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.

 

A whoopsie

Whoopsie!  It appears that the confidential small group discussion documents were infiltrated by a conservative journalist who found an open link with no password requirements.  He reported it to synod officials. The National Catholic Register took note of the leak and complained that even though the reports are no longer secret, officials preferred to fix the link refusing to release the coveted reports.  During the press briefing, Ruffini addressed the “whoopsie” — the leaking of small group documents and the issue of confidentiality. Ruffini explained that because some members could not access the documents, the General Secretary created an open link which contained some of the small group reports.  After they learned it was being accessed by others, they reinstated the secure link.  During the Q & A, Fr. Thomas Reese asked if the documents could be shared with all journalists since they were leaked, but Ruffini said it was a closed matter.

On the press panel, Paolo Ruffini and Sheila Pires were joined by Sister Maria De Los Dolores Palencia Gómez who is one of the Presidential Delegates for the Synod; Enrique Alarcón García, president of ‘Frater España’, a Christian fraternity that brings together many people with disabilities in Spain; and
Father Mauro Giuseppe Lepori, Abbot General of the Cistercian Order.

Ruffini explained that at the end of the second week participants are discussing the third module, B2; the conception of ministry, the relationship of ordained to non-ordained, the role of women, and other topics.  He also explained that there were different small groups working on different questions within B2.

Ruffini also addressed the “whoopsie” above — the leaking of small group documents and the issue of confidentiality. Ruffini explained that because some members could not access the documents, the General Secretary created an open link which contained some of the small group reports.  After they learned it was being accessed by others, they reinstated the secure link.

The first person to speak today was Enrique Alarcón García, president of ‘Frater España’, a Christian fraternity that brings together many people with disabilities in Spain. He arrived at the press conference in a wheelchair. He spoke of his gratitude saying it was, “First of all, for the Holy Father who wanted me at the Synod.” Because my presence is not just a formality, I was not placed here to be displayed like a flag”. He believes that Francis, “is always interested in how people with disabilities live in the Church and what they think of it. We were not used to this”.  “Persons with disabilities are the greatest minority in the world,” and Garcia hopes that there will truly be inclusion in our Church. Pope Francis is making a way.

Sr. Maria’s grace

For the first time ever, on Friday, a synod session was chaired by a woman: Sister Maria De Los Dolores Palencia Gómez, of the order of San José de Lyon. At the press briefing, Sr. Maria said the following:

My name is Maria and I have been a sister for over 50 years and my journey through life was marked by peripheries. Almost all my life was spent with indigenous peoples, rural people, and also with migrants. At the moment I’m living in a place where I work every day and where I welcome migrants from Southern and Central America and also from Africa, Asia.  I welcome them on a daily basis.

Being here is a real grace and a gift for my life to have the opportunity of being invited to the synod and to participate in this synod work.  I also worked during preparatory stage in all the different steps and, I must say that this was a learning and an unlearning path.   A learning path that was very important is to listen to every reality of every person in every culture.  So it’s not just a matter of listening it is also a matter of echoing through the others’s words – the Spirit through the common discernment that we are experiencing tin the synod.  It is a time of listening and encounter, listening and understanding, and through listening and understanding we’re trying to discover with the Spirit is suggesting so that we may better serve our Church and to take steps forward based on a strong desire that of being a message of hope in the name of the Gospel in the world. 

Yesterday I had the grace of being invited to be the delegate president and I presided over the assembly in the morning session.  I must say that it was a very deep experience, very exciting, and very moving as well.  I sat down with the Pope.  We were sitting at the same table with the Secretary General and the Rapporteur.  And I realized that this is a modus vivendi, forever, a way of life, a co-responsibility that strongly emerges from the synod.  With co-responsibility that unites us through our baptism, it is an invitation to be attentive, to pay attention because as baptized men and women we must continue to listen to the Spirit.  We must continue to journey together respecting what at the cultural level must be different, what needs different responses to journeying together with a permanent and ongoing dialogue.  I have read Ecclesiam Suam written by Paul VI about the importance of the church as a dialogue. The church is dialogue. This is truly what we are experiencing on a daily basis in our synod. It is something that for me is a great grace.

Having been the first woman, as a cardinal was telling me yesterday, the first woman in 20 years to preside over an assembly of bishops, well for me, this was a gift and a grace.  I think it is also a symbol of this openness that the church has, a desire that sees us all as pilgrims along the same route.  Something that places all of us at the same level — the role of women — the charism that we can offer the church. These are all steps in this synodal journey.  They represent a great joy for me, as well as a great responsibility. We have always felt responsible for our role in the church, but today this resounds in a much stronger way because we are publicly recognized. And we must show that as women, both lay women and sisters, we can put at the service of the Gospel and hope.

