The Synod on Synodality

Worth starting a new thread for this upcoming Synod, perhaps.

Vatican Releases Synod on Synodality Preparatory Documents and Handbook for Review (ACI Africa)

The Vatican released Tuesday a preparatory document and handbook for the 2023 synod on synodality to be reviewed by all Catholic dioceses in the world over the next six months. “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium,” the new document states, quoting Pope Francis. “This journey, which follows in the wake of the Church’s ‘renewal’ proposed by the Second Vatican Council, is both a gift and a task”...

Pope Francis is preparing a radical reform of the church's power structures (NCR)

In 2001, Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio was a rapporteur for the summit of bishops at the Vatican — and he did not like what he saw. The Catholic Church had adopted a top-to-bottom approach that stripped local churches of any decision-making power, and the synod of bishops was reduced to nothing more than a stamp of approval for prepackaged conclusions made in Rome. When Bergoglio emerged as Pope Francis in the 2013 conclave, the synodal process was high on his list for reform. "There was a cardinal who told us what should be discussed and what should not," Francis said about his experience at the 2001 general synod in an interview with the Argentine newspaper La Nation in 2014. "That will not happen now," he added.

On Oct. 9-10, Francis will inaugurate a three-year preparation process for the 2023 synod, which will focus on reforming the synodal process. The preparation process and the 2023 synod, with the theme "For a synodal church: Communion, participation and mission," have the potential to revolutionize the way decisions are made in the Catholic Church and promote a more decentralized structure of authority... The three-year synodal review process will take place in three phases: a local phase at the diocesan and parish level, a continental phase engaging bishops' conferences around the world and a universal phase, when bishops and lay people will convene in Rome to discuss the findings and topics developed in the first two phases. To coordinate and guide the entire process, Francis created a five-member steering committee flanked by two commissions on methodology and theology...

Is this what passes for graphic design in Italy? Yipes.

If I have a criticism, it is this: Synodality is about the local church. I'm a big fan, generally. Certainly I am not a fan of everything being top-down and run from Rome.

But the fact is that "local" means less and less in our world today. The fact is that the automobile, the subway, the telephone and the internet have changed things. Whereas once everyone, including in the west, knew their neighbors, read a local newspaper and interacted principally with people in their local area, much of that activity has now moved online and, at least in the west, the local is increasingly meanginless.

There's ample sociology about this out there, but I'm a good instance of it. We barely know any local neighbors, we discontinued our local newspaper because the internet had hollowed it out to nothing, and I interact extensively online. My parish itself is local, but it's not the closest Catholic church to me, and it draws people from many towns away.

As for ecclesiology, the whole back and forth on traditionalism was tied up this. Benedict ruled that any stable, local community could ask for and get the Latin mass. But the fact is that virtually nowhere in the US was there a stable local community of Latin-mass goers. The community was skimmed off the top (or the bottom) of communities in a large area, and much of the organization and radicalization happened online.

So, local? Well, maybe the synod needs to think more about the internet.

>3 timspalding:

Thanks, Tim, for that reflection, which I find very challenging. I don't think you're wrong, but my own experience has been different.

When I was growing up in London few people had cars, and we all went to the local parish and the attached primary school. In those days "intentional parishes" didn't exist. Same at university. The Catholic chaplaincy was attached to the local parish and that's where we all went. Then I moved to Africa, where local community was and still is an important value, particularly in rural areas. I'm sure Catholic life in UK has changed since my day; less so in Africa.

Having said that, I have had good experiences of intentional parishes in both UK and USA, where people chose to drive to a parish because it was open-minded, welcoming, inclusive, progressive, child-friendly or whatever, and avoided other parishes which were more rigid, "conservative", unwelcoming, or had an authoritarian or, worse, an abusive priest.

I welcome synodality because I believe the good of the church is served by participative and inclusive discernment. The question might be what is the best method and level for consultation, which will differ in different situations. Subsidiarity demands that decisions be made at the lowest appropriate level, which is not the same as the lowest possible level. We need to find the right level. Given what you say, the parish might not be the most appropriate level on which to focus. Maybe the diocese, or the national episcopal conference, would be a better fit? Certainly there are still different "local" geographical, cultural and other variations which need to be considered.

One final thought. In much of Latin America and Africa, where the majority of the world's Catholics live and where the church is still growing rather than shrinking, the parish is not the centre of Catholic life. Instead they have Basic Ecclesial Communities or Small Christian Communities centred on house masses or outstation chapels. Local, in the smallest and most physical sense, is still a reality.

This week I'm attending a meeting of the Catholic bishops of South Sudan. It's encouraging to see that the Synod on Synodality forms a major topic in their agenda. The Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University gave an excellent presentation this morning on the various practical steps which the bishops have to take between now and October 2023, and the Apostolic Nuncio gave some background to the Holy Father's thinking on synodality.

