where many people ask me, ‘What did you do? What are your answers for the future? And many people have asked me, are you still a Catholic? Are you still Catholics and part of the Catholic Church?’

And I said, ‘Yes, of course we are Catholics and we’re here to stay.’ And then there was also the question on enculturation and the role of theology in the face of these questions that have come up….in the coming months, there is the aspect of spirituality — perhaps a question on quality in our case.  The synodal journey in Germany has been very much marked by the German culture.  In this synod there is the round table, small groups listening without asking questions, and also the times,  silence.  This is perhaps a style that we will also adopt in, in in our next synod paths. We have also, of course, been together and in prayer, but it’s a bit different.

Another reporter asked two questions.

Bishop Overbeck, there is the issue of priesthood among many.  After three weeks, do you feel that there is openness towards following along a path that would change the ordinary ministries, opening them up as well to married men or in the direction which emerged from your synod?

Sister Nirmalini, concerning women here in this case too, if after three weeks discussion about sharing authority with women, do you think they are open in the church to share this exercise of authority? 

Bishop Overbeck responded.

So for many years we have been moving forward. We take one step after another. It means for us today that we live in a very difficult reality because we almost have zero seminarians. I’ve been a bishop for fourteen years.  In this 14 years, almost 300 priests died and I have only ordained 15. This is what our reality is. So this is also a spiritual question and the theological one.  It is a question of  how can we save the sacramental life of the church, but also how to live it. And in order to understand that, we must have priests, we must have deacons and we must have also other persons representing spiritual life.  

My opinion is that we are addressing a new stage in a third millennium. The answers are very clear to me and  they are different compared with the responses that were appropriate for the second millennium. So we realize what is going to happen in a few years time. We are here together with the oriental churches, the orthodox churches at the synod, where married priests is something normal.  In our tradition it’s different, but perhaps at one point we shall have to give a different answer.  But now we are taking steps forward. But believe me, it is very tough and very difficult for all of us in my country.

We are looking at leadership which is inclusive all all women

Sr. Nirmalini responded to the question of authority in this way.

I think firstly I would like to say that we need to downplay the idea of authority. It is basically service with humility and the coming days will keep unfolding as we discern what are the processes that will emerge and how we will move. As I said earlier in my opening remarks, this is not a journey which will end here. It is a process which will continue.  It is ongoing and therefore it’ll keep unfolding with new opportunities. All that I would like to add is that we are looking at leadership which is inclusive of all women, young laypersons, consecrated women, and that’s the leadership we are looking at.

There are 365

Some of the journalists try to cast doubt on the synod by asking the same questions over and over.  Maybe if we put some of the answers into a song it would stick:).

But today again, Dr. Paolo Ruffini restated that there are 365 participants including the Pope with another one hundred or so people are involved as theologians, experts, etc. bringing the number to 464.

In response to a question yesterday about how the speakers are chosen from the floor, Ruffini said that Cardinal Grech is giving precedence to those who have not spoken so far.

Sheila Pires continued by reporting that participants who warned against clericalism, even among the laity, because it “has led to abuses of power, conscience, economic and sexual.” These abuses have caused the church to lose credibility….so much so that a “control mechanism” is necessary.  The participants agreed that synodality can help prevent abuses because it is a process that has to do with listening and dialogue.

Other needed reforms included the need for greater transparency in financial and economic structures; the revision of canon law and also some “titles” that have become anachronistic. Returning to synodality, the urgency of reinforcing already existing structures, such as pastoral councils needs to be enhanced.  Young people and the digital environment were \ also discussed.

Today’s Speakers

Joining the panelists today were Archbishop Gintaras Grušas, Archbishop of Vilnius, President of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences and of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference, Sister Houda Fadoul, from Syria, Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, a Verbite missionary, Archbishop of Tokyo, President of Caritas internationalis, President of the Bishops’ Conference of Japan, and Secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, and Sister Mary Teresa Barron from Ireland, Superior General of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles and President of the International Union of Superiors General.

Archbishop Grušas, who talked about the difficult schedule with a long break in the afternoon and late evenings, also related some of the main topics today which included formation for bishops, formation for clergy, formation for seminarians, and formation for the laity.  He said that formation is  a matter of conversion, conversion of heart, conversion of our own minds, be it bishops, priests, consecrated laity, experts, whether theologians or canon lawyers. “We all kind of run into our own mindset and sharing helps us grow in that change of life, change of mindset.”

The other thing from my perspective is that the Holy Father has really put an emphasis on the continental levels, uh, whether it’s, FABC, or South America, or Africa. Sharing and looking at structures and how we can do that, I think is gonna be important also in the life of the church. And finally, I think the, the process, we say formation, but I think under it, uh, it’s a matter of conversion, conversion of heart, conversion of our own minds, be it bishops, priests, consecrated laity, experts, whether theologians or canon lawyers. We all kind of run into our own mindset and sharing helps us grow in that change of life, change of mindset. It’s a very powerful process.

Our Church is Very Tired

Sister Houda Fadoul gave a very touching a powerful witness bringing tears to my eyes as I considered how difficult life is in regions where violence and natural disasters make life unbearable and how an interaction like synodality can bring real support and healing.

I would like, first of all, to say thanks to our Holy Father for this initiative because, uh, for me, he’s truly a man of prayer and he understands the needs of the church particularly for as far as our own church is concerned, because we spend a lot of time in the war, in the pandemic, there has been an earthquake. So our church is very tired because of all that has happened. So when his calling came, we were not ready for this message — to receive this  message in an adequate way because in, in our diocese, we spent three years without a bishop.

So when a bishop arrived, he started trying to, to recover the situation, and he invited an expert bishop from the Lebanon who took part in the first part of the synod to organize conferences in the different diocese. And also young persons are involved thanks to this effort.  So we, we have realized that we have to work to be with the others. And when I was invited to participate in this assembly in the Lebanon, I felt very grateful because this allows me to share this experience with other churches, and their experience can also be shared.

So this is a time of exchange, and it’s very rich for everyone in the church. We are truly experiencing a Catholic and universal church – diversity and unity at the same time. Because eventually at the end of the day, we are all parts of the same body of Jesus. So we all have our our own difficulties, of course. But when you share your difficulties and when you pray, you feel better, you feel this burden in a different way.

We Don’t Talk Much

The Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi of Tokyo gave witness to the way synodality plays oout in a country where individuality is sublimated to the collective and where people do not often speak out.

You know that the Japanese, we don’t talk much. We love silence….we prefer to keep quiet. So it’s very difficult for the Japanese, not only Japanese, but many Asians to speak up. And that’s why this small group discussion is very important. Early this year when we had the continental assembly in Bangkok, we started to use that small discussion group just like what we have right now in a small hall with small round tables with 10 or 11 people gathering together. And everybody’s given the chance to speak up.  The conversation in the Spirit is really working. It worked in Asia and now it’s working in here, in this hall. I really appreciate it because already I have had the opportunity to participate in five different small groups.

We Need To Listen More To the Emerging Churches

Sr. Mary Teresa Barron, the president of UISG gave the final witness sharing how religious communities of women have been using the practice of synodality in making decisions for decades.

In English we have this saying that no two people read the same book and get the same meaning.  We come to the experience with all of our life experiences. And in reflecting on this, I’m a religious sister.  I’m a missionary.  And I think both of those influence how I am experiencing this synodal process.

In the introduction, Christiana mentioned my experience as a sister in rural parish in East Africa. And I would say that was my first introduction to a synodal church. You know, I’m from Ireland where we were evangelized in the fifth century. And so we carry the weight of structures that have a long history and then go to a church that was very new.

The parish was established in 1950 with two priests to serve a parish that was like the size of half of Ireland. And that’s not a joke. So there was, in each village — there were 35 villages —  an outstation with a catechist and a very vibrant faith community. My role was accompanying the youth and accompanying the women’s groups in the parish. And it was such a  process.  We listened to each other.  The decisions were taken together.  The out station fed into the center which fed into the parish, which then fed into the diocese. But it was the involvement of the laity. And I think possibly one of the advantages in the younger churches is that many people come to the faith as adults and make that choice to be baptized as adults and are confirmed into a faith where they are challenged to be missionary disciples from the outset.

So that for me, that experience is something that I learned in my early life as a sister. And then I think the experience of sitting around the tables in Paul VI Hall brings me back again to East Africa. The setting is extremely different. I imagine myself outside a mud hut where we met every Sunday for our basic Christian community meetings — a small gathering of people, maybe 10 families in the Christian community. And we sat around and shared our faith rooted in the Gospel of that Sunday. But the key was that we had to decide how we wanted to live that faith as a community and take an action. And what was beautiful for me. 

There was many of the people in that community were not educated. And we shared our faith from the depth of our hearts, and we came to a decision together. Every voice was the same around that basic Christian community, regardless of position in the community, regardless of education, everybody shared their faith. And that is what I experience in the Paul VI Hall around the tables with synodality.  It doesn’t matter who’s at the table. It’s our love of Christ that has called us into this life. It’s our love of desiring a church that can live the mission that Christ left us. I think that is what inspires all of us sitting around the tables. And so for me, I think one of the key learnings is we need to listen more to the emerging churches, the younger churches who still have that kind of grassroots participation in the life of the church.

The second dimension of my life is as a religious sister.  I know it’s been said repeatedly, that religious life by its nature — it’s almost in our DNA– we’re quite synodal in our structures.  I had an experience this this July, which confirmed that for me…We had our general chapter this year, and at the same time that we were having our chapter, another group of sisters were having their chapter.  They were lucky enough to be accompanied by a bishop. They had a bishop as their chaplain. The bishop happened to be from Ireland. And he came to a few of the groups and said, ‘My goodness, when talking about synodality, we bishops were dipping our toes in the water, whereas you people are living it fully.’

You know, because he was accompanying how we share around issues and how we actually decide, you know? So that for me, I think that is it.  I’m bringing that experience to the living synod. I think it’s a great privilege for us, and it’s something I say to our sisters when we come to chapter. It’s a great privilege to be one of the few that are chosen to make this journey on behalf of all the others. And I think that I feel that privilege every time I’m in the room, not just because I’m one of the few women in the room, although we’re quite a big number, but because it is a privilege to be any member in that room that can journey together with these questions. 

 Are We Ready to Decide on Women Deacons?

Christopher Lamb from The Tablet asked, “We know from the Synod working document that many local synods called for women’s inclusion in the diaconate, and that’s obviously been a topic that’s been discussed at the Synod. There have also been a number of commissions on this topic and other studies. Do you think it is the time now for a decision to be taken on whether or not this proposal can move forward? Or is further discernment at perhaps the local level still needed?”

