The summary report following the 16th General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality was published on Saturday, October 28th. With a view to the second session in 2024, reflections and proposals will be offered on topics such as the role of women and the laity, the ministry of bishops, the priesthood and the diaconate, the importance of the poor and migrants, digital mission and ecumenism Abuse.
Salvatore Cernuzio – Vatican City
Women and lay people, the diaconate, the office and the teaching office, peace and climate, poor and migrants, ecumenism and identity, new languages and renewed structures, old and new missions (also digital), listen to everyone and look in detail, also to the ” “most controversial” questions: The summary report, approved and published on Saturday, October 28, by the 16th General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, takes a new look at the world, the Church and its demands. After four weeks of work that began on October 4 in the Paul VI Hall, the ecclesiastical event will conclude its first session in the Vatican at the end of October.
This document, consisting of around forty pages, is the result of the work of the Assembly, which took place “at a time when old and new wars were raging in the world, with the absurd drama of countless victims”.
“The cry of the poor, of those forced to emigrate, of those suffering from violence or the devastating consequences of climate change, echoed among us, not only through the media, but also through the voices of many people who reach out in person their families and their people in these tragic events,” can be read in the document (foreword).
This month of October, the universal church tried to provide an answer to these and many other challenges in small circles and in discourses. Everything is summarized in the synthesis report, which is divided into three parts and sets the course for the work to be done in the second session in 2024.
We listen to everyone, starting with victims of abuse
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As in the Letter to the People of God, the Synod Assembly reaffirms its “openness to listen to and support everyone, including those who have suffered abuse and injury in the Church” (1st sentence). As we move forward “toward reconciliation and justice,” we are “called to confront the structural conditions that have enabled such abuses and to make concrete repentance.”
The face of a synodal church
Synodality is a first step. A term that, according to the synod participants, is “unknown to many members of the people of God” and “causes confusion and concern among some” (1 f), among those who fear a break with tradition, a weakening of the hierarchical character of the Church ( 1 g), loss of power or, on the contrary, immobility and lack of courage to change.
Rather, “synodal” and “synodality” are terms that “denote a way of being church that articulates community, mission and participation.” And therefore a way of living the church, valuing differences and developing the active participation of everyone. Starting from the priests and bishops: “A synodal Church cannot do without their voice” (1 n), we can read: “We must understand the reasons for the resistance of some of them to synodality.”
The mission
Synodality therefore goes hand in hand with mission, hence the need for “Christian communities to share brotherhood with men and women of other religions, beliefs and cultures, avoiding, on the one hand, the risk of self-reference and self-preservation and, on the other hand… that of loss of identity” (2 e ). In this new “pastoral style” it seems important to many “to make the liturgical language more accessible to the faithful and to embody it more fully in the diversity of cultures” (3l).
The poor at the center
The report devotes a lot of space to the poor who ask the Church for “love,” understood as “respect, acceptance and recognition” (4a).
“For the Church, the preferred option for the poor and left-behind is a theological category before it is a cultural, sociological, political or philosophical category” (4 b), reminds the document, which also identifies migrants and indigenous peoples as poor, victims of violence, abuse (especially women), racism and human trafficking, dependent people, minorities, abandoned older people, exploited workers (4 c).
“The weakest of the weak, for whom constant intercession is necessary, are the children in the womb,” we read in the text approved by the assembly, which says it is “aware of the cry of the new poor” caused by will wars and terrorism as well as “corrupt political and economic systems”.
Synod on Synodality, Saturday, October 28th
Commitment of believers in politics and for the common good
In this area, the Church is called to engage in “public denunciation of injustices” committed by individuals, governments and corporations, as well as active engagement in politics, associations, unions and popular movements (4g) . Without neglecting the Church’s established action in the areas of education, health and social assistance, “without any discrimination or exclusion of anyone” (4 k).
migration
The focus is on migrants and refugees, “many of whom bear the wounds of uprooting, war and violence”. They “become a source of renewal and enrichment for the communities they host and an opportunity to establish a direct connection with geographically distant churches” (5d). Faced with the increasingly hostile attitude towards them, the Synod invites “to exercise an open welcome, to support them in building a new life project and to build a genuine intercultural community between peoples”.