It's particularly significant that they give this topic so much time as they are also struggling to discern how the church can best contribute to peace in the country. One bishop isn't at the meeting as there is currently a new wave of violence and targeted killings in his diocese and he is at the centre of inter-faith mediation efforts. Another bishop isn't here because he was shot in the legs a few months ago and is still recovering in Italy. Two of our religious sisters were murdered just a couple of weeks ago, both deliberately executed, not caught in the crossfire. Difficult times for the church and the people.

Jesuit President in Africa Lauds Synod on Synodality, Says Process Not “one-off” Event (ACI Africa)

The President of Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) has lauded the Synod on Synodality, which Pope Francis announced earlier this year to solemnly open next month, on 9–10 October 2021 in Rome. Describing the Synod as an inclusive process and not just a one-off event, Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator provided a synthesis of the scheduled meeting of Catholic Bishops from around the world in an interview with ACI Africa ahead of JCAM’s planned Synodality conversation on Saturday, September 18.

The JCAM President noted that the Synod that is to solemnly open in each particular Church on October 17 particularly stands out from other past Synods for involving people at the grassroots in the decision-making process of the Church, inviting all members of the Church to journey together as a community. “Although other Synods have strived to be inclusive, this particular Synod is different,” Fr. Orobator said in the Tuesday, September 14 interview. He explained, “For the first time, the very theme of sodality is going to be the theme of this Synod. But the most interesting part is that unlike other Synods, which were gatherings that were held for a period of time by some leaders of the Church, mostly Bishops, Pope Francis is calling the entire Church to engage in this as a process so that it is not just a one-off event”...

"Instead they have Basic Ecclesial Communities or Small Christian Communities centred on house masses or outstation chapels. "

Are you speaking of situations where a priest can't visit every week? Or is there just a lack of a church?

>7 timspalding:

In many cases not only can a priest not visit once a week but he's lucky to make it a couple of times a year. In the Sudanese war zone there were parishes where the people did not see a priest for years on end. I was once involved in a parish the size of Belgium with outstation chapels up to 100 km from the parish centre and not a single tarmac road in the whole parish. Visiting them involved long treks through the malarial swamp, often on foot, sometimes hitching rides on the back of lorries and in dug-out canoes, often wading chest deep through the crocodile and bilharzia infested water. These journeys could take days or even weeks. Three of those outstations are now parishes with priests, but access still remains a major challenge. Last week the bishop told me that he hopes to open a fourth one as a parish soon, this one actually an old parish founded in 1925 with the evocative name Yonyang ("place of the crocodiles") which closed when the missionaries were expelled in 1964 but re-opened as an outstation in the late 1970s. When the priests pitched up there they were met by an elderly catechist who presented them with the old Latin altar missal and chalice, covered in mud because he had buried them to prevent them being looted and desecrated by the government soldiers.

But I think the impetus for Small Christian Communities (in Africa) and Basic Ecclesial Communities (in South America) was also about including and empowering the laity. While the parish still exists as the canonical institution, a huge parish covering such a large area with so little regular communication cannot really be a community, so smaller units became the focus of Catholic life. I recall that when huge shanty towns sprang up on the outskirts of Khartoum in the 1980s, they were initially served from existing parishes. Gradually they grew large enough to become parishes in their own right, but they were scattered and diverse, and some of them never really had a central parish church. The government would not allow any new churches to be built, so "multi-purpose" centres were built which were used as schools, meeting places, centres for adult education and for the distribution of emergency relief, and of course also as chapels. I believe the BECs in South America also emerged in the favelas and shanty towns, although I have no specific information about them. There is no single universal model nor history.

Pope to Rome's faithful: Synodality expresses the nature of the Church (Vatican News)

Addressing the faithful of the Diocese of Rome, Pope Francis described the upcoming Synod — with the theme "For a synodal Church: communion, participation, mission" — as a journey in which the whole Church is engaged... and that the itinerary has been conceived as “a dynamism of mutual listening, conducted at all levels of the Church, involving the whole the people of God”...

Synodal Process Not about "gathering opinions," But "listening to the Holy Spirit": Pope (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis said on Saturday that the two-year process leading to the 2023 synod on synodality is not about “gathering opinions,” but “listening to the Holy Spirit”...

Synodal Process Not Advocating for “democratic Church”, Kenyan Catholic Bishop Clarifies (ACI Africa)

The Synod on Synodality specifically stands out for including the people of God at the local level in the decision-making processes of the Church. This, according to a Kenyan Catholic Bishop, does not however translate to some form of democracy where opinions will be accepted outside the hierarchical structures of the Church... whereas the new Synodality calls for a greater involvement of the people in what is going on in the Church, misconceptions about involvement in decision-making process in the Church should always be avoided...

All youse guys using these new phrases such as Synod on Synodality, stands out for including the people of God, see if I can get St Dominic's Translation of this ambiguous statement. As far as she can make out it means some kind of collegiality with the collegal and they a gonna allow members of The Mystical Body of Christ to hang around especially if they play ball....JMJ....Marty

Francis is betting a synodal church will be a cure for a clerical church (NCR)

The synod on synodality, which begins Oct. 9, has grand aspirations to reshape the Catholic Church's ability to engage its members and revitalize its mission. In large part, Francis is betting that a more synodal church — that is, a participatory, listening church — just might be the cure to a church marred by decades of clericalism and abuse...