Sr. Mary Theresa responded:

We are in a synodal process. We’re in the synod to discern together on all issues. And I’m sure you’ve heard from last week that this question is on the table.. We have both ends of the spectrum in terms of what we believe, but we’re holding that in tension…to know how to journey forward together. And I think it would be unfair of me to speak outside of that space. We are holding that at the moment, and I think the document that comes out in the end may have more clarity.

Sr. Houda signaled a more John Paul II attitude speaking about complementarity.

 I think that in connection with every concept concerning women, we speak often about complementarity not equal footing. We can speak about anything as long as we use our gifts in the best possible way.

Archbishop Grušas suggested that the discussion on the various ministries in the church is also about the possibly of discovering new ministries in the church.

The Practical Barriers to Synodality

When the question was asked about how the experience of synodality in Rome will be disseminated at home, the two prelates were quick to name the barriers.

Archbishop Grušas first noted that there are a lot of ways that Canon Law can be applied now to make the church more synodal.

I think the challenge is going back into the same structure from which we came with all the same daily grinds that we have and to bring the experience that we’ve shared here and try to convey it to others. Being here for a month and really living the spiritual conversations, having them and valuing them, it’s going to be a challenge to try to bring that back to the whole country, and in my case, all of Europe.

Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi added that they synodal process started in the middle of the pandemic.

And in Japan the regulation was really strong and all the church activities actually stopped.  So, for the past two, three years, we haven’t have the much opportunity to come together. The people are still afraid, especially the elderly people are afraid. So we don’t have much opportunity to gather the people together to do this similar process together.

Well, maybe we can do it online, but our senior people don’t have much access to this digital world. So this is still the challenge…So what we can, what I want to do is really to introduce this in another way to the local churches in Japan so that people really make it as a daily, decision making style.

We are beginning to see the first fruits of all the long labors of Catholic women throughout the decades including people like Sr. Mary Luke Tobin SL and Rosemary Goldie, who were auditors at the Second Vatican Council.  Since that time thousands of women have stood up in the face of patriarchal standards that have kept women out of governing and ministerial offices and off the altar.   There is no way to name all the women on whose shoulders we stand, but we can join together in this moment to thank God for them all.

Since this is a historic year for Catholic women in the church, I wanted to compile as complete a list as possible of every article, interview, or podcast that has been produced thus far (if you know of others and you want me to add them, please let me know at debrose@futurechurch.org).

Some of the articles are from the conservative outlet, National Catholic Register which I wanted to include so that you could see how the synod is being framed from the critic’s side.  Most are from media outlets that support equalizing the roles of women, women’s ordination, and others efforts to bring women’s full equality to our Catholic history of misogyny and patriarchy. I hope you find these articles as rich and informative as much as I did.

All About Women

Sr. Liliana Franco: Women’s path in the church is ‘full of scars’ by Rhina Guidos for Global Sisters’ Report, October 18, 2023.

Lay groups forge solidarity, hold parallel synod in Rome  by Virginia Saldanha for UCA news, October 19, 2023

Exclusive: Jeannine Gramick, LGBTQ advocate, reveals details of meeting with Pope Francis by Joshua McElwee of National Catholic Reporter, October 18, 2023.

Laywoman’s Speech Opposing Women’s Ordination Draws Big Ovation by Jonathan Liedl of National Catholic Register, October 18, 2023.

Testimony at the Synod of Estela P. Padilla, FABC-OTC, October 18, 2023.

The Vatican Briefing podcast: A key bishop considers women deacons by Joshua McElwee

and Christopher White, October 17, 2023

Synod Diary: Synod Mothers make their voices heard in Rome by Colleen Dulle of America Magazine, October 17, 2023

Bishop on Synod Drafting Committee Expresses Openness to Women Deacons by Joshua

McElwee of National Catholic Reporter, October 17, 2023.

There’s Too Much Emphasis on Women’s Ordination by Hannah Brockhaus in the National Catholic Register, October 17, 2023.

At events inside and outside Vatican’s synod hall, focus on women’s equality  by Rhina Guidos of National Catholic Reporter, October 16, 2023.

As the Synod Turns to Women Deacons, It gets Interesting by Colleen Dulle of America Magazine, October 16, 2023.

Women’s voices being heard at Vatican’s big meeting on church’s future, nun says by Nicole Winfield, October 16, 2023.

Delegates at Spirit Unbounded address issues facing the Church by Sarah MacDonald for The Tablet, October 16, 2023.

The Synod, Church reform groups, and the next pope by Robert Mickens at LaCroix, October 14, 2023.

Inequality ‘embedded’ in Catholic Church says McAleese by Sarah MacDonald for The Tablet, October 13, 2023.

Synod Looks at Catholics’ Shared Mission, But Also Exclusion of Women by Cindy Wooden in The Tablet, October 13, 2023.

Heidi Schlumpf interviews Kate McElwee on “The Francis Effect” podcast, October 13, 2023.

Testimony dat Synod of Sr. Gloria Liliana Franco Encheverri, ODN,  October 13, 2023.

The lay woman bringing Catholic social teaching to the heart of the Vatican by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis at Jesuitical.

Spirit Unbounded: Racial power dynamics drive abuse, says US priest by Sarah MacDonald for The Tablet, October 12, 2023.

Meet the lay woman who led the U.S. synod process by Colleen Dulle for “Inside the Vatican” October 12, 2023.

Synod snapshots: Cardinal Müller is easy to spot; Sr. Barron gets a big promotion by Christopher White of National Catholic Reporter, October 12, 2023.

Two-tier Church undermines laity’s ‘shared dignity’ at Spirit Unbounded Conference by Sarah MacDonald for The Tablet, October 11, 2023

The Vatican Briefing podcast: Women at the pope’s table by Joshua McElwee and Christopher White of National Catholic Reporter.

Will all voices be heard at the Synod on Synodality? by Virginia Saldanha for UCA News, October 10, 2023.

Catholic Church ‘should not be afraid of change’ says Cherie Blair on Spirit Unbounded Conference by Sarah MacDonald for The Tablet, October 10, 2023.

Theological Reflection at Synod by Professor Anna Rowlands, October 9, 2023

Testimony at Synod of Siu Wai Vanessa Cheng, October 9, 2023

Sisters at Vatican synod see ‘dismantling of the hierarchical’ by Rhina Guidos of National Catholic Reporter, October 6, 2023.

Walk with Women: Procession and Witness for Women’s Ordination in Rome by Ordain Women, October 6, 2023.

Vatican Synod on Synodality signals hope for women’s ordination advocates by Claire Giangravé for Religion News Service, October 6, 2023.

Synod’s focus on listening may signal power shift in Catholic Church, says sister by Rhina Guidos of National Catholic Reporter/Global Sisters Report

Pope signals openness to blessings for gay couples, study of women’s ordination by Joshua McElwee and Christopher White of National Catholic Reporter, October 2, 2023.

‘Orthodoxy is spacious’: At retreat, synod members hear about women’s hopes, LGBTQ issues by Joshua McElwee and Christopher White of National Catholic Reporter, October 2, 2023.

The Sisters Involved with the Synod on Synodality by Global Sisters Report.

Press briefing: They have gone through things we can hardly imagine

At the press briefing today, Paolo, Christiana, and Sheila Pires were joined by Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Bishop Daniel Ernest Flores, President Delegate of the Assembly and a member of the Preparatory Commission, is the bishop of Brownsville, Texas, Archbishop Dabula Anthony Mpako, Archbishop of Pretoria and Vice President of the South African Bishops’ Conference, and, Father Khalil Alwan, a former superior general of the Lebanese Maronite missionaries, is the secretary general of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient and a professor at the Lebanese University in Beirut. He is taking part in the General Assembly as a synodal witness for the Eastern Churches and general coordinator for the Middle East.

The focus of the panelists was on immigration and the conditions that migrants throughout the world face due to war, violence, hatred, and poverty.

Dr Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and President of the Commission for Information, related that the tenth and eleventh sessions of the Small groups took place with a focus on section B3 of the Instrumentum laboris.  The 35 small groups are discussing different aspects of the general theme: “Participation, responsibility, and authority. What processes, structures, and institutions in a missionary synodal Church?”

In addition, the Ruffini recalled that “three working groups of expert theologians and canonists have been set up to reflect on three points of Instrumentum laboris; B3/3 (“What structures can be developed to consolidate a missionary synodal Church?”); B3/4 (“How can instances of synodality and collegiality involving groupings of local Churches be configured?”);  B3/5 (“How can the institution of the Synod be strengthened so that it is an expression of episcopal collegiality within an all-synodal Church?”).

According to Ruffini:

Thirteen small groups are exchanging their views on section B3.1, “How can we renew the service of authority and the exercise of responsibility in a missionary synod or church?”  Seven small groups are focusing on section B3.2 “How can we develop discernment practices and decision making processes in an authentically synodal manner that respects the protagonism of the Spirit?”  Five groups are focusing on the group B3.3, “What structures can be developed to strengthen a missionary synodal church?” and five are focusing on B3.4.

After Dr. Ruffini and Sheila Pires gave their updates, Jesuit Cardinal Michael Czerny began with some inspiring comments about  walking in solidarity with migrants.

It is especially a pleasure to have a chance to say something about the Synod in the context of the prayer service. This evening at the monument, “Angels unawares where the assembly, which is learning how to walk together as a church will effectively symbolize walking together with some of the most vulnerable people on our planet, namely the those who are fleeing, those who are forced to be on the move, those whom we call migrants and refugees. And so there’s a spiritual and even an aesthetic, cultural harmony between how we’re spending the day talking about what  can be a bit abstract, in the authority and walking with or accompanying the boat that’s sculpted there — which represents all the people of all ages and all places who in one way or another have been forced to, to flee.  I think the harmony and the goodwill and the deep exchange which we experience within the synod hall is in dramatic, contrast with the anxiety, the insecurity, the vulnerability, the marginalization in fact the terrible silence of the migrants and refugees. By silence, I mean, the silence of our societies are rejecting societies.

Bishop of Brownsville, Texas, Daniel Flores, who has been working all along on the synod process spoke at length about the difficulties migrants face when crossing the southern border in the United States and how he and his diocese have to be creative and flexible as they deal with changing rules by the U.S. government.