After Sr. Maria’s words, Father Mauro Giuseppe Lepori spoke.  The Union of Superiors General appointed him to represent them at the synod.  “As a monk, I am learning a lot from the synod,” he said. “I feel very compelled and challenged by this synod, because it calls for a conversion to listening.”  After being initially fearful about the synod, Fr. Mauro has come to believe that the Spirit will speak as they listen closely to each other.  He believes they are going in a direction that is good for the Church.

Q & A

One journalist asked if there would be a declaration from the synod on the Israeli Palestine war and all wars.  Ruffini did not answer directly but spoke about what had been done already in terms of prayers.

A journalist from Peru asked Sr. Maria.  “What are your expectations concerning listening?  Do you feel you will be listened to?  Sr. Maria, responded that the synod is a process with steps that goes little by little but that there is going to be another synod that will be much more decisive.   “We are being invited to give our own contributions. We have already made strong steps ahead,” she said.

Mr. Garcia agreed with Sr. Maria but also said that the synod is very pedagogical in nature.  The bishops realize that we can not only listen, but they can have real dialogue as co-equal brothers and sisters.

Diane Montanya from the Catholic Herald asked about the synthesis report.  “Can you tell us what the members will be voting on?”  Given that this is the first assembly is with lay people, will we be given a breakdown of how they voted?

Ruffini responded by saying that the final report has not been drafted yet so he cannot say what will come out.  The final report will be different from other synthesis reports because there is going to be another session in 2024.  As far as voting, there will be bishops and non-bishops.  He defended the make-up of the synod body stressing, “We are part of the same assembly. It is a consultative synod.  Lay members are united by a common baptismal priesthood.”

Women Priests and Bishops?

Diane Montanya also asked Fr. Mauro, “Since you are a priest, we know there are both bishops and laity at the synod who are pushing for women’s ordination.  It is mentioned in the Instrumentum Laboris as inclusion in the diaconate. The push for women deacons in the synod is no different than the feminist push for women deacons in the Anglican communion which led to women priests and bishops.  How is this not a further step in ordination?”

Fr. Mauro said, as far as female priesthood, this topic is not dominating our discussion.

What is important is the participation of women in the life of the church. So how can we better recognize the dignity of women in the church?  From what I have seen so far, no one has spoken about female priesthood….The great temptation when we discuss these topics is to be too superficial.  We are speaking at a deep level.  I am in a group that is speaking about the role of women.  I chose this.  Monks and nuns belong to the same order and are members of the same general chapter.  There are no distinctions.  Living the life of the church with her two lungs enriches the church.  How this will be expressed is not something I am able to say.  We always seek what is good for the Church and the theme of women’s roles in the church is essential.

Another journalist from Mexico asked about the sensitivity of the synod participants to the plight of migrants.  Sr. Maria said that she believes there is a sensitivity in the synod.  She hopes that the synod will continue to speak about migration and that this cry is never silenced.

Antioch again?

The final and important question from Coleen Dulle of America Magazine to Ruffini.  Regarding discussions on sexuality, Dulle asked, “it sounds like there were different points of view offered from delegates on various topics in the past, especially around sexual identity.  Do you think this synod is having better conversations around these issues and if so, what do you think contributed to that – the media fasting, the round tables, the retreat, etc., or do conversations still feel polarized?

Ruffini responded:

In general terms I can tell you what I participated in and in what I could bear witness to.  It is true there is a serene dialogue or exchange even though people do not share the same opinion.  In small groups members are asked to highlight those issues where there are disagreements.  What I can say is we are halfway through our journey, there may be more polarized exchanges and less based on communion.  But what I am witnessing is an extraordinary exercise in communion.

Dulle’s question was likely sparked by the debate that was reported by Christopher White of National Catholic Reporter.  Under the cloak of anonymity, several participants shared the rising tensions regarding the inclusion of LGBTQ people into the church.

According to White:

According to the interviews, given under the condition of anonymity due to the synod’s rules on confidentiality of the assembly’s discussions, speeches about LGBTQ Catholics were given by delegates from a range of areas, including Eastern Europe, Africa and Australia. To varying degrees, the remarks expressed skepticism toward efforts to better integrate LGBTQ Catholics into the church’s ministries. 