>11 brone: All youse guys using these new phrases such as Synod on Synodality

Not sure what you mean by "All youse guys". It's the Holy Father and the bishops, the teaching authority of our Church, who are using these phrases.

Pope on Synod: The participation of everyone, guided by the Holy Spirit (Vatican News)

As the Universal Church is about to embark on the synodal journey, Pope Francis on Saturday invoked the Holy Spirit on the People of God so that they will be able to move forward together, to listen to one another and discern our times, in solidarity with the struggles and aspirations of all humanity.

The Pope prayed as he presided over a moment of reflection in the Vatican’s Synod Hall, on the eve the official inauguration of the diocesan phase of the Synod for all the dioceses around the world, marked by a solemn Mass in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, Oct. 10. Dioceses across the world will inaugurate the synodal journey at the local level on Oct. 17...

Synodality indicates walking together and listening to one another but above all to the Holy Spirit. To deepen this essential characteristic of the Church, the upcoming synod is unlike any previous one. It starts with, and involves all the faithful at local Churches across the world, promising to listen to all, especially to laypeople. That is why this Synod is a 2-year process, starting from October 10, 2021, to October 2023...

‘There is no need to create another church, but to create a different church,’ Francis says before synod (America Magazine)

“There is no need to create another church, but to create a different church,” Pope Francis said—quoting the words of Yves Congar O.P., one of the great theologians of the Second Vatican Council—in his talk to a gathering of more than 200 cardinals, bishops, clergy, religious and laity from all over the world...

Path to 2023 Synod on Synodality Faces Three “risks”: Pope Francis (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis urged Catholics on Saturday to be conscious of three “risks” as they embark on the path to the 2023 synod on synodality. Speaking at an event marking the opening of the two-year process leading to the synod on Oct. 9, the pope said that proceedings could be impeded by “formalism,” “intellectualism,” and “the temptation of complacency”...

Pope: Celebrating Synod means walking together on the same road (Vatican News)

Following the example of Jesus, he emphasized three verbs that characterize the Synod: encounter, listen, and discern...

In the Gospels, we often see Jesus on a journey, open to an encounter with those He meets along the way, present to them, and concerned about their questions... a true encounter only comes through listening to others, noting that Jesus listens not just with the ears, but with the heart. When we follow Jesus in listening with the heart, “people feel they are being heard, not judged; they feel free to recount their own experiences and their spiritual journey”... Pope Francis insisted that “encounter and listening are not ends in themselves,” but must lead to discernment. “Whenever we enter into dialogue,” he explained, “we allow ourselves to be challenged, to advance on the journey”...

Pope Francis launches consultation on Church reform (BBC)

Pope Francis has launched what some describe as the most ambitious attempt at Catholic reform for 60 years. A two-year process to consult every Catholic parish around the world on the future direction of the Church began at the Vatican this weekend...

Pope Francis urged Catholics not to "remain barricaded in our certainties" but to "listen to one another" as he launched the process at Mass in St Peter's Basilica. "Are we prepared for the adventure of this journey? Or are we fearful of the unknown, preferring to take refuge in the usual excuses: 'It's useless' or 'We've always done it this way'?" he asked... Discussing his hopes for the Synod, Pope Francis warned against the process becoming an intellectual exercise that failed to address the real-world issues faced by Catholics and the "temptation to complacency" when it comes to considering change...

Much of the reporting of this two-year consultation has focused on some of the issues that often appear to dominate reporting on the Catholic Church: the role of women for example, and whether they will ever be ordained as priests (the Pope says "no"). While those topics are often of concern to some Catholics, other areas which traditionally dominate Catholic social teaching, such as alleviating poverty, and increasingly, climate change, will likely play a greater part, as will how the Church is run. In reality, any issue can be raised...

Pope Francis opens synod, encouraging church to master the 'art of encounter' (NCR)

Pope Francis on Oct. 10 officially launched the Vatican's high-stakes, two-year synod process in an opening Mass where he urged the global Catholic Church to master the "art of encounter."

"Everything changes once we are capable of genuine encounters with {Jesus} and with one another, without formalism or pretense, but simply as we are," said Francis in a homily in St. Peter's Basilica...

In the Pope's preparatory remarks. Pope Francis said " There is no need to create a another church, but a different church." Meanwhile the German Catholic bishops have extended their "synodal way" to 2023 after the current session ended abruptly following votes in favor of a same sex blessing and a discussion of whether priesthood is all that necessary. Could this be a trial baloon for the different church to come. I'll go out on a limb here and say, most practicing believers won't have to wonder where the distinction lies between a "different church" and the Roman Catholic Church....AMDG....