One of the things that has impacted me in terms of the Holy Father’s call to synodality as a concrete expression is that each diocese in the world, comes bringing the gifts and sort of the experience of its own local church. And so that’s part of the reality that I carry with me in, in terms of my participation. In the last several years, there’s been, as we all know, a great number of immigrants seeking refuge, seeking asylum in the United States. A great number of them pass through my diocese, which is the very southern tip of Texas, the United States between the very southern tip across the Rio Grande River is the Diocese of Matamoros Mexico.

And so, so it’s been a very challenging experience. But what I carry with me is this expression of great love on the part of the people of my own diocese.  Participation, which is a key theme that the Holy Father has put before us, is something that I have lived in my diocese and just seeing so many people step forward. My diocese does not have great material resource, but the hearts of the people are very generous and they know something of what poverty is, and so they respond very generally. So we’ve had, certainly from the Catholic community, but also from from other communities, other Christian denominations, but also from our Muslim brothers and sisters and also the Jewish community has assisted us in establishing sort of on the ground ways to receive and welcome and assist these families who come across generally with the permission of the United States government, which is another issue.

But that’s the reality in helping them to get oriented and, and really treating them with the human respect and dignity that they deserve. There’s a great, great outpouring of energy that comes in my diocese from people — restaurant owners, doctors, nurses who volunteer to their time just to attend to the mothers and the children and the families. This is an expression of what I call sort of the deepest sense of enculturation of the faith. This sense of the response to the need. So because our diocese doesn’t have a great amount of resources financially, it’s fairly flexible. I mean, you, and we’ve had to be flexible for the last 10 years, if not longer, because circumstances change beyond our control. The church and the diocese and anywhere really doesn’t have the authority to tell governments what to do.

And so when governments change their plans and change the way they’re addressing the immigration situation, we adapt to it. And the principle is we adapt in a way that tries to respect and treat with greatest respect the human dignity of the families who come. Each one has a story.  Each one has an experience.  And some of them have gone through things that hardly any of us can imagine. And they are largely coming at this point from South America and Central America. Very few, as a matter of fact, are coming from Mexico. But this dynamic changes and you have to know the situation on the ground to address it. And my final point is that we have worked very collaboratively with the Diocese of Matamoros and so it’s an example of how the church is kind of a bigger thing than national borders.  Because we work with the Bishop of Matamoros, we speak frequently. He comes to visit, we go visit the migrant camps together. And, and it’s a way of kind of encouraging our people to do what they do so well, which is to respond to the need on the ground.

Father Khalil Alwan, a former superior general of the Lebanese Maronite missionaries told the room that Syrian refugees in Lebanon have faced horrendous treatment and living conditions.

Since 2011, when they arrived here, they have been living in inhuman conditions, crammed in large numbers in camps at the limit of their capacity because the international community is forcing Lebanon to keep them on its territory, preventing them from going to Europe.  

…more than two million people…with many births registered in recent years… With its population of five million, Lebanon is the country with the highest percentage of refugees in the world.

The attitude of the Lebanese people toward the Syrian migrants was front and center and seemed to be shared by Fr. Alwan.

The Lebanese are being penalized “for their humanity”, Father Alwan asserted. All these refugees, in fact, burden the economy of the state, which bears enormous costs that international governmental organizations are not able to cope with, with the result that “Lebanese citizens are getting poorer and poorer. This causes great anger in them: they see the humanitarian issue as a pretext to keep refugees in Lebanon, which is forced to be a country of political asylum.

Many voices have been raised calling for the Syrians to leave for Europe. We are facing a human tragedy and we will pray tonight that the powers of the world will work to put an end to it and that the Syrians may one day return to their country and their culture.

Finally, Archbishop Dabula Anthony Mpako of Pretoria spoke about the immigration crisis in his region.

South Africa hosts the largest number of immigrants on the African continent. Presently, the estimated number of migrants in South Africa stands at 2.9 million.  In reality, this number is less than the real number of migrants who are in South Africa.  The most important cause of this migration is poverty. Thus, most of the migrants who come to South Africa are economic migrants. There are some among them who are genuine refugees escaping situations of war and persecution in their countries. But for the most part, we are dealing with people who are economic refugees and popular destinations in South Africa for the migrants would be the two provinces of routing. That includes Johannesburg and Pretoria. The diocese where I am at the moment, and the Western Cape and Pretoria would seem to be the most popular city where migrants come looking for greener pastures.

Q & A : I’m not worried about that

J.D. Flynn from The Pillar asked, “As you have this conversation about, renewing structures with a sense of synodality there’s a perception in some ways, or there can be a perception that the notion of ality might, um, undermine or militate against the authority and the prerogatives of the diocesan bishop and the sort of emphasis in Christus Dominus on the essential role of the, both the Diocesan Bishop and the College of Bishops. So how, how do you perceive that this notion of sort of revitalizing institutional structures with a spirit of synodality, sort of interplays with the emphasis of Christus Dominus and even the Holy Father on the prerogatives of the diocesan Bishop?

Bishop Flores responded:

Any exercise of any structure or ministry or authority in the church. It must be based on a fundamental conversion of heart, which seems to me is essential for any structure to be really attaining the good which we hope it will attain. And so I would begin you know, knowing that there are many perceptions out there as to what might or not, might not be at the heart of the question structurally elsewhere.  I’m not particularly worried about that.  I’m more worried about how it is that we will sort of inaugurate a deep thirst to become a people baptized and ordained who are focused on serving one another in the heart of Christ. To me, this is everything. Without this, there is nothing. And we can change all the, you know, we can, we can write lots of pretty words about the thing, but if we aren’t doing that, and then we’re not really addressing the call that the Gospel from the very beginning is asking of us all from everyone.  No one is exempt.

Archbishop Dabula Anthony Mpako also reponded.

My sense is that it is commonly accepted by all of us that there are two structures that must coexist in the church. Synodality coexists with the hierarchical structure of the church. And I don’t think that is under any question. However, what we are probably wanting to see is how the two can work in such a way that synodality begins to infuse the way that the hierarchical structure of the church operates. So I’m not at all worried about that because I think we have all accepted that in the Catholic Church Synodality is a unique character. It is a synodality at the center of which there is the chair of Peter, the Pope. At the end of the day, hierarchy goes together with synodality.

Another journalist asked a similar question to the one posed by J.D. Flynn and Cardinal Czerny answered with an even stronger sense of faith in the process.  It really struck me as beautiful.

The hierarchical structures of the church have nothing to fear from a process that begins with listening.  It is impossible that should damage the hierarchical nature of the church. And it’s the act of faith and hope of starting with ample, I would say radical listening, that we believe with help of the Holy Spirit, that the church’s structures or maybe better the functioning of the structures will improve. And I think one of the things that makes everybody happy in the synod hall is that we are not only talking about it, but we are experiencing it. To be at a table where when you first sit down, you say, well, this is certainly a hopeless group, and realize two days later that you’ve produced a remarkably coherent, beautiful, and even creative statement in answer to a series of rather abstract questions. Without the Holy Spirit, this just doesn’t happen.

The Church Contributes to Making LGBTQ Refugees

I loved this question from Bob Shine.  This is really bringing down the curtain.

Robert Shine of New Ways Ministry asked, “We’re hearing a lot about the church’s laudable defense for migrants and refugees. Among those refugees are LGBTQ people who face hostility in their cultures. And in some cases, Catholic bishops have supported laws criminalizing LGBTQ people or failed to challenge cultures where bias against them is very prominent. And in the assembly, we’ve heard there are discussions about pastoral care for LGBTQ people, but are human rights for them — and the churches need to defend them as Pope Francis has said — being discussed, especially in situations where the church contributes to creating LGBTQ refugees?”

The bishop of Pretoria answered in a very thoughtful way acknowledging the hold traditional (I would say out of date) Christian anthropology has on the Chruch.   Though, I would have been more satisfied had he addressed the laws that criminalize LGBTQ persons and cause them to flee for safety or be harmed.

I think the stance of the church is clear on how to approach LBGTQ+ people to, first of all, show compassion and acceptance, not to discriminate, not to make them feel like outsiders in the community of the church. And I think the Holy Father has exemplified that in a very striking and beautiful way. However, what we are also dealing with traditional Christian anthropology, which we are still trying to see how that anthropology relates to this question. And my sense is that is not going to be resolved anytime soon because we are dealing with a tradition that has existed for a long time. So we are doing two things – while holding to that Christian anthropology we are looking for ways of making LGBTQ+ people feel at home in the church.

Bishop Flores added his response:

What I encourage all of our volunteers and so is to see, we look for the face of Christ in the one who suffers. We don’t ask ’em if they’re Catholic. We don’t ask them if they’re Christian. We don’t ask them, you know, how they believe politically. We don’t ask them about their sexual orientation. We a we simply want to serve the Christ who suffers.

I think I loved Tom Reese’s question best of all who asked Bishop Flores about the conspiracy theories that are being circulated in the United States –  that the bishops are being manipulated by a kind of liberal cabal of staff and theologians.  Since Bishop Flores was involved in the synodal process from the beginning, Reese wanted to know what the bishop might say to assure people who believe these conspiracy theories that this is not happening.

Flores responded,”Yes, we live in a very suspicious age. I think we breathe this, the air we breathe is that and affects outside the church. It affects the church. I have no worry about that. I do not see a conspiracy. I have simply heard honest, sincere, faithful charitable conversations under, shall I say, …under the care of Peter.”

The synod continues under the cloud of violence Israel, Palestine, Ukraine, and more. Participants pray daily for justice and peace and hearts break as more and more innocent lives are taken.

One of the things Colleen Dulle reported during her podcast, “Inside the Vatican,” is the exhaustion level of the participants at the synod.  It clear that the demanding schedule is catching up with them.  Cardinal Hollerich made a similar observation and suggested that, “unlike the last week of school,” (participants chuckle) we have to continue our efforts earnestly and with vigor.

Too Much Sugar

Yesterday, toward the end of the press briefing, Cindy Wooden (another shero of mine) of Catholic News Service asked a question that reflected the frustration that many feel about the carefully controlled information coming out of the synod.

Writing for Catholic newspapers with readers who invested in this process, at the end, I’m going to tell them that the symbol of what was accomplished is the round table?  I mean they want to know that the issues they raised and that are listed in the Instrumentum Laboris or issues that are being taken seriously, even passionately, and this idea that well, you know look at our round tables I don’t think that’s going to satisfy people who invested in this process and who are not in the room and are not being able to see the results of the round the small group work there.  There are people who are seriously concerned about the status of women in the church or an attitude of welcoming or not welcoming LGBTQ people.  I mean those aren’t just journalistic inventions. Those are issues that were raised repeatedly at the local, diocesan, national, and continental level and to write it off as a journalistic question I think is, not very nice.