In this sense, “respect for liturgical traditions and religious practices” as well as language are fundamental. For example, in these contexts where “the proclamation of the Gospel has been associated with colonization and even genocide,” a word like “mission” is burdened with a “painful historical legacy” and hinders community (5 e). “Evangelizing in these contexts requires recognizing mistakes made and learning a new sensitivity to these issues,” the document says.
Fight against racism and xenophobia
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The Church must show appropriate commitment and attention “to promote a culture of dialogue and encounter and to combat racism and xenophobia, especially in pastoral formation programs” (5 p.). There is also an urgent need to “identify the systems that create or perpetuate racial injustice in the church and address them” (5q).
Eastern churches
On the subject of migration, the Synod Assembly continues to turn its attention to Eastern Europe and the recent conflicts that have led to the influx of large numbers of believers from the Catholic East into predominantly Latin areas. “It is necessary,” demand the Fathers and Mothers of the Synod, “that the local Churches of the Latin Rite, in the name of Synodality, help the Eastern believers who have emigrated to preserve their identity” without going through a “process of…” Assimilation” ( 6c).
On the way to Christian unity
Regarding ecumenism, the report speaks of a “spiritual renewal” that requires “processes of repentance” and “healing of memory” (7c); He then quotes the Pope’s statement about an “ecumenism of blood,” that is, “Christians of different denominations who lay down their lives together for faith in Christ” (7d) and reiterates the proposal for an ecumenical martyrology (7o). . The report also affirms that “the cooperation of all Christians” is a resource “to heal the culture of hatred, division and war that pits groups, peoples and nations against each other.” It does not forget the issue of so-called intermarriage , that is, realities in which “we can evangelize one another” (7f).
Laypeople and Families (Part 2)
“Lay people, consecrated persons and ordained ministers have equal dignity” (8b): this position is strongly affirmed in the summary report, which recalls that the lay faithful “are also increasingly present and active in the service within Christian communities” ( 8th.) . Faith educators, theologians, trainers, spiritual animators and catechists who work in “preservation” and administration: their contribution is “indispensable for the mission of the Church” (8 e). The different charisms must therefore be “highlighted, recognized and fully valued” (8f) and not devalued by merely making up for the lack of priests, or worse, ignored, underused and “clericalized” (8f) .
The women
A strong commitment is required from the Church to support and understand women in all aspects of their lives, including pastoral and sacramental. Women, the document states, “demand justice in a society marked by sexual violence and economic inequality and the tendency to treat them as objects” (9 c). “Support and real advancement of women go hand in hand.”
Clericalism and machismo
Many women present at the synod “expressed their deep gratitude for the work of priests and bishops, but also spoke of a church that hurts” (9f). “Clericalism, machismo and the inappropriate use of authority continue to shape the face of the Church and harm the community.” What is needed are “deep spiritual conversion and structural changes” as well as “dialogue between men and women without subordination, exclusion or competition” (9 Clock).
The diaconate of women
Opinions differ on women’s access to the diaconate (9d): for some it is an “unacceptable” step, “contrary to tradition”; for others it would restore a practice of the early church; Still others see it as an “appropriate and necessary response to the signs of the times” for “renewed vitality and energy in the Church.” Finally, there are those who “express the fear that this request is an expression of a dangerous anthropological confusion by accepting that the Church adapts to the spirit of the times.” The Fathers and Mothers of the Synod call for “theological and pastoral research on women’s access to the diaconate” to be continued, using the results of the commissions specially set up by the Pope and the theological, historical and exegetical research already carried out: “If…” “The results may need to be presented at the next meeting of the Assembly” (9 n).
Synod on Synodality, Saturday, October 28th.