>18 brone:

I haven't been following the German Church process, so I don't know the context of the issues to which you refer. I would say a lot depends on how one frames an issue. Focusing only on same sex blessing perhaps ignores the wider issue of how we provide pastoral care for gay people. Remember Francis is first and foremost a pastor. As for whether priesthood is necessary, most of the conversations I have seen on the topic are not about whether it is necessary but rather what model of priesthood is most appropriate, given a renewed focus on the role of the laity and the shortage of vocations to the existing model of priesthood. I think these are good questions for the Church to mull over. I don't believe Francis is suggesting that there will be a different Church to the Roman Catholic Church, but that the Roman Catholic Church of tomorrow will be different from that of today, just as the Church of today is quite radically different from that of various eras in the past. Our Church is constantly reforming itself, always with a hermeneutic of continuity rather than a hermeneutic of rupture, to quote Benedict XVI.

“Synod is not Exempt from Risks,” Says Pope Francis at Opening of Two-Year Synod of Bishops (AMECEA)

At the launch of a two-year process for Synod of Bishops aimed to encourage full participation and involvement of all the baptized of the Catholic Church on synod of synodality, Pope Francis has disclosed three risks which if not well addressed may hinder success of the Synod process... highlighting three risks as “formalism, intellectualism and immobility”...

Claim “We have always done it that way” Poison for Church’s Life: South African Bishop (ACI Africa)

The tendency to be opposed to change through the claim that “we have always done it that way” is dangerous for the Church in modern times, a Catholic Bishop in South Africa has said... “Those who think this way, perhaps without even realizing it, make the mistake of not taking seriously the times in which we are living,” Bishop Sylvester David says... “The danger, in the end, is to apply old solutions to new problems; a patch of rough cloth that ends up creating a worse tear”...

the danger of “self referentiality,” which he describes as “a technical term referring to an extreme form of independence, which screams out that we need nobody and that no one can teach us anything.”

He underscores the value of listening to each other as a pilgrim people of God saying, “The Church is a group of struggling people who gather around the Cross and try to work out their future from that perspective. Because the cross symbolizes struggle, pain and the victimizing of the innocent, many try to bypass it.” The Catholic Bishop further describes the Church as a “field hospital for the wounded” who, amid the struggles of life, need to “learn to listen and to dialogue.” “We will have to listen to the struggling people symbolized by the struggles represented by the Cross, and from there, work out what is the next right step,” he emphasizes.

The 68-year-old Bishop looks at the Synod on Synodality as depicting “the process of change, a process of becoming something new by involving the local churches”...

Inaugurated Synod Process in Kenyan Diocese to Include “those considered as outsiders” (ACI Africa)

The process of the Synod on Synodality inaugurated in the Catholic Diocese of Malindi in Kenya seeks to include “those considered as outsiders”, the Local Ordinary of the Kenyan Diocese has said... “I am therefore calling upon all pastoral leaders, especially the Parish Priests to renew and redesign holistic Parish pastoral programs only after discerning divergent, legitimate and authentic voices of the people they serve including those considered as outsiders,” Bishop Lagho says...

The Kenyan Bishop adds, “The Synod in the words of Pope Francis offers us the opportunity to discern and listen to fellow pilgrims including many others who worship differently including atheists.” Among those to be listened to, during the Synod process are “people who frequently remain in the church periphery like abused teenage girls and mothers, couples in un-solemnized marriages, polygamists, divorced, landless and street families, human trafficked and vulnerable migrants, abandoned babies and elders,” the Catholic Bishop says...

Those Kenyans seem to have the Synod down Pat. The Cardinal Arch bishop of NY Dolan had this to say about the Synod "I don't quite know what synodality is, and neither does Francis apparently. I guess that's why His Holiness summoned us to this endeavor". Meanwhile in riverside CA. at Queen of Angels opening mass for the synod The Jaguar demon Tezcatlypoca banged on the drums to begin mass. Maybe the good Cardinal should have Leprechauns playing the tin whistle at St Patricks....AMDG....

>23 brone: The Jaguar demon Tezcatlypoca banged on the drums to begin mass

Sounds interesting. Would you care to elaborate?

Leprechauns playing the tin whistle at St Patricks

For some reason that reminds me of Val Doonican singing The Jarvey was a Leprechaun.

Vatican Launches Prayer Website "to accompany" Synod on Synodality (ACI Africa)

The Vatican on Tuesday launched a website and smartphone app to help Catholics pray for the success of the two-year process culminating in the 2023 synod on synodality.

At prayforthesynod.va, Catholics can find information in English, Spanish, and other languages about how to support the synod through prayer...

Nothing to elaborate here Just some guy from riverside dressed as a cat banging on a drum in front of the altar at mass not to unusual these days come to think of it....AMDG....

>26 brone:

Interesting. What was the context? Is there a large Native or Latin American community in that parish? Was the theme of the mass connected with inculturation?

Religious in Africa, Youth Share Understanding of Synodality after Launch by Pope Francis (ACI Africa)

Synodality is a journey, a “reversed pyramid” and an opportunity to create more engagement among the people of God, young African Catholics and women and men Religious who shared their understanding of the synod which Pope Francis launched October 10 have said. Still, others have described Synodality as a wakeup call that the people are not alone on their journey, according to the comments that were gathered by the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) and the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA). The two Catholic institutions have embarked on the joint project to provide resources that will enable the local churches in the region and the entire Africa to engage fruitfully and constructively in the Synodal process...