There was applause after her comment/question.  Cindy is a veteran journalist who is well loved and respected.  She is always respectful, but she doesn’t suffer fools and I think she has a lot of support because of her integrity.

Ruffini went into defensive overdrive, but it probably wasn’t anymore satisfying to her than it was to the rest of the room.  Orobator added that the issues were being discussed seriously and passionately; the Bishop Anthony Randazzo twisted her words in order to chide her; and Professor Köhler-Ryan counseled “patience.”

Cindy Wooden isn’t the only journalist asking tough questions and looking for something beyond the sugar.  Christopher White was able to learn about the controversies regarding LGTBQ inclusion from anonymous contributors.  And the story t0ld within the synod of an LGBTQ youth who committed suicide caused heartfelt, emotional reactions from members.  But this kind of sharing, beginning with experience and expressing emotion is just what some of the old timers do not like.  Loup Besmond de Senneville writing for La Croix found that there are a number of individuals who are not satisfied with the process.  From his article, it sounds like the usual suspects — the ones who are digging in their heals about this process and complaining about the fact that people with hearts share their stories and express their emotions.  They seem to be saying, “No, thank you.  Let’s have some safe, detached theological reflection.”

…Old Synod hands, who are quick to point out that the main problem is that theology is being neglected during the discussions. The “conversation in the spirit” used during group work, the method introduced by the organizers, requires Synod members to speak about their personal experience, rather than to address major concepts – in short, it’s experience over ideas.

“The level has dropped a lot,” complained one Synod father, who is not taking it lying down. He said he feels “restricted”, even “infantilized”.

Critics inside the Synod assembly say a second problem is that the emphasis is placed on emotion. From the outset, discussions have been prepped by numerous personal testimonies, some of them describing dramatic situations.

Such was the case of a Spanish layman and president of an association for people with disabilities who spoke on behalf of this whole section of society, which he felt was insufficiently integrated into the Church. Then there was a young woman who very movingly explained that her lesbian sister committed suicide after being rejected by the Church. The assembly’s youngest member – just 22 years of age – was also given the floor. 

All of them were warmly applauded after they spoke. And that applause left some people in the assembly more than a little annoyed.  Read more at: https://international.la-croix.com/news/religion/discordant-voices-inside-the-synod/18524

What is clear is the old guard at the synod who are “annoyed” by tears and stories of real life, are likely also annoyed when Timothy Radcliff eloquently opens hearts to the stories that matter making it possible to touch  and know the very heart of the God who is radically in love with each one of us.

Let’s Talk About Participation, Governance and Authority: New Module (B3)

As is the usual process, when a new module begins, the synod hall is open to the cameras.  B3 is the module that focuses on participation, governance, and authority.  This will be a critical couple of days with many difficult conversations.  I am sure tempers will flare as the old guard is challenged.

Cardinal Hollerich offered both encouragement and caution as they move into the final topic for the synod.

Timothy Radcliffe led us all further into the heart of God when he described what was at stake at the Council of Jerusalem when Paul became a fierce advocate for Gentile inclusion into a very Jewish community.  And Radcliffe helps us reflect on who has been excluded as “Gentiles” today.

How Did the Aussies Do It?

Today, Bishop Shane Mackinlay reflected on the widely reported Plenary Council in Australia where many of my reform minded friends live and where a large number of participants walked out when the bishops refused to approve language about the equality of women and men.  Mackinlay related this story to the assembly:

The man who led the Truth Commission on Clergy Sex Abuse in Australia, Francis Sullivan seems to agree with the bishop on his assessment of the Plenary.  There was no revolution; implementation matters; but, it was a move in the right direction.

The Plenary Council even ended up shifting the church towards the prospect of women deacons, within the normal authority structures of the church. It is a modest step forward, not a revolution. The universal church should learn from this flexibility and generosity.

The Australian Plenary Council was a huge operation by any standard and flew in the face of apathy, skepticism and some outright opposition within the Catholic community to reach a successful conclusion. The outcomes must now be explained and “sold” to the wider community. The decentralized structure of the church means that a considerable proportion of the implementation will be in the hands of diocesan and parish leaders.

But in what was a relatively modest array of motions, the 277 council members managed to shift the dial on church reform, embed new shoots for change and instigate models of governance to unshackle the grip of clericalism.

I think anyone who has worked for reform in the Catholic Church knows how painfully slow the process can be.  But, I am not only hopeful, but confident that we are going to see movement toward a more expansive, inclusive church.

Notes from the press briefing today.

Christiane Murray of the Vatican Press office announced the guests at the panel today which included  Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David of Kalookan, Philippines, Cardinal Leonardo Steiner, archbishop of Manaus, Brazil, and Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga, and the
Wyatt Olivas from the United States, the youngest participant in the synod at the age of 19, He is a student of the University of Wyoming in Laramie and has participated as a missionary in the Catholic Youth Program sharing his faith with Catholic youth throughout Wyoming. In addition, he’s a catechist in his own diocese of Cheyenne, witnessing the synodal process from the beginning.

There are no women guests are on the panel today.

Sheila Pires shared that all the participants of the Synod will be attending a moment of prayer in St. Peter Square in remembrance of migrants and refugees tomorrow evening.  She also shared that they had received news from Luca Casalini, the special invitee to the assembly who joined the panel to talk about rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean sea.  He shared the new of two boats, one with 47 and the other with 69 migrants, brothers and sisters from various African countries. And among them was a seven year old girl, Jessica, who was arriving from Cameroon with her mother. And then the second boat had many women and children mainly from South Sudan. So the youngest there in the second boat was only two months old, and they’ve all been rescued.

It was lovely to hear the words of the two prelates from the Amazon and the Philippines – both with the Francis vibe — both witnessing to the experience of synodality in their countries and the work of women in their regions.

I was especially touched by Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David of Kalookan, Philippines who offered a counter response to the Latvian prelate.  Pointing to the ongoing kerfuffle about gender, sexuality, and pronouns that seems to be so alive in the Northern hemisphere, Bishops Pablo explained that it is different in his region.  There, people are “just human beings.”  And their language reflects that.  The same word is used for both man and woman. I admit I smiled joyfully as he spoke,  especially thinking of the people I have heard get their shorts in a bunch over pronouns.

Two men of interest

Almost every day, there were questions about women’s roles and LGBTQ inclusion.

Man # 1: Today, I was fascinated by the response of one prelate, Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Latvia, who confessed that he has been converted to a more pastoral attitude under Pope Francis, but still cited the Catechism, the theology of John Paul II with a big dollop of Hans Urs von Balthasar as a foregone conclusion.

Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga Latvia addressed the roles of women today and the suggestion that the church could bless same sex relationships.  Much of what he said makes me cringe, but it is also interesting to see how he describes his pastoral conversion under Pope Francis, but still rests in his certainties.

I come from Latvia, which is, um, not a very big country. Less than 2 million inhabitants, 20% of them are Catholics. When we received the invitation to participate in the synodal process, there were mixed feelings about it and some initially rejected it. And some were convinced that it would just be something formal that would happen without considering the reality of life.  But a year ago Cardinal Grech came to Latvia and he helped us. He explained to us what the synod is. And so this is just an introduction I wanted to make.

But in connection with the last few days, we have looked at the topic of co-responsibility in the mission, how to share the tasks and duties at the service of the gospel. We have worked intensely, and I would like to give you a synthesis or my summary, let’s say, of what we have done.

The main task of the Synod, the first part is listening to everyone, not just Catholics, but also other Christians, and the representatives of the other religions, the marginalized persons, and also nonbelievers. And try to recognize what the Spirit wishes to tell the church to today.  

Then, how we can expand the kingdom of God in the contemporary world, which is very different. I’m 68 years old, and I can tell you that when I was young, the world was completely different. Also, in the past 30 years since we have been independent, things have changed considerably. And here the gold key, this is the expression we used at the Second Vatican Council, “Awaken the sleeping giant.” It means to awaken the sense of core responsibility for the evangelizing mission of the church in every baptized person. And there is a great challenge. 

First of all, in terms of formation, the formation of bishops, priests,  because their task main task consists in looking to the faithful and recognize their gifts, their charisms, and awaken these charisms if they have not been awakened yet, and help discover and make them, grow and, and, and implement them in the service of the church. So this was a very important dimension.

The second one is a special gift that women have and women as a gift. We spoke about women, the genius of women because women have special gifts. But first and foremost, women are called to maternity, not just physical maternity, but also spiritual maternity. So a woman should not be in competition with men, but it is important to look at their complementarity because a man, a male, to discover his identity needs a mirror. A mirror is Christ himself. But as far as the visible human mirror is concerned, it is a woman who helps the other person to discover his or her identity. And the task of women, all is also represented by this maternal dimension that allows the other, allows me to discover my gifts, drawing inspiration to higher gifts and going beyond challenges. And this is mutual, as a woman said in our group today is, is complementarity and also appreciating women in the sense of giving them more room in the church without changing what is in the gospel and what is part of the church’s tradition. So this is more or less what we talked about today.

Now, I hate to break his bubble, but I am no longer interested in being a mirror for men. And while I love women’s instincts for connection, nurturing, and relationship, we are gifted far beyond our “maternal” roles.  Further, it is true that women are geniuses. And as such, they no longer accept the patriarchal notion that they are cut out for supporting roles.  Geez, women are so much more than that!

Man #2: I am also fascinated and touched by the words of the youngest member, Wyatt Olivas, the lay member from Wyoming who seems to hold conservative views, but who also a) seems to be amazed at the synodal process, b) says he is uncomfortable at times, but is learning from others, and c) wholehearted trusts that the Holy Spirit will guide the synod.  Given my own conservative, small town upbringing, I have a heart for his experience. I also tried to put myself in his place, wondered what the impact of the synodal experience would have been for my own faith journey at that age.  I know that I was so steeped in homogenous narrow frameworks where fear ruled, but I was also a bit of a rebel in my world.  Still, it took years and years of theological education and mentoring to unlearn that programming.  I feel a real connection and tenderness toward a young person who is open to such a floodgate of new ideas.

In case you missed it

Synod participants on pilgrimage last week visited the Catacombs of St Domitilla and learned about The Pact of the Catacombs signed during Second Vatican Council. In 1965.  Forty bishops from around the world gathered in the catacombs and signed a pledge to forsake power and riches and live like the neediest among their flock.  Within a few months, the pledge ended up being signed by approximately 500 bishops. One of the original celebrants of the mass and the last surviving bishop of the Pact who died in 2023, Monsignor Luigi Bettazzi, had recounted the story in 2015. At that time he told Sylvia Poggioli that Pope Francis, with his emphasis on serving the poor, is a living symbol of what the bishops were seeking to accomplish.