Those interventions were then reportedly countered by several personal testimonials calling on the church to urgently reexamine its approach to LGBTQ persons, which were reportedly met by open applause from synod delegates.

This is the beginning of a long overdue conversation.  It won’t be any easier than the struggle between Peter and Paul about inclusion of the Gentiles (Gal 2:11-16). But it is a start and, in the end, we will have justice within our church.

11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; 12 for until certain people came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But after they came, he drew back and kept himself separate for fear of the circumcision faction. 13 And the other Jews joined him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, ‘If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?’[a] 

15 We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16 yet we know that a person is justified[b] not by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ.[c] And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ,[d] and not by doing the works of the law, because no one will be justified by the works of the law.

Today is the beginning of a new module, B2 which is about co-responsibility and mission.  There are 344 participants present, and each small group will take up questions around, “How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?”

The First Woman Presides

For the first time in synod history, a women will preside over the opening.  Sister Maria de los Dolores Valencia Gomez offered the opening comments for the synod today.

Bishops are Not Pioneers

Cardinal Hollerich offered a truly beautiful opening and offered some concessions that brought tears to my eyes.

When speaking about reaching those who live on the “digital continent.”

Many of us see the internet as simply a tool for evangelisation. It is more than that. It transforms our ways of living, of perceiving reality, and of living relations. Thus, it becomes a new mission territory.

Just as Francis Xavier left for new lands, are we willing and prepared to sail towards this new continent? Most of us cannot be guides in these new mission contexts … we have to be guided by the people who inhabit the digital continent. Mostly we bishops are not the pioneers of this mission, but those who are learning along a path opened up by the younger members of the People of God.

With regards to women in the church taken up in B2.3  his words were challenging, healing, and prophetic. The question reads: “How can the Church of our time better fulfil its mission through greater recognition and promotion of the baptismal dignity of women?” Hollerich reflects:

I want to dwell a little more on the other three Worksheets, because an Assembly like our needs to be very careful when dealing with them. As members of the People of God, all the themes of the ‘Instrumentum laboris’ concern us closely and touch us. But these three do so in a particular way. In fact, with respect to these three themes, each of us is the bearer of a point of view that is essential, but to address the themes effectively, we are also called to realize our own partiality. The best way to understand what I mean by this is to review the three Worksheets.

 Most of us are men. But men and women receive the same baptism and the same Spirit. The baptism of women is not inferior to the baptism of men. How can we ensure that women feel they are an integral part of this missionary Church? Do we, the men, perceive the diversity and the richness of the charisms the Holy Spirit has given to women? Or the way that how we act often depends on our past education, our family upbringing and experience, or the prejudices and stereotypes of our culture? Do we feel enriched or threatened when we share our common mission and when women are co-responsible in the mission of the Church, on the basis of the grace of our common Baptism?

He goes further to challenge ordained members as they address B2.4, “How can we properly value ordained Ministry in its relationship with baptismal Ministries in a missionary perspective?”

Besides being men, most of us are also ordained ministers. In the People of God there are also other components, other charisms, other vocations, and other ministries. What is the relation between ordained ministry and other baptismal ministries? We all know the image of the body Saint Paul uses. Are we ready to accept that all parts of the body are important? Are we ready to accept that Christ is the head of the body, and that the body can only function if each part relates to the head and to the other parts? Can the body of our Church act in harmony or are the parts twisting in all directions?

Finally, in B2.5 he challenges his brother bishops.

The last Worksheet concerns Bishops, whose ministry by the Lord’s will structures the communion of the Church. How should it be renewed and promoted in order to be exercised in a manner appropriate to a synodal Church? Most of us here are bishops. This question cannot but challenge us in a particular way, because the answer will have a direct impact on our everyday lives, on the way we manage our time, on the priorities of our agenda, on the expectations of the People of God towards us, and on the way we conceive our mission. 

We must be well aware of the degree and intensity of our involvement. And when we are so involved in a particular question or reality, we need even more the courage to take a step back to authentically listen to others, make room within ourselves for their word and ask what the Spirit is suggesting to us through them. This applies to the way we listen to those who are not bishops and who are therefore bearers of a different point of view, but also to other bishops because, in the end, each of us has his own way of being a bishop. Sharing our own experience of episcopacy and how this has changed over time, can be of great help.

Let’s Talk About Women

After Cardinal Hollerich offered his reflection, there were a few personal witnesses shared.  The witness of Sr. Gloria Liliana Franco Encheverri, ODN. was especially powerful and beautiful.