Local Churches launch the Two-Year Synodal Process, Calling on Guidance of Holy Spirit (AMECEA)

Some examples from Zambia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

the man in the cat get up ( can not confirm) not knowing the idols of the Astecs, the picture on social media claimed it was an idol and even gave its name. Some I guess would call this inculturation I would humbly submit it as an excess of superstition, vain observance, and idolatry, therefore a sin against the first commandment, just saying an astec idol, druid fairy, or a norse god at mass is not inculturation....JMJ....

Vatican Gives World’s Dioceses More Time to Consult Catholics ahead of Synod on Synodality (ACI Africa)

The Vatican announced on Friday that it will give dioceses around the world more time to complete local consultations ahead of the 2023 Synod on Synodality. The Secretariat General for the Synod of Bishops said on Oct. 29 that bishops’ conferences worldwide would now have until Aug. 15, 2022, to submit summaries of their consultations. The body overseeing the two-year synodal process had previously asked for summaries by April 2022, six months after the diocesan phase was formally opened by Pope Francis in October. The change means that dioceses now have 10 months to complete the consultation process, which has been described as the largest in human history. Dioceses are likely to welcome the extension as synod organizers have urged them to include “all the baptized” in the consultation process, not only churchgoers...

Good news. I always thought that time frame was a bit unrealistic, particularly for some of the poor, huge, scattered and not always very well organised dioceses in Africa.

Initiate Synodality Conversation from Family, Catholic Bishop in South Africa Says (ACI Africa)

Journeying together as people of God through the ongoing Synodal process should be taken to the root of the Church, which is family, the Auxiliary Bishop of South Africa’s Cape Town Archdiocese has said... Bishop Sylvester David underscores the need to listen carefully to the needs of each member of the family before engaging in Synodality with neighbors. “There is a saying that says ‘charity begins at home’. Perhaps before we venture out into the neighborhood, it will be good to take the momentum of the Synod into our own homes and listen to the various voices, which comprise our home”...

Urgently renew Church in innovative ways, says key confidante of Pope Francis (La Croix)

Educate faithful about synodality despite some who prefer to maintain things the way they are, Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga tells Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean... The coordinator of the council of cardinals that advises Pope Francis on the reform of the Catholic Church's central government has told participants of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean gathering in Mexico about the urgency of renewing the Church in innovative ways with ideas that reform and revitalize...

For the record, and following a query on another thread, here are two Synod documents: Preparatory Document for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 07.09.2021 and VADEMECUM FOR THE SYNOD ON SYNODALITY.

Synod cannot avoid hot-button issues, say 'Women in Synodality' panelists (NCR)

If the Vatican's global synod process is to succeed, discussion of hot-button topics such as women's ordination and women deacons cannot be silenced, according to the head of an umbrella organization representing some 600,000 religious sisters from around the world. "We have to also allow the topics that people want to talk about to be named," said Loreto Sr. Patricia Murray on Dec. 16, specifically citing questions surrounding women in the priesthood and the diaconate. Murray, who is executive secretary of the International Union of Superiors General, recalled that Pope Francis has previously authorized two commissions to study the issue of women deacons and said the two-year process for the Synod of Bishops on synodality, which was launched in October, must facilitate discussion on issues where some church leaders would rather avoid debate...

What is the name of this umbrella organization youse guys are so vague. Some church leaders would rather avoid debate youse guys raise ambiguity to a virtuous level...AMDG...

>36 brone:

Who is "youse guys"?

The umbrella organisation referred to in the text I've quoted is the International Union of Superiors General. It's not vague. It is well known within the Church. It has a website and there's also a Wikipedia page.

To save you looking it up, here's a few pointers from the UISG website:

The roots of UISG are actually to be found in the pontificate of Pope Pius XII who called an extraordinary meeting in 1951 of superiors general who had generalates in Rome. The purpose of this meeting was to initiate national councils of religious... Toward the end of the Vatican Council, dialogue between the Council fathers and the then Sacred Congregation for Religious (SCR) underscored the need for an international forum for women religious as they began the process of renewal. From the outset, the purpose of UISG was to create an international forum, a way for women religious to be in dialogue with each other, with the Church autnorities and with global organizations. The original group that led the UISG between 1965 and its first Plenary Meeting was appointed by SCR...

UISG (International Union of Superiors General) is a worldwide, canonically approved organization of Superiors General of Institutes of Catholic Women Religious. As such it:

- Provides an International Forum where Superiors General can share experiences, exchange information and mentor one another in their role as leaders.
- Encourages dialogue and collaboration among Religious Congregations within the Church and larger society.
- Offers regular programs, meetings and publications to assist members in their development as leaders of religious congregations.
- Communicates with the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) and other significant Church and social Organizations on matters concerning Religious Life.
- Fosters networking and solidarity among the Women Religious of the world...