The Pact was soon forgotten with hardly a mention in the history books about the Second Vatican Council.  One reason, suggested Bettazzi, was that “Pope Paul VI was afraid that too much emphasis on the church of the poor would spill into politics. It was the peak of the Cold War, it could appear the church was leaning toward one side.”  Or more specifically, the communist side.

Church historian Alberto Melloni says the pact is probably one of the Catholic Church’s best-kept secrets. “The Pact of the Catacombs is the outcome of long effort at Vatican II to put poverty at the core of the council and this effort failed,” he said.

But in one part of the world — Latin America — the pact did not disappear.  Erwin Krautler, the bishop of a Brazilian diocese in the Amazon for 34 years, advocates for the rights of landless peasants and indigenous people. He upholds the principles of the Pact of the Catacombs. “This pact is an expression of what we call these days, theology of liberation,” he said.  Liberation theology is a Catholic grassroots movement that spread throughout Latin America in the 1970s but was scorned by Popes John Paul II and his successor Pope Benedict XVI, who said it was inspired by Marxism. The Vatican disciplined many of its proponents.

Melloni, the church historian, said the Pact of the Catacombs that inspired liberation theology undermined centuries of tradition that had put the Vatican at the center of church power.

What would our church look like today if this had actually taken hold?

The Catacombs’ Pact of the Poor and Servant Church

We, bishops,

– gathered at the Second Vatican Council;

– recognising the inadequacies of our lives with respect to evangelical poverty;

– encouraging each other to avoid any appearance of exeeptionalism or presumption;

– united with all our brothers in the Episcopate;

– counting above all on the grace and strength of Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the prayers of the faithful and the priests of our respective dioceses;

– placing ourselves in thought and prayer before the Trinity, before the Church of Christ and before the priests and faithful of our dioceses;

– humbly conscious of our weakness, but equally determined and fortified by the grace that God gives us, commit ourselves to the following:

1) We will seek to live according to the ordinary manner of our people, in the current sense of the term, with respect to housing, food, means of transport and everything else that springs from this. Cf. Mt 5,3; 6,33s; 8,20.

We definitively renounce both the appearance and the reality of wealth, especially

– in our way of dress (sumptuous fabrics, loud colours)

– in marks of distinction made from precious materials, which should in reality be evangelical signs made from “neither gold or silver.” Cf. Mc 6,9; Mt 10,9s; Acts 3,6.

3) We will not possess real estate, goods, bank accounts etc. in our own names; to the extent that this may be necessary, we will place everything in the name of the diocese, or of charitable and social works.. Cf. Mt 6,19-21; Lk 12,33s.

4) Whenever possible, we will entrust the financial and material administration of our dioceses to a commission of competent laity, conscious of their apostolic role, so that we may become less administrators and more pastors and apostles. Cf. Mt 10,8; Acts 6,1-7.

5) We refuse to be addressed, orally or in writing, by names or titles which signify prestige and power (Eminence, Excellency, Monsignor…). We prefer to be called by the evangelical title of Father. Cf. Mt 20,25-28; 23,6-11; Jn 13,12-15.

6) In our behaviour and social relations, we will avoid anything that may seem to confer privilege, priority or any preference for the rich and powerful (including banquets, offered or accepted, class distinction during religious services Cf. Lk 13,12-14; 1Cor 9,14-19.)

7) In the same way we will avoid fostering or pampering the vanity of anyone in order to seek reward or solicit donations, or for any reason whatsoever. We will invite our faithful to consider their donations as a normal participation in worship, the apostolate and social action. Cf. Mt 6,2-4; Lk 15,9-13; 2Cor 12,4.

8) We will dedicate whatever is necessary of our time, reflection, heart, means etc to the apostolic and pastoral service of people and groups of workers and the economically weak and underdeveloped, without prejudice to other people and groups in the diocese. We will support those laity, religious, deacons and priests who the Lord calls to evangelise the poor and the workers, sharing the work and life of labourers. Cf. Lk 4,18s; Mk 6,4; Mt 11,4s; Acts 18,3s; 20,33-35; 1Cor 4,12 e 9,1-27.

9) Conscious of the demands of justice and charity, and their mutual relationship, we will seek to transform aid activities into social works based on justice and charity, which take into account all that this requires, as a humble service to the competent public organs. Cf. Mt 25,31-46; Lk 13,12-14 e 33s.

10) We will do our utmost to ensure that those responsible for our government and for our public services make, and put into practice, laws, structures and social institutions required by justice and charity, equality and the harmonic and holistic development of all men and women, and by this means bring about the advent of a new social order, worthy of the sons and daughters of humankind and of God. Cf. Acts 2,44s; 4,32-35; 5,4; 2Cor 8 e 9 ; 1Tim 5, 16.

11) Convinced that the collegiality of the bishops finds its greatest evangelical significance in meeting the challenges faced by the human masses, who suffer the effects of physical, cultural and moral misery – two thirds of humanity – we commit ourselves:

– to participate, according to our means, in the urgent investments of the episcopates of poor nations;

– to call on the international organisations, while bearing witness to the Gospel, as Pope Paul VI did at the United Nations, to establish economic and cultural structures that no longer create cause poor nations in an increasingly wealthy world, but which will enable the poor masses to overcome their poverty

) We commit ourselves in pastoral charity to share our lives with our brothers and sisters in Christ – priests, religious and laity – in order that our ministry will become a genuine service.

Therefore, 

– We will strive to “review our lives” with them; 

– We will seek out collaborators who will aim to become animators in the way of the Spirit, rather than in the ways of the chiefs of this world; 

– We will seek to be more humanly present, more welcoming…; 

– We will show ourselves to be open to all, whatever their religion. Cf. Mc 8,34s; Acts 6,1-7; 1Tim 3,8-10.

13) On returning to our respective dioceses, we will make this resolution known to our people, asking them to help us through their understanding, collaboration and prayers.

“MAY GOD HELP US TO BE FAITHFUL.”

An Essential Reading for the Synod

Synod participant, Fr. Orobator’s 2015 Voices of Faith speech about the kidnapped Chibok girls.  I believe that this is a Gospel truth that should be part of the required reading (and listening) at the Synod.

Well, I stand here clearly the odd one out, but I feeling deeply grateful, humbled, and blessed to share this platform, which with such a diverse and global group of accomplished and distinguished women.

And I want to say that personally I salute and honor the causes and the commitments that each and every one of you represents and promotes in our world, in our church, and in our communities.

The invitation from Chantel to this event came by way of what perhaps should have passed as a very inconsequential initiative. As you may recall, in April of 2014, the dreaded and infamous group known as Boko Haram abducted and kidnapped 276 school girls from the village of Chibok in northeastern Nigeria. And that event triggered a global outrage and solidarity, outrage against a brazen act of religious banditry and jihadist zealotry. Solidarity for the innocent abductees and their families.

The resulting global social media campaign hashtag :bring back our girls” attracted high profile support.  Now callous and and depraved as that act seemed at the time and still does 388 days later, I felt strong indignation and frustration precisely because of the known challenge and the indifference that characterize the response of the Nigerian government.

Now being a Jesuit, I considered my role in ministry to denounce injustice and social ills that violate the message of the Gospel, which is a message of peace, of compassion, of care, of solidarity with the most vulnerable. My faith compels me to speak out and to act on behalf of justice. So I wrote an open letter to the President of Nigeria. Mr. Good luck, Jonathan demanding his immediate resignation on account of a gross derelectin of his constitutional duty to protect the Chibok girls. I was quite aware of the risk involved. My superiors were also aware and informed. I knew I could have been arrested and intimidated by the government, but it was a price worth paying for the cause of justice, which I deeply believe in as a Jesuit.

Initially in my letter to the President, I contended that the reaction of the president and commander in chief of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria would’ve been significantly different, that is urgent, resolute, and relentless had one of those abductees being the president’s daughter.

Well, come to think of it, I argued what parent will go to sleep, occupy herself or himself with petty political chores while their daughter languished in the forest stronghold of a murderous gang? What parent would do that?

Yet on deeper reflection, the sad reality was not that these girls were not daughters of wealthy and powerful politicians. It was simply that they were girls. Girls, people who society and culture consistently conspire to downgrade their social premium and human dignity to that of second class citizens.  Children, as it were, of a lesser God. You see, unless and until we confront the misguided belief that the girl child simply does not count in the order of gender priority, the impunity of groups like Boko Haram, the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab, and their trademark fanaticism will continue a while longer.

So I have come to the conclusion that the abduction of the Chibok girls is a consequence of a prior violation of the fundamental human rights of the girl child, especially the right to education. And statistics on this matter don’t lie. Sub-Saharan Africa records the lowest enrollment ratios of girls and the lowest rate of completion for girls in primary and secondary education compared to boys.

There are underlying factors I believe, that militate against the education of the girl child, and we may not overlook or ignore these factors. Many are the societies in sub-Saharan Africa that still peg the value of the girl child to the economic return projected on her physiognomy, like the color of her skin, the tone of her skin, or even her statue, even when educated. As in some parts of Nigeria, her market value is calculated in function of the level of our education.

You see, the frustration of girls’ dream for education emerges from the same combination of cultural prejudice, religious fanaticism, sectarian hatred, and put together all of these militate against the chances. However, little of the girl child in quest for education for integral development and social transformation.  We are all familiar with the slogan that “the development of the nation is premised on the imperative of educating the girl child,” “educate the gird child and educate the nation.”  While repeated with regularity and frequency, this slogan only seldom translates into reality because the equation is so heavily rigged in her disfavor.

The forces are arrayed against the education of the girl child are legion and they’re formidable. And to quote the British Prime Minister David Cameron, in the aftermath of the horrific massacre at a school in Peau by Pakistan Taliban in December of 2014, I quote, it is horrifying that “children are simply killed for going to school.”

In my experience, the horror of such attacks carries a very significant gender quotient because the odds, the risks, and the toll rise significantly when those children are girls.

Although the perpetrators of this kinds of terror easily and very frequently anchor their brutal assault of the educated girl or woman or on religion, I remain convinced that the gods are not to blame.

And this is my second conclusion that the drivers of a destructive gender-based violence run very deep in the collective sociocultural psyche. Truth be told, any society that relegates women to a secondary status and alots to them menial tasks creates the propitious conditions for gender-based violence and morally depraved ideologies to emerge and to thrive.