When thinking about the role of women in the Church, it is appropriate to look to Jesus and learn from Him. The Gospel recounts Jesus’s willingness to see and feel women, to raise them, dignify them, and send them. True reform comes from an encounter with Jesus, echoing His Word, learning from His attitudes and criteria, and assimilating His style.

From this conviction, I want to start by sharing the experiences of some women: Doña Rosa, at seventy years old, visits the sick in her neighborhood every evening, ensuring they have food and a dignified life. Until six months ago, she also brought them communion. However, the new priest told her that this task was no longer for her. Now, male Eucharistic ministers, equipped with striking uniforms, will deliver communion. She continues visiting the sick. She can no longer bring the Eucharist due to protocols, but every night, after praying, she feels that God carries her, and through her, He offers genuine comfort to the most vulnerable.

Martha completed her doctorate in Theology with better grades than her male counterparts. The Pontifical University she graduated from decided not to give her a canonical degree because she’s a woman. Instead, she received a civil title. Yet this is progress, as until recently, women in her country couldn’t study theology, only Religious Sciences.

Many women have no place on parish or diocesan councils, despite being teachers, catechists, caregivers for the sick, attendants to migrants, guides for youth, and playmates for children. They nourish faith in paraliturgies and creatively sustain hope amidst violence. From the perspective of many Council members, women’s roles are seen as maternal, basic, and pastoral, while they view the Council’s objectives as more administrative and strategic.

On September 28, upon arriving in Rome, I attended Mass. Behind me was a mother with her two children. During communion, she asked her eldest child if he would take part. Immediately, the younger girl, six-year-old María Antonia, asked, “Mom, what is communion?” This question has echoed powerfully throughout the days of the Synodal Assembly.

The journey of women in the Church is filled with scars, moments of pain and redemption. The love of God has always been evident and unyielding. Some may try to obscure the presence and contributions of women in building the Church, but the Church has a female face. The assemblies, parish groups, liturgical celebrations, apostolic ministries, the quality of reflection, and the warmth of the Church’s dedication often and predominantly originate from women’s hearts. This is evident in all contexts.

The Church, as a mother and teacher, is also a sister and disciple. It is feminine. This doesn’t exclude men because the power of the feminine – wisdom, kindness, tenderness, strength, creativity, courage, and the capacity to give life and face situations boldly – resides in everyone, both men and women. We are all called to be nurturing, embracing, comforting, and supportive. A feminine Church has the power of fertility, a gift from the RUAH.

In the synodal process in our continent, we see that a missionary Church pulsating with feminine energy has these perspectives:

1. 1. Jesus and the Gospel are the ones who convene us. The encounter is for remembering and renewing our commitment, aware of being sent as missionary disciples. Faith is read in deeds, and discernment underlies every action or process.
   2. Inclusion and participation in decision-making arise from recognizing our identity as God’s people and the dignity baptism bestows on us.
   3. Opting to care for all forms of life is a choice for the Kingdom. There’s a push to build communities that naturally uplift the downtrodden, heal the wounded, welcome the marginalized, uphold human dignity, and promote the common good and rights of individuals and the Earth.
   4. A new way of establishing relationships fosters a renewed identity: more circular, fraternal, and sororal. With new ministries that weave bonds of solidarity and proximity, connections are made beyond hierarchical and functional roles.
   5. There is belief in the value of processes, prioritizing listening, and recognizing that fecundity is the fruit of grace, from the action of the Spirit, the only one capable of making all things new.

At the heart of the desire and the imperative for a greater presence and participation of women in the Church, there is no ambition for power or a feeling of inferiority, nor a self-centered pursuit of recognition. There is a cry for living in fidelity to God’s project, who wishes for the people with whom He made a covenant, to recognize each other as brothers and sisters. This is about a right to participation and equal co-responsibility in discernment and decision-making, but fundamentally, it’s a longing to live with awareness and coherence, with the common dignity given to all by baptism. A desire to serve.

Hopefully, at the conclusion of this synodal process, we can all look straight into the eyes of little María Antonieta and say to her that to take communion is to walk as brothers and sisters, with our gaze fixed on Jesus, to renew that feast where there’s a place for everyone, where love translates into deeds, and the truth that shelters us all is simply and plainly the Gospel.