Discrimination and abuse
At the same time, the urgency is reiterated to “ensure that women are involved in decision-making processes and assume responsible roles in pastoral care and ministry” and to adapt canon law accordingly (9 m). Cases of workplace discrimination and unequal pay must also be addressed, including in the Church, where “consecrated women are often considered cheap labor” (9o). On the other hand, women’s access to theological education and training programs must be expanded (9 p) and the use of inclusive language in liturgical texts and church documents must also be promoted (9 q ).
Consecrated life
Given the richness and diversity of the different forms of consecrated life, the document warns against “the persistence of an authoritarian style that leaves no room for fraternal dialogue.” There are cases of all kinds of abuse against religious and members of lay associations, especially women. The problem “requires decisive and appropriate intervention” (10d).
Deacons and formations
Gratitude is then expressed to the deacons, “who are called to live their service to the people of God in an attitude of closeness, welcome and listening to all” (11 b). The danger is always clericalism, a “distortion of the priesthood” that must be combated “from the first stages of formation” through “living contact” with people and those in need (11c). In this sense, it is also called for that seminars or other training for candidates for office be linked to the daily life of communities (11.) in order to avoid “the risks of formalism and ideology that lead to authoritarian attitudes”. prevent real professional growth.”
singles
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The issue of celibacy was raised and was the subject of various assessments during the meeting. “All appreciate his prophetic value and the testimony of his conformity to Christ; Some question whether his theological adequacy with the priesthood necessarily leads to discipline in the Latin Church, particularly where ecclesiastical and cultural contexts make this difficult. This is a topic that is not new and needs to be studied in more depth.
The bishops
The figure and role of the bishop are the subject of extensive consideration. It is intended to be “an example of synodality” (12 c) by exercising “co-responsibility,” understood as the involvement of other actors of the diocese and the clergy, in order to alleviate the “overburden of administrative and legal obligations.” which often hinder his mission (12.). Furthermore, “the bishop does not always find human and spiritual support” and “not infrequently he experiences the painful experience of a certain loneliness” (12.).
abuse
On the question of abuse, which “presents many bishops with the difficulty of reconciling the role of father and that of judge” (12 i), it is proposed to “examine whether it is advisable to assign the judicial role to another, “canonical” (12 i).
Training (part 3)
It then calls for a “synodal approach” to formation, which primarily recommends “deepening the theme of emotional and sexual education, accompanying young people on their path of growth and supporting the emotional maturation of those who become celibate and ordained “We are called to chastity” (14 g). The text calls for a deepening of the dialogue with the humanities (14 h) in order to “develop questions that also lead to controversy within the church” (15 b).
In pictures the conclusion of the synod on synodality
These are questions “about gender identity and sexual orientation, end of life, difficult marital situations and ethical problems related to artificial intelligence”. For the church, these questions pose “new problems” (15g). “It is important to take the necessary time for these reflections and to invest our best efforts in them, without giving in to simplistic judgments that harm people and the body of the Church,” recalling that “the Magisterium and the Church already provide a lot of information.” are waiting to be implemented in corresponding pastoral initiatives.
Hear
With the same concern, the document renews the invitation to “authentic” listening to “people who feel marginalized or excluded from the Church because of their marital situation, their identity and their sexuality” and who “demand for listening and support and for their dignity to be defended.” Their desire is to “come home”, to church and “to be listened to and respected without fear of being judged”, specifies the assembly, which affirms that “Christians respect the dignity of each “We must not disrespect people” (4 p.m.). .
polygamy
In view of the experiences shared with the Assembly by certain members of the African Synod, SECAM (Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar) is encouraged to promote “theological and pastoral discernment” on the issue of polygamy and “support for” people in polygamous unions , who approach faith” (16 q).
Digital culture
Finally, the summary report deals with the digital environment. It encourages “joining today’s culture in all areas where people search for meaning and love, including their cell phones and tablets” (17c), while recognizing that the Internet “can also cause harm and hurt, for example through bullying, misinformation, and sexual exploitation.” 17 f).
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