In the final analysis, I find it profoundly disturbing. Not only the fact that the educated girl or woman is perceived as a threat to such ideologies, but also the sad realization that such depraved ideologies rendered the educated, independent, and competent African girl or woman, almost an endangered species.

It will take, I believe, an equally compelling counter narrative to prize open the stranglehold of sectarian ideologies, banditry, and zealotry that weighs heavily on the fate of girls and women, especially in developing countries.

Now, promoting this counter narrative is key to a change in mentality. We need strong and bold voices of faith, voices of hope, voices of charity, voices of women rereading and reinterpreting, the secret text of world religion, challenging centuries old patriarchal and misogynistic hermeneutics to which societies and cultures have almost become accustomed. And modeling in creative and innovative ways, the possibilities and potential of an indestructible and creative female spirit, unfettered, unbounded by expectations of a dominant male class.

Finally, back to our Chibok girls, let me be clear. I do not claim to be a voice for those girls. I can only imagine their pain and who knows, regret at the fatal costs of dreaming to be educated Nigerian women as daily they bemoan their fate and the loss of that dream.  Daily they cry,  daily they lament held captive by people who fear and mortally combat the well-educated African girl and woman.

If we listen carefully, there are millions of Chibok girls in our world. There are millions of Chibok girls in our world who are shut out of the house of learning by conspiracy of cultural complacency, gender discrimination, and political shortsightedness.

There are millions of Chibok girls whose dream for education have been truncated by atavistic mentalities that consider women tradable commodities, useful currencies for maintaining our machinery of gender superiority. There are millions of Chibok girls whose fate challenge our claims to unrivaled globalization and technological progress in the 21st century.  There are millions of Chibok girls whose single gifts will forever be lost to humanity because of our shortsightedness.  Because of terrorists who turn our schools into avatars of civilization, any civilization. These are the girls we need to bring back. These are the girls who call on our conscience to bring them back. And I content that as a race, notwithstanding our unparalleled progress, we still remain largely uneducated in the act of honoring the dignity of women, reverencing her unbound spirit, and upholding her rights to social goods. And I contend that unless and until we excel in this kind of education, our world will remain unfinished, incomplete, and violated. We need to bring them back. 

May Fr. Orobator find the space to proclaim this truth — this Gospel – at this synod.

National Catholic Reporter is doing a bang up job at the synod.  They are pumping out reports and podcasts that really help us understand what is happening within the synod.  Coleen Dulle and America Magazine has also been offering some exciting inside reports.

Pope Francis Gets to Meet Sr. Jeannine

Today, we learned that Pope Francis got to meet one of my favorite sheroes, minsters, and prophets in all the world — Sr. Jeannine Gramick.  Pope Francis is a lucky man!

After decades of being dissed and dismissed by Vatican officials who tried to shut down her ministry to LGBTQ+ people, Jeannine Grammick razed a mammoth barrier for those who have long been excluded and labeled as “disordered” by a fearful institution.  While many reformers keep a distance from Pope Francis because they are ready for greater reforms, Jeannine has never been shy about her admiration.  She admits, “The meeting was emotional.”

The meeting was very emotional for me. From the day he was elected, I have loved and admired Pope Francis because of his humility, his love for the poor and for those shunned by society. He is the human face of Jesus in our era. Pope Francis looks into your heart and his eyes say that God loves you.

Here is the text of New Ways beautiful press release today.

In a moment once unimaginable, Sister Jeannine Gramick, SL, met with Pope Francis today at the Vatican.

The 50-minute meeting took place the afternoon of Tuesday, October 17, 2023, at Casa Santa Marta, the pope’s residence in the Vatican. Three New Ways Ministry staff members were also present at the meeting.

Sister Jeannine, a co-founder of New Ways Ministry, brought greetings to Pope Francis from LGBTQ+ Catholics in the U.S. church. She thanked him for his openness to blessing same-sex unions, as well as for his opposition to the criminalization of LGBTQ+ people in civil society.

This meeting is remarkable because it reflects the steady acceptance of Catholic officials to LGBTQ+ issues and ministry. Previous popes and church leaders have opposed Sister Jeannine and New Ways Ministry. This meeting now represents a new openness to the pastorally-motivated, justice-seeking approach which Sister Jeannine and her organization have long practiced.

Sister Jeannine remarked about the experience of the papal meeting:

“The meeting was very emotional for me. From the day he was elected, I have loved and admired Pope Francis because of his humility, his love for the poor and for those shunned by society. He is the human face of Jesus in our era. Pope Francis looks into your heart and his eyes say that God loves you.”

The meeting was the latest interaction between Pope Francis, Sister Jeannine, and New Ways Ministry, which began over two years ago. Sister Jeannine has developed a friendly correspondence with him. In one letter Pope Francis called her a “valiant woman,” and later sent her a handwritten note congratulating her on her 50 years of LGBTQ+ ministry.

Having heard from friends that Pope Francis was eager to meet Sister Jeannine, she wrote to ask if she could visit him and bring Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director, and Robert Shine, Associate Director, who were in Rome to cover the Synod on Synodality’s General Assembly, and Matthew Myers, New Ways Ministry’s Staff Associate. Pope Francis eagerly welcomed her and the group.

Communication between the pontiff, Sister Jeannine, and New Ways Ministry began in April 2021 when DeBernardo wrote to the pope to explain the organization’s mission and work. The letter also noted New Ways Ministry’s occasional confrontations with the Vatican and some U.S. Catholic officials in the course of its 46-year history, particularly focusing on the pioneering LGBTQ+ ministry of Sister Jeannine and Father Robert Nugent, SDS, the other co-founder of New Ways Ministry.

The pope responded quickly to this first letter, explaining that the Vatican sometimes receives partial information about people and organizations. He wrote that New Ways Ministry’s letter narrated the history objectively and helped him to better understand the situation. The Pope’s letter, written on official Vatican letterhead, offered pastoral encouragement. In closing Pope Francis wrote, “I remain at your disposal,” thus inviting further correspondence.

Since that time, Sister Jeannine and DeBernardo have written further letters to the pontiff, always receiving cordial and affirming handwritten notes in return.

DeBernardo commented on the latest encounter with the pope:

“This meeting was an affirmation not only of Sister Jeannine and New Ways Ministry but of the thousands upon thousands of LGBTQ+ people, parishes, schools, pastoral ministers, and religious communities who have been tirelessly working for equality, and who often experienced the great disapproval and ostracization that New Ways Ministry had experienced.

“Meeting with Pope Francis is a great encouragement for Sister Jeannine and New Ways Ministry to continue our work in the Catholic Church.”

—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, October 17, 2023

This momentous meeting between Sr. Jeannine and Pope Francis is an indicator of how far the church has come on this issue.  But the issue of inclusion at the synod has been one fraught with emotion.  As Coleen Dulles noted, “We know that there have been some rather emotional moments. We’ve heard that off record from a number of people, enough people that I feel comfortable saying it as fact, that there have been emotional moments in these discussions about inclusion and, and what that looks like…. A lot of the press is focused especially on the LGBT question, which we know was discussed in the context of this question of truth versus love. And that was an interesting question because it kind of introduced this polarity between truth and love that made for a dynamic discussion, rather than some of the other questions are about concrete practices.”

Women Deacons: I’d Welcome That

In an interview with Joshua McElwee and Christopher White, we also learned that one of the bishops on the writing commission favors opening the diaconate to women.

Australian Bishop Shane Mackinlay, elected by his peers to be part of the Synod of Bishops’ Commission for the Synthesis Report, expresses openness to ordaining women as Catholic deacons. “In an exclusive interview with National Catholic Reporter, Australian Bishop Shane Mackinlay, elected to the committee role by his peers at the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops, said of discussions about women’s ordination: “I’m glad that it is being addressed.”

Noting that the possibility of ordaining women as Catholic deacons is mentioned in the synod’s working document, Mackinlay said the issue was included “because there was such a wide representation” of people who brought it up during the two-year consultative process ahead of the Vatican assembly.

“I’m glad it’s here. I’m glad it’s going to be discussed,” said the bishop. “And if it were to be that the outcome was for ordination to the diaconate to be open to women, I’d certainly welcome that.”

Press Briefing

The Vatican press briefing included Archbishop of Rabat, Cristobal Cardinal Lopéz Romero; Bishop Anthony Randazzo, Bishop of Broken Bay, Australia, and President of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania; and Professor Renée Köhler-Ryan and the young Nigerian Jesuit Agbonkhianmeghe Emmanuel Orobator, among the best-known theologians at the international level. All four are attending their ‘first Synod’; all said they were happy and enriched by this ‘experience’ of listening and learning.

According to Ruffini, participants discussed the possibility of opening the diaconate to women, first clarifying “the very nature of the diaconate”. Concerning the role of women in the Church, Dr Ruffini said that “it was recalled that Jesus associated women with His retinue” and “the question was raised whether it might not be possible to envisage that women, who gave the first proclamation of the Resurrection, might not also give homilies”. “It was also said that when women are present in the pastoral councils, decisions are more practical and communities more creative”, Ruffini continued, quoting a proverb cited in the hall: “When you want something to be talked about, have an assembly of men, but if you want to do something, have an assembly of women”.

Sheila talked about B2.5 which focused on bishops.

We continued with module B 2 of the working document, but I’m going to look more at, B 2.5, which had to do with the bishops. A lot was shared as part of the personal interventions. A lot was shared about the bishop’s role in the church and the fact that the bishop is the one who should promote ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue…Another topic was the  appointment of bishops, which is seen to be delicate.  Still there should be more consultation regarding the appointments of bishops. Another point  highlighted was that the bishop should adopt a synodal style. ..

It was advised that bishops should seek expertise from professionals. We also looked at the ongoing formation of bishops, the relationship between bishops and the clergy, and also with new bishops, what is termed baby bishops — the shepherding of new bishops and priests as well. We also looked at the bishop as a father, the father figure, the one who leads and the one who speaks the truth, but at the same time expresses love, caring, concern, and that bishops shouldn’t shun away from listening to abuse victims. It’s very important that they make room and spaces for this. We also looked at the bishop, the need to pray for our bishops, not just the bishops praying for themselves — but the laity, the faithful, all the baptized. We should always remember to pray for our bishops as well. 

Women Priests as Niche

Professor Renée Köhler-Ryan spoke at length today about women in the church, motherhood, etc.  Most of what she said was pretty

standard fare, but it caught my attention when she called the issue of the ordination of women a “niche” issue.  Her most interesting answers came in response to questions by journalists.

Elise Allen with the Crux News had an interesting question.