The leaders and witnesses at the synod provided a hopeful foundation for the small group discussions that will focus on some of the most contested issues in the church, women’s roles, women’s ordination, and the relationship between ordained and lay.  It would also be quite useful to read the other witnesses since they offer perspectives and insights into worlds not our own. 

https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly/1310/EN—Galli.pdf

https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly/1310/ENG-Franco-Echeverri.pdf

https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly/1310/EN—Valladares_De-Urquidi.pdf

https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/assembly/1310/EN_Card.-Mulla—ORIGINALE.pdf

To view the entire session go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh4j56zwhaI.

At today’s press briefing Paolo Ruffini and Sheila Pires were joined by Canadian Cardinal Lacroix, Grace Wrackia from Papua New Guinea, and Luca Casarini, an Italian migration activist.

Today general discussions focused on poverty, migration, abuse, the role of women, and sexual identity.

Dr. Ruffini reported on a “small ‘working group’” held on Tuesday at the Casa Santa Marta, where some of Rome’s poor were invited to lunch with Pope Francis and Papal Almoner, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski.  Those who took part in the meal were also asked what they expected from the Church. “Their answer was: ‘Love. Just love’.”

There are general congregations yesterday and today, devoted to small group reports with free interventions, where people can react to what they heard.

We are at the Module B1 which is divided into 5 sections/questions.  Today the participants talked about B1.4 and B1.5.

Sheila touched on the highlights of the day.  One theme that came up was the desire for a church that is poor, that walks with the poor.  The poor have many faces.  We also discussed migrants, climate change, women, the participation of men in the church, the abuse of women, and more.  Some bishops asked for assistance from other bishops who are doing well in providing assistance to migrants.  They also looked at the social doctrine of the church where the poor are excluded.  Another topic that came out quite strongly was to strengthen relationships to the Eastern churches.   And the question of how to put this synodal process into practice was also discussed.

Ruffini said there were a lot of discussion about “truth and love.”  The topic of sexuality was brought up.  Some said that there is no need to talk about sexuality.  But others said that there is no room for “homophobia.”  And there was much discussion about love, acceptance, and truth.

Canadian Cardinal Lacroix spoke about Vatican II.  “What we are living and experiencing is in continuity,” he said.  John XXIII was prophetic and offered the words the pope spoke at the opening of the Second Vatican Council.

It is but natural that in opening this Universal Council we should like to look to the past and to listen to its voices, whose echo we like to hear in the memories and the merits of the more recent and ancient Pontiffs, our predecessors. These are solemn and venerable voices, throughout the East and the West, from the fourth century to the Middle Ages, and from there to modern times, which have handed down their witness to those Councils. They are voices which proclaim in perennial fervor the triumph of that divine and human institution, the Church of Christ, which from Jesus takes its name, its grace, and its meaning.

Grace Wrackia from Papua New Guinea, explained that the Catholic Church has been in the region for about 150 years.  “It is a country of 1000 tribes, 800+ languages.”  We see each other as family.  Melanesian spirituality is very important to us.  We build relationships beyond those who look like us and extends us into a very big community.  And my ancestors are proud of our identity.  We live synodality.  We live in communion.  A village comes together to makes big decisions together.  Everyone speaks.  Women speak.  As she recalled her beautiful way of life, she made it clear, “We have been listening.  And now we want to speak because we have something to offer this synod.”

No human being is clandestine

Vatican media captured the testimony of Luca Casarini beautifully.  His words were powerful and moving.  Casarini is an Italian

activist and former proponent of the Tute Bianche movement. Casarini was influential in the development of the “white overalls” movement, that practiced social and civil disobedience while dressed in white overalls.  He was arrested at the G8 Summit in Genoa for his participation in violent protests.  Under an NGO he established in 2018, Mediterranea Saving People, he and his crew continue to set sail in the only civil rescue ship flying the Italian flag.  In thirteen missions they have recovered two thousand shipwrecked survivors. But also corpses in the waves. Pope Francis wanted him at the synod because of their courageous work.  “There are some groups of people who are dedicated to saving people at sea. I invited one of them to participate in the Synod. They tell you terrible stories”, Francis told journalists, returning from Marseille, to explain Casarini’s participation.

Casarini began by describing himself as “a privileged man”, because “in a world where there is a race to see who kills the most people, a world dominated by hatred, to come to the aid of a life, to embrace brothers and sisters in the middle of the sea is an infinite gift that changes lives. It has changed mine…”

“In the middle of the sea we meet these brothers and sisters, and at that moment you meet two poverties.”

On the one hand, there is the economic and social poverty that forces people “to leave their land, their family, their memory”, their only riches; on the other hand, the desolating poverty of a part of the world that now considers “horror normal”.