Note that it was initiated by Pope Pius XII, and that it is canonically approved.

youse guys, there is a long list but it would be uncharitable to ruin your day....JMJ....

>38 brone:

Does that mean you're setting up an "us and them" dynamic? Now that could be construed as uncharitable. Within the Catholic Church there is no "us and them". We're all Catholics, all sinners, all pilgrims, all sisters and brothers.

We were not bothering you or his Holiness by receiving the same sacraments as you in the Ancient Rite. What we do say is this "O salutaris hostia, Quae caeli pandis ostium: Bella premunt hostilia, Da robur fer auxilium. You have made us a them.

>40 brone:

"O salutaris hostia" is a beautiful hymn, and I would happily sing it with you.

Not sure who "we" is in your post. If you read carefully the trajectory of statements on this issue by John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis, you'll see that the purpose of liturgy is not to divide but to unite, but it appears that a small group of Catholics have been using the Tridentine rite as a focal point for separation rather than unity. I would suggest that the sacraments of ordination and confirmation are very much relevant to the unity of the Church, and therefore it is difficult to see any justification for celebrating them in a rite which is currently challenging that unity.

But this particular conversation fits better in the Traditionis Custodes thread.

Vatican Asks Catholic Bishops to Invite Local Protestant, Orthodox Leaders in Synodal Path (ACI Africa)

The Vatican has issued a letter asking Catholic bishops to invite local Orthodox and Protestant leaders to participate in the diocesan stage of the two-year process leading to the 2023 Synod on Synodality... to embrace the “ecumenical dimension” of the synodal process. “The dialogue between Christians of different confessions, united by one baptism, has a special place in the synodal journey... to embrace the “ecumenical dimension” of the synodal process... Indeed, both synodality and ecumenism are processes of ‘walking together’”...

Diocesan Synod Not Parliament of Christians, Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa Says (ACI Africa)

The Apostolic Nuncio in South Africa has urged the people of God in the Southern African countries to look at the Synod on Synodality as a type of “council meeting”, which is “pastoral in nature”, and not some kind of parliamentary discussion...

African Prelates Translate Synod Preparatory Document, Invite Other Religions in Synodality Journey (AMECEA)

As the Church of God prepares for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops scheduled for 2023, some African prelates have shared their experiences of leading the first tier synodal path process which is the Diocesan phase and acknowledged translating the Synod Preparatory document into local language and also invited members of other religions to be part of the journey...

Webinar on Synodality and the Youth to Foster Inclusion of Young People (AMECEA)

As preparations continue towards the forthcoming 2023 Synod of Bishops on Synodality, which commenced October last year with the solemn opening by the Holy Father, a webinar targeting the youth has been scheduled aimed to foster their inclusion in the synodal journey...

Kasese Catholic Diocese Introduces Pope Francis’ Intention on Synodality to Priests, Religious and Lay faithful (AMECEA)

Christians in the Uganda’s Kasese Diocese have been urged to welcome the Holy Spirit in their decision making as local church gatherings convene for consultation about the synod...

>40 brone:

Off topic again, but as well as O salutaris hostia, another hymn we used to sing at benediction was Tantum ergo.

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Præstet fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui.

The English translation we used was: "Therefore we before him bending, this great sacrament revere. Types and shadows have their ending for the newer rite is here..." Another translation is "Lo! o'er ancient forms departing, Newer rites of grace prevail", and I believe the literal translation would be "And let the old practice give way to the new rite".

Hmm. New rites. The hymn continues, "faith, our outward sense befriending, makes our inward vision clear", or "Let faith provide a supplement for the failure of the senses". Let's not get overly concerned about whether the newer "rites of grace" have "defects" over the older ones; let faith supply whatever our senses can't.

The pope invites Protestants and Orthodox leaders to participate on a diocesan stage to participate in another ambiguous "ecumenical dimention" while in these same dioceses He treats the small but packed Catholic churches saying latin masses as if they had leprosy....AMDG....

>44 brone:

Connecting with Protestant and Orthodox leaders who may be separated from us at the moment is part of the recognition of the universality of the Church. They have something to say. I was reading an article on a conservative Catholic website the other day (didn't bother saving the reference so my apologies for not linking to it) on Pope John Paul II's visits to the UK, which noted with approval that openness to the Anglican church eventually led to an ordinariate within the Catholic Church for former Anglicans who became Roman Catholics. Conversations with both Anglicans and Lutherans have led to deeper agreement on the sacraments, and of course the Orthodox are already very close to us, give or take a filioque or two.

There is no restriction on any Catholics participating in the Synod, including those who attend Tridentine masses (not simply Latin masses, as there is no restriction on the use of Latin which is actually the normative language of the current rite).

You mention leprosy. In my experience, the Church has always been close to those with leprosy and treated them well, starting with Jesus and continuing to the present day, with the 19th century St Damien being a stellar example from the modern era. There is no exclusion.