In following on the topic of discussion on, on women in the female diaconate, but also different ministries in the church, you know, prior to the Synod a lot of attention was paid to what the Synod might decide or what sort of reflections might come out of it when it comes to the inclusion of women and members of the LGBTQ community.  Specifically when it comes to the women’s diaconate,  women’s ordination or even blessings for same-sex couples. Now Pope Francis did give some specific indications on some of those issues prior to the Synod in his responses to the Dubia that came out. He said more or less on, on women priests, “no,” but that it can be studied and on same sex blessings, “yes,” but with some caveats. So my question to you guys is, since this happened right before the synod began,  and he gave those clear indications, are you glad that he gave those indications beforehand? Or do you wish he would’ve left them open as the discussion unfolded?

Professor Köhler-Ryan responded.

We are glad, I mean, of course, it’s always good to know what, it’s always gonna good to get a bit of a lead on, what the Holy Father would like to guide us in as our spiritual leader. What I have to say mainly is about all of these questions about women. So what I find as a woman working in the church, working alongside, bishops, archbishops, other theologians, priests, my wonderful husband, laymen, you know, everyone in the church, religious, both men and women alike, is that we are not so focused in our everyday life as a woman, I’m not focused at all on the fact that I’m not a priest. I think that there’s too much emphasis placed on this question.

And what happens when we place too much emphasis on this question is that we forget about what women, for the most part need throughout the world. So what does a woman really, you know, what do I as a professional woman want for my, my husband and family and kids? I’ve got a bunch of kids. What do I really want? I want them to be educated, and I want them to be educated in the faith. I want them to have a house, you know, we need to live somewhere. We need to have food on the table. They need to be clothed. I want them to have a future and a future where they are welcomed into the church and everyone they know and love is welcomed into the church. So I want all of these things that isn’t possible for every woman across the world.

So some people are very focused on this idea that only if women become ordained will they have any kind of equality, but we’re not looking at equality as a one for one thing in the church. We’ve spent so much time in the last week looking at how we have unity with diversity. Well, part of that diversity is that there are realities of motherhood and fatherhood that are both spiritual and biological, and that those are really important for understanding what’s going on across the whole church. So I think we can become too distracted from by this particular issue. And what that does is that it detracts from all of the other things that we could be doing. We could be making sure that professional women are not forced to choose between having families and being out there in the workforce. For instance, we could be doing more to make sure that families are supported in all kinds of ways, including with the different economic pressures that are going on as well. So I think that’s a far more interesting conversation for most women. I tend to think of as a fairly niche kind of issue. 

I honestly hate it when women or men do this – draw false dichotomies – as if we can’t think about how to better support working mothers and parents AND think of how to better achieve a system of full equality in the institutional church.  Further, the issue of women’s ordination came up over and over again in the listening sessions – from local to continental. If an issue is important to women and to other Catholics, it is not niche.

My Favorite Prophet

There is no theologian that I admire more than Nigerian Jesuit Agbonkhianmeghe Emmanuel Orobator who joined the press briefing today.  In 2015, he spoke at one of the first Voices of Faith conferences inside the Vatican.  At the time, he took the floor and told the story of the 276 Chibok girls who had been kidnapped by Boko Haram in 2014.  As he spoke, you could hear a pin drop and there weren’t many dry eyes.  When it comes to understanding the second class place of girls and women, he is truly a prophet within our Church. If you have the time, listen to what he had to say. His words would be a rich nutrient at this synod.  Everytime, he speaks, I am transported to the moment in 2014 when I was forever changed.

Today he shared these words about the synod experience:

I would add that this is my first experience of a synod. So we’re all novices, as you can see. But I also want to emphasize the fact that I have been involved in the process for the last two and a half years through the African Synodality initiative, working with the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar to prepare the stages and the phases leading to this particular moment. I would make two, three points, in terms of my own experience of this synod so far. The first is that I’m a theologian, the dean of the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University. And as a theologian, this is a privileged moment. This is what a theologian lives for.  Because we are part of an experience of a process of the church making and remaking itself in a way. This is a once in a lifetime experience that really calls on theologians to dig deeper into the resources that they bring to enrich this process and to deepen this process and to make sure that this process brings out something new in terms of how we see and experience and live as a community called church. So I feel very privileged to be part of this experience.

The second thing I want to mention is about process. I remain convinced that the process is probably going to be more important than the outcome. And the process for me has been, again, truly enriching, focusing on elements or the mechanisms of frameworks of listening, of dialoguing and discerning. I believe that this is the kind of framework and mechanism that would lead us as a community called church to experiencing new way of being, where people, no matter who they are, no matter their status or station or situation in the church, are able to be part of a process where they’re not only heard, but they’re also able to contribute to a process of discernment. And I’m very grateful for the process that has been adopted.

And the third thing I would say is, I think my colleagues have mentioned this, is just to witness the, the diversity of the church and to draw from the wisdom that is so embedded in this diversity; to draw from the insights and the unique gifts that this diversity offers.

The church, I’m sitting on a group of 12 people right now in on my table, and all of us are from different countries, 12 people sitting at the same table, each person from a different country. And the wisdom that each one brings, the insights that each one reveals, and the gift that each one brings is matter for enriching a universal church. And for me, this experience is certainly one to live for and definitely to work for. And I will close by saying that as well as I’m concerned. Really, the work of the Synod will begin when the gatherings here actually conclude, because synodality, as we have been told, is about how we live and work and journey and boat and swim together, and that is going to be tested in the years to come.

But I believe that the robust process and the mechanisms and framework that’s been trialed and tested and experimented will certainly provide the resources for this synodal journey to continue and to succeed.

For the past few days, the director of the Holy See Press Office has joined the panel.  Matteo Bruni was appointed to the role in 2019 and offers a straight forward view of all things synodal in contrast to the more rambling style of Paolo Ruffini.  And of course, I love to hear Sheila Pires the best.  She is sharp and concise, and I love it when she reports that the synod participants discussed the role of woman.  They were joined today by Fr. Vimal Tirimanna, C.Ss.R, a theologian from Sri Lanka, Sr. Patricia Murray, Bishop Zdenek Wasserbauer, an auxiliary Bishop of Prague,

Paolo Ruffini reported that the first reports from the first week of the minor circles were examined. He also confirmed that the bishops from China who are present at the Synod will leave tomorrow (October 17).  He explained that they are doing so because of “pastoral reasons that call them back to their respective dioceses.”

In reporting on the morning activities in the synod hall, Sheila summarized the discussions:

Listening was once again highlighted throughout today’s morning session.  The other highlight was synodality.  What is the meaning of synodality?  Learning more about synodality.  While some churches may have experienced synodality, others haven’t. It is still a learning process to some.  Also the richness of our diversity was highlighted and how we should preserve the richness of our diversity. We also spoke about the image of the church. We spoke about the church and the roles that we all play within the church.  Just like the body, we have different parts and together we make up the body.  Each part with his own function. 

The other point of reflection was missionary activity, the role of the laity, and the role of the family.  Ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue was once again highlighted. 

During today’s discussions we spoke about in evangelization in the digital era without forgetting those that come from poorer countries with so many young people.  We may be in a digital era, but we cannot forget the young people who don’t have this privilege.  So, we highlighted that as well. 

Of course, [we highlighted] ongoing formation for both the laity and the priests. Also the whole issue of clericalism came up. And yes, the topic that many people are asking about of issues related to women, the role of women in the church, related to the inclusion of women, recognition of women, and female diaconate was also addressed.  This is not the end we are still having more presentations. 

Following Sheila’s overview, Fr. Vimal Tirimanna, C.Ss.R, a theologian from Sri Lanka who confessed that even though he didn’t have high hopes for the synod, beyond theory, he is being converted and convinced this is truly a new phase in our church development.

Since [the synod] it began the sessions, I must say, I am becoming more and more optimistic.  As you know, I am a professor of moral theology and also, I, by nature,  expect results.  Before coming this time for this assembly, I was wondering how much this is going to be theory, how much of that is going to be practical.  Although, I was involved all along from the very beginning when the Synodal Secretary started the Synodal process.  In theory I was at home, but I was wondering how the theory and the practical levels would be gapped.  But the good news is the beginning of the third week, and I  am seeing how synodality is lived.

I remember, even when we were deliberating before the synodal sessions began and with the secretary —  I was in the  theological commission also last July when I was appointed a full-time member of the synod.  What we thought was what we heard once again, and again from others “Synodality happens when you do it.’  I thought this is just a cliché and rattling off things.  But I must admit ever since we began that retreat until today, thanks mainly to the great atmosphere of prayer, heavily complemented by the spiritual conversations, we see how the synodal way of living is already lived.

You have heard it from this very table again and again. The round tables themselves that are a symbol of the ecclesiology of Lumen Gentium.  This is not a private agenda of Pope Francis.  It is a continuation of Vatican II.  Of course, the church had so many other things to face during the last five decadees, but now the Vatican II theology is being revived.  I stop with that — People of God, based on baptism.  People of God and baptism — these are the two poles.  So when you sit around the table in my experience, dear friends, this is the third table I’m sitting at with cardinals, bishops, lay people, mainly lay women — rubbing their shoulders with a hierarchy in a concentric church not a pyramidal church. A pyramidal church is not bad. We need that, but the ecclesiology of Lumen Gentium  is lived.  A synodality where the culture of similarities is lived here.  The challenge is to take it outside.

The next in the line up was Sr. Patricia Murray, who has many responsibilities at the synod including being chosen to be on the Commission for Overseeing the Writing of the Draft Synthesis – a first for women in the Church.  I have always been a fan of Sr. Pat and her words today just filled me with more joy and pride at being a woman in this patriarchal church.

I am a member of a religious congregation. I feel that we have been practicing synodality for over 20 years. Particularly as we were making decisions and coming to conclusion about things that mattered in our lives.  And putting Jesus and the Spirit of the center of our life, and listening to the voice of everyone in a religious community, in order to discern where God is calling us at this time, where God is calling the Congregation. It has been a  practice of many congregations.  So for me, it’s added joy to see it spread into the universal church.  That this is the way that we want to live and be together — participation, communion, and mission.

I mean we are forming in these days the mission of the baptized, and then you have the ministerial mission, but we are all on mission. We’re all bringing the good news whenever we are. And increasingly we know what the complexity of the context in which we live on the needs of people, listening to those who feel excluded and on the margins of life. And more and more to create spaces listening spaces, spaces of accompaniement.