“We are no longer able to cry for a child who dies,” Mr. Casarini said. “These two poverties help each other and make room for something we should desperately seek today in the world of hatred: love. This is how I met Jesus and God.”

Catholic with a tiny, tiny “c”

I have always loved the idea that the words catholic, with a small “c” means universal.  But today, I witnessed someone who found a way to make that “c” so tiny it hardly seems “catholic” in any sense of the word at all.  After the powerful words of Luca Casarini were offered, it was stunning and embarrassing to see a tone-deaf journalist from LifeSite News stand up and ask if participants at the synod are expected to adhere to Catholic teaching. There was a kind of silent shock.  Could anyone be so petty in the face of such a profoundly moving testimony?  There was some uncomfortable movement and it took a bit of time to sort out who would answer.  The cardinal bent over backwards to say that the synod was not about doctrine and he continued to talk about the discernment process for a few moments. I was feeling more like a mother who gives her child “the look” when the child continues to misbehave.

Edward Pentin, asked who would be writing the final synthesis of the synod report.  And, wow! he asked if Luca Casarini was “sorry” for “illegally” rescuing migrants.

Casarini replied, “For Genoa, I underwent eight years of trial and was acquitted in all three levels of prosecution,” He said that he “could not understand” Pentin’s accusation.

“For me, no human being is clandestine… I understood that I was under investigation because I helped 38 people from 38 days in the middle of the sea. The biggest stand-off Europe has ever known. Among these people was a girl who was raped by five Libyan guards before going to sea. For 38 days she did not even see a doctor. Did I commit a crime? Arrest me, I’m glad I did it.”

Another journalist asked asked him if he felt “out of place” at an event like the Synod, punctuated by various rituals and spiritual moments.

“I always feel out of place and inadequate in every context”, he smiled. “I really do consider everyone present at the Synod my brothers and sisters, I am learning to turn anger and resentment into piety.”

“I am trying to learn is to put yourself in the other person’s shoes. That we should not expect to solve everything ourselves, but it is the Holy Spirit who acts. So crazy things can happen… like the fact that I am at the Synod.”

The journalist from America Magazine asked if the conversations around polarizing topics like sexual identity and others have gone more smoothly than in the past and what accounts for that.  Ruffini explained that his experience was not polarized.  People were free to speak and there was a sense that we needed to have more encounter in order to understand the experience of others.  And they are getting encouragement from Cardinal Grech to remember that tensions within a family are normal.  The cardinal agree that it is good to listen and to consider new ideas.  “Everyone can express themselves and they will be listened to.”

Listen to Grace

A journalist from Belgium asked about indigenous communities, Catholic missionary activities, and the past sins of colonialism in places like Papua New Guinea.  He wanted to know what evangelization should look like today.  We need to walk together, but not without truth or justice.

Grace Wrackia from Papua New Guinea gave a most eloquent response!  I want to fall down on my knees in gratitude.

In those early years when Christianity first came to Papua New Guinea, that evangelization as how those missionaries knew how to do it…Now there is a new evangelization where we are more aware of each other‘s culture.  So when missionaries come to us now, they come with an open mind respecting the cultures that are already in our land. And evangelizing according to how we, the local people, the indigenous people, believe; respecting our land, respecting our waters, and respecting the way we have been living as a community for thousands of years.  So I would say in those  previous years, those early years of missionary activities, it was different.  And now it will not be the same method of evangelization because now we know each other.  So for the Gospel to take root in this time and era,  evangelization will have to take a new form.  And one of them is listening to us, the indigenous people and not just us listening to the foreign missionaries.

Now I don’t know about you, but hearing this kind of testimony changes my heart, changes my very being.  I am transformed.  Maybe you are transformed as well.

Photo collage by FutureChurch

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

A Sister’s Love Note

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

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

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

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

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

The Overseers: The Commission Writing the Final Synthsis

Members Appointed by Pope Francis

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

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

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

Members elected by the synod assembly 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Members from Synod Leadership 

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

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

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

Q & A

Joe Tobin Rocks

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

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

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

Joe Tobin answered first.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joe Tobin followed with a response.

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

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

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

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

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

Scary changes

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

According to Cardinal Hollerich the changes are as follows:

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

A Humble Cardinal

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

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

Falling in love

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

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

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

Communion: Ties that Bind

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sister Hope

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

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

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

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

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

Q & A

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

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

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

Non-bishops with Authority?

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

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

Stoking Fear

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

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

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

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