Global Synodal Path "a great opportunity to listen to one another": Pope Francis (AC Africa)

Pope Francis said on Monday that the two-year global consultation process leading to the Synod on Synodality is “a great opportunity” for Catholics to listen to one another. Writing in his World Communications Day message, released on Jan. 24, the pope expressed concern that people were “losing the ability to listen,” both in the Church and wider public life. “A synodal process has just been launched,” he wrote. “Let us pray that it will be a great opportunity to listen to one another... Communion, in fact, is not the result of strategies and programs, but is built in mutual listening between brothers and sisters”...

13 Cardinals have signed a letter to the Pope expressing concerns about the Synod and "pastoral flexibility" ( pastoral ambiguity) that could lead to the church falling apart much the same as liberal protestant denominations have, surprisingly they call the working papers "a mess" The letter was signed by the much abused George Pell a modern day John Hancock. It must really be a mess when they can get the rainbow stole wearing Archbishop of New York to sign it....AMDG....

>47 brone:

Thanks for this news. Could you cite a reference, please? I've googled and can't find anything. I wonder if they're the same 13 cardinals who expressed concerns about the Synod on the Family in 2015? That one also included Cardinals George Pell and Timothy Dolan of New York. No real surprise that Pell would have reservations about the Synod on Synodality, nor indeed Dolan, who is generally reckoned to be rather "conservative".

Interesting comments from another cardinal, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, here. He says that reforms in the Catholic Church require “a stable foundation”, and continues:

The Pope has nothing against conservatives if they learn from life. In the same way, he has nothing against the reformers if they keep the whole Church in mind. And the Pope does not like infighting in the Church. I sometimes have the impression that the German bishops do not understand the Pope. The Pope is not liberal, he is radical. From the radicality of the Gospel comes the change...

One might perhaps include the US bishops in that comment.

Related to another thread in this LT group, Cardinal Hollerich also comments on the Latin Mass, which he said had a “very beautiful” text. He explained that he sometimes used Latin when celebrating Mass in his private chapel, but had reservations about doing so in a parish setting. “I know the people there don’t understand Latin and can’t do anything with it,” he said. “But I have been asked to do a Latin service in Antwerp, in the present rite. I will do that, but I would not celebrate in the old rite.” Note those last sentences - there is no objection to the Latin Mass in the present normative rite; restrictions only apply to use of the old irregular rite.

Edited to add: Can you explain the reference to John Hancock? I'd never heard of him, but I googled and found one who was involved in the independence of the USA - is that the one you mean? If so, how do you think Cardinal George Pell is a modern day version of him?

John Hancock Was the president of the continental congress. When signing the declaration of independence, he signed in big bold letters, reportedly saying King George lll won't need his spectacles to read this. As a result when someone is asked to sign something you often hear "put your John Hancock Here". After the signing the delegates were aware of the consequence of treason and asked Hancock what now. Hancock says, We must all hang together or surely we will hang separately. Pell after all he has been through puts his "John Hancock" on a letter telling the Boss its a "big mess" some would call that treason some courageous....AMDG....

>49 brone:

Thanks for that explanation. But could you cite a reference where we can read the letter from the 13 cardinals, or at least read about it?

its all over the internet.

>51 brone:

Well, I've googled several times now, and still can't find it. Maybe I'm using the wrong search words. It would certainly be helpful if you could simply give me the reference for the place "all over the internet" where you first saw it. Why so coy?

ah! you just want me to tell what conservative web site I found it on. Google Pell and Dolan send letter to the Pope....AMDG....

>53 brone: you just want me to tell what conservative web site I found it on

No, I want to read the letter and see the context. I have no interest in conservative websites. I try to take what you write at face value, and I would hope you would do the same for me. I find it's not very helpful to try to assign imaginary ulterior motives to people.

Google Pell and Dolan send letter to the Pope

I've done so, and all it turns up "all over the internet" is lots of articles about the letter which 13 cardinals including Pell and Dolan sent to the pope in 2015 regarding the Synod on the Family, which I have already mentioned in >48 John5918:. I'm still trying to find any reference to a letter sent to the pope by 13 cardinals about the current Synod on Synodality, which is the topic of this thread. Or was that letter from seven years ago the one to which you were referring?

As a bishop, I was skeptical about synodality. The Latin American church changed that (NCR)

Something dramatic happened in the development of Vatican II's document on the church, Lumen Gentium, in 1964. The original draft of the document, sharply criticized by the council fathers, was discarded in favor of one that placed a chapter on the people of God (Chapter 2) before a chapter on the hierarchy of the church (Chapter 3). This move was astounding for a church that had become accustomed to a cleric-centric culture. But the change was not a novelty in the church; it was based deeply in Scripture and tradition. While maintaining and clarifying the proper and essential role of the hierarchy in the church, this shift in Lumen Gentium signaled a correction to the excesses of a clerical culture.