The act is to go as deep as possible. This discernment journey is not just this month. I’m so happy with the fact that there are two stages to this, because as the themes come up and are reflected on through the conversations in the Spirit from many different perspectives, we’re holding a unity in our diversity.  We’re listening to very different opinions and we’re allowing them to enter, and to nourish ourselves – to listen to what God is speaking through these various voices and these differences of opinion.  At the same time,  We, in a way, have to go deeper over the next number of months to we return again in a years time. That’s how discernment happens. You are lead deeper each time to deeper questions.  So for  example is questioning roles and functions ends up asking a much deeper question about the mission of all the baptized in the church today.

So for me, I see the different stages has been very important. We’ve been asked for example to prepare individually before we come to the round table, to do your own personal prayer reflection and preparation. So you’re not talking – just reacting to something – but you’ve really talked deeply about what you were asked to reflect on in the group. And then in the process you’ve heard it several times, in this room, I’m sure, but in listening to those different voices you can feel one’s own position being widened. broadened, deepened, because of different context, cultures, different perspectives, very different opinions, different ecclesiologies, and so forth.  And then the deep respectful conversation does lead you, at the end of the day, to a different place.

So, for me, naming the tensions, naming the areas that we still have further work to do is important in this process.  And that’s why I’d say, ‘time is a gift’. And we have to use that time to time when we meet together and the time inbetween the two assemblies to use that as a church, as a whole, for the prayer reflection and discernment.

Finally, Bishop Zdenek Wasserbauer, an auxiliary Bishop of Prague, said he was moved by the apostolic exhortation on St. Therese of Lisieux, who sees in the document a compass for the entire Synod. “During this work,” he told reporters, “I perceived very clearly that the word ‘mission’ is a key point for us. And St. Therese of Lisieux is co-patroness of the missions.”

He offered two reasons, in particular, as to why the exhortation can be seen as a guide or a beacon: “The first is related to the fact that the Saint, when she entered Carmel, had the desire to save souls. Well, I realized that here all 400 members meet every day seeking the good of others, their salvation. The second reason refers to the dark night that St. Therese of Lisieux felt in her soul in 1856. Some say that even today, the Church of the Third Millennium is going through darkness: here, the Synod is a light that illuminates the darkness.”

Q & A

Another First Woman

Joshua McElwee of NCR asked Sr. Pat Murray about her reaction to be appointed as the first woman to the Commission on Writing the Synthesis Report. “Can you tell us how you understand the work?”

Sr. Pat replied that it was an honor and a surprise to be appointed.  “I think these appointments are symbolic.”  As to the work of the group, we had our first meeting.  I was short.  We looked at the task of the commission and any indications to what the document would look like — that it wouldn’t be too long and divided clearly into sections.

Women Use Time and Space Well

Zac Davis of America Magazine asked Sr. Pat Murray.

This is, there’s of course, a historic level of women’s involvement in this gathering, and it’s also historic because, as we heard the topic of women deacons is being brought up. However, the view I have from the press box up there becomes clear that most tables only have one or two women present at them for those discussions. And we know that each participant has an equal amount of time to speak and respond, but do you feel that women are being given a just amount of time to contribute to this meeting? And secondly, can you tell us if any women have been elected as reporters for their tables? 

Sr. Pat responded.

With regard to time, I mean, obviously there two or three women at a table are participating in the general conversation, but I think as women, we’re well able to make our point and to use our time and space well.  With regard to other interventions, any individual in the room is free to submit their individual reflection. So I’m sure many of the women, as I have done, have submitted our ndividual reflections as well as contributing to the work in the group. So I do think, given the percentage of women in the room, I do think, quite honestly, space has been well created for the voice of women to be heard. And it’s not only women. There are many others who are speaking at the tables about the importance of the role of women in the church. So there are many other voices, there are other, clerics, both the cardinals, bishops and priests and brothers, because not to forget that there are lay brothers present in different capacities, also at the synod. Yes, women are participating as facilitators as reporters equally to others. They’ve been elected in their various groups.

Acknowleging the Hurt

Francis DeBernardo of New Ways Ministry asked,

The readers of my publication are primarily LGBTQ plus Catholics and the pastoral ministers who support them. They’ve been very inspired by the process of the Synod and the willingness the church leaders show to listening to their concerns and the joy of their Catholic faith, but somehow are not as positive because they had lived through decades of exclusion and repression under previous popes and church leaders. So my question, primarily for Sister Patricia, but for the others, if they’d like to add my question, is, so while this new spirit of synodality is greatly welcomed as a present and future way to be church, it’s important to know if there has been any discussion or if there will be anything in the report, acknowledging and responding to past hurts, not just to LGBTQ plus people, but others as well, past hurts before the spirit of synodality began.

Sr. Patricia answered

I think at many of the tables, if not all, the question of hurt and the woundedness of people, both individually and collectively, has been dealt with and listened to. And equally there have been discussions around how to symbolically, n a sense, represent that hurt. Some people have said, ‘sorry,’ is not enough. So how does the church in her own pastor in liturgical way, give, sign and symbol of seeking forgiveness for hurts that have been caused? And this is something under reflection. There are two more weeks to go and how, and what will appear in the final document, would be foolish for me to say.   But just to say there, there’s a deep awareness of the pain and suffering that has been caused.

Don’t Miss These Resources

Both the National Catholic Reporter “The Vatican Briefing” podcast with Joshua McElwee and Christopher White, as well as America’s “Inside the Vatican” podcast with Coleen Dulle and Gerald O’Connell are simply excellent!

A Key Bishop Considers Women Deacons

https://www.ncronline.org/vatican/vatican-news/vatican-briefing-podcast-key-bishop-considers-women-deacons

As discussion turns to women deacons, the synod ‘gets interesting’

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/10/16/synod-synodality-women-ordination-lgbtq-migrants-israel-gaza-246306

The Vatican Briefing podcast: Francis opens a synod that could change the Catholic Church (an interview with Catherine Clifford)

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican-briefing-podcast-francis-opens-synod-could-change-catholic-church

Today’s press briefing was shortened because the synod participants will be participating in a pilrimage to St. Domitilla and other holy places.  According to Paolo Ruffini, the small groups have finished their reports on Communion and are sending them to the synod officials.  And tomorrow the new module will begin, B2, Co-responsibility in Mission in the Church.

Today, three people joined the press briefing.  Margaret Karrem president of the Focolare Movement, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, Cameroon, who is also the president of the country’s Bishops’ conference, and Sister Caroline Jarjis, a doctor at the Baghdad health centre and a religious of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Sheila Pires reported that there were 334 members present yesterday.  There were 36 interventions at the assembly.  They worked on B1 to B5.  Regarding interreligious and intercultural dialogue, there was a call to strengthen this work.  There was also a call for working to undo the impact of colonialism.

The Power of Prayer

Margaret Karram, president of the Focolare Movement, an Arab Catholic of Israeli and Palestinian origin spoke first.

She told journalists that the prayer of supplication on Thursday morning at the Synod was “a very strong moment”, because “ever since the war broke out, my heart has been broken and I wondered what I was doing here at the Synod. Joining in prayer with everyone was a very profound moment.”

According to Margaret Karram, many efforts are needed for peace, but “the power of prayer is crucial”.

And perhaps I could do something better or different to promote peace. So the first thing was for me to unite myself in prayer,and share the words of the Pope. So I thought it was good that we are all convened here in at the Synod.  Representatives from all the whole world and from all continents, and that we could truly devote a moment, albeit short, of deep prayer to God, asking for peace altogether.

So it was a very deep moment because I believe that we can do many things to promote peace, but I also believe in the power of prayer. And I was really struck by the fact that today’s gospel talked about this precisely. Knock on the door and it will be opened. Ask and you will be answered. So I felt that this faith should grow and also the faith of my people in believing even more in the power of prayer. And I thought that even being here at the synod is not in contradiction with the principles of my life.  My life living for peace, because these days, experience is teaching me what it means to journey together. It’s not easy to listen to the others and understand them. Having a dialogue allow you to be questioned by the others. And over these past few days, I made this deep reflection if what we are learning here at the synod for a whole month, if we manage to do this altogether amongst us. And if we, allow this lifestyle to become not just a methodology, but a lifestyle precisely for the church. And if we can bring this to many other contexts at the social political level in listening to the other, with respect beyond our diversity differences, different opinions.  Well, I think that this could truly help us also at a higher level in terms of being able to build bridges for peace. 

Healing for Isolation

Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, Cameroon spoke next.

I think this synod is a very big consolation to Africa because with the problems we have in Africa, sometimes we feel isolated and abandoned. But coming to the synod we join with the rest of the universal church to sit down and pray together for the problems that are going on in Africa, and especially for the countries that are affected by war. This for us, is a very, very big consolation. Secondly, the synod gives a chance for the voice of Africa to be heard.  Africa has its own specificities and their own peculiarities. And when we come together to the, in the universal church, in a synod journey like this one, it is an opportunity for Africa’s voice to be heard and to be heard where it is supposed to be heard. We are not worried about social media or about what others are saying, but we are with our brothers and sisters.  We feel the unity that binds the church together. And there we are able to express ourselves freely and happily. And I think that this is a very wonderful opportunity for Africa to make its own mark within the synod.  And for this, I am very, very grateful. The last point is that we have learned from what is happening in the continent. The wars that are  going on Ukraine, Palestine, and Israel and other places, we all have to be pro-peace. War can never be the solution. We all have to be pro-peace and join together as one church, God’s children, united praying for peace. Peace is possible.

When someone asked him about synodality he said it is already happening in his region.

Synodality forms part of the African culture, because we always do things together as a family. And when we do things as a family, we consult everybody within the family. And, in the local churches, which we have, we believe strongly in the basic Christian communities because in those basic Christian communities, everybody is able to express themselves.

We are supported here

Finally, Sister Caroline Jarjis, a doctor at the Baghdad health centre and a religious of the Congregation of the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus read the Gospel in Arabic at the synod gathering.  She spoke about her experience.

The experiences that we will take home from this assembly, it’s not just a document, an official report, but it’s rather a strong Christian experience similar to that of the early Christians who were sharing everything, their sufferings, well, the suffering that we hear, the, the wealth, the richness that comes from the words of the others. So I can say that this is my experience. I have come from a country, where it’s a Christian minority.  We have suffered all our life. Unfortunately, this is a steady element in our lives. But I still have hope, hope for our church, even though we are a minority in my country. Still our church is rich, because we have so many martyrs, their blood give us strength to go on. And today I am, I am bringing this strength here, and I will go home with even greater strength because there is a universal church behind me that supports me. And I will bring this all back to my own community, to my Christian people. And also I will bring this back to the other people. I will bring this experience to share it also with the other religions. I come from Baghdad and I will share it with them.