I witnessed a similar shift, not in an ecclesial document but in ecclesial practice, from Nov. 21-28, 2021, at the first Ecclesial Assembly of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean in Cuautitlán, México. The assembly — organized by the Latin American bishops' council, commonly known as CELAM — was the culmination of several months of consultation at local, regional and national levels across 20 nations, in which nearly 70,000 people contributed, either as individuals or on behalf of their communities. I had been invited to the ecclesial assembly as one of a handful of in-person participants from the United States. (Seventy others from the U.S. participated online.) What I witnessed was not only fascinating, prayerful and engaging, it was a manifestation of the content and spirit of Lumen Gentium, particularly Chapter 2, "The People of God." It was an experience of ecclesial synodality at work.

I must confess that I had concerns about Pope Francis' expressed desire that synodality be implemented at every level of the church's life. In Cuautitlán, my misgivings about synodality were dispelled...

SOUTH SUDAN: Catholic Archdiocese of Juba Kicks off Synodal on Synodality Process (AMECEA)

Catholic Archdiocese of Juba on Tuesday 15, 2022 started the diocesan Synodal process which was launched last year in Rome by Holy father Pope Francis. Speaking during the launch of the synodal process, the Auxiliary Bishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Juba Santo Loku Pio, on behalf of the Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin, stated that every congregation should participate in the synod because it is very important. Bishop Loku described the process as special moment because the Holy Father wishes to hear what the Holy Spirit is speaking to the Church at this particular time. He explained that the Synod will help in offering a piece of constructive advice not only in the Archdiocese of Juba but to the Holy Father and the universal church. In a statement, the Auxiliary Bishop called on the faithful to listen carefully to one another as well as parishes at the grassroots, citing that the Synod has important scopes. “This synodal Church has these important three dimensions i.e. the themes of communion, participation and mission. As we listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to Church, it is good for us to know that the Holy father is not setting a parliament for discussion. The Holy Father is setting a process of listening in order to promote communion participation, and mission. The harmony of these three dimensions is very important during this process. Let us be guided by the Holy Spirit in this process as the Archdiocese of Juba”...

In Oct 2019 a false idol was set up in the heart of Roman Catholicism. Soon after very soon after all hell broke loose, Bishops locked the doors to our churches, the dying were denied the last rites, Catholics could not have their confessions heard, citizens all over the world were forced into lock down, children were forcibly masked for hours each day and still are and the unvacinated are treated like lepers even in the Vatican. Those of you elite professional Catholics who converse with this prelate and that trendy author will laugh at me when your roasting nuts over a desert campfire. How dare he say that about Pachamama "Our Lady of the Amazon" Father excuse me we know you have been off fighting for lbqgtred rights but we have down graded Our Lady of the Amazon and we are not venerating that piece of 2x4 any more we're now spinning the inculturation plank. The ancient Jews knew that huge worldly problems befell them when they turned to idolatry, just thumb through the old testament its very common....JMJ....

>57 brone: spinning the inculturation plank

The large majority of ordinary (not "elite professional") Catholics who live outside the western culture of Europe and north America probably take a different view of inculturation than you do.

yeah we don't worship blocks of mahogany.

>59 brone:

That comment really isn't worthy of you, my friend. Nobody worships blocks of mahogany, but there is a recognition that European culture is not synonymous with Christianity.

At Episcopal Ordination in Kenya, Nuncio Cautions against Clericalism, Urges Listening (ACI Africa)

The representative of the Holy Father in Kenya has cautioned against “clericalism” which he said he had noted from his interactions with the people of God in the East African country including Priests and Bishops as they participate in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality... “Since October last year, the Church is engaged in the Synod on Synodality and from my visits to Dioceses, encounters with Clergy, conversations with religious and meetings with the Laity, one thing above all seems to emerge: the plague, as it is called, of clericalism,” Archbishop van Megen said in his homily during the Episcopal Ordination of Mons. Mark Kadima Wamukoya. In cautioning against clericalism, the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya who also represents the Holy Father in South Sudan expressed his concerns about “the tendency of some of us to impose their opinions and way of thinking on others, giving the impression as if the Church is owned by Bishops and Priests, (and that) the Clergy is in command and the Laity has to listen”... Making reference to Pope Francis’ memorable image that “Shepherds should smell like their sheep”, the Archbishop who has served as Apostolic Nuncio since 2014 said, “We can only know the sheep when we journey along with them, share our life with them, eat with them, work with them, pray with them”... “The knowing of the shepherd is connected to prayer”... "everything I say, everything I do or think has to be rooted in prayer”...

Seeking to clarify the nature of the ongoing preparations toward the 2023 Synod, the Dutch-born Apostolic Nuncio said the public participation in the meeting of Bishops need not be mistaken for “a debating club. Instead, it is all about God’s thoughts”. The Synod on Synodality, he clarified, “is about God's thoughts and desires and how the Church can be a fitting dwelling place of that presence of God; how God can be at home within me and how I can be at home in God”...

As it happens I know both the Nuncio and the new bishop. The Nuncio is known for preaching a good homily, and his words on the Synod are worth listening to.

Nobody worships mahogany (wood) (isa 40:18.19) To whom have you believed God? or what image will you make for him? the workman cast a graven image, Dan(5:4) They drank wine, and praised their gods of gold,and of silver,,of brass, of iron,and of wood and stone. Deut(4:28) and there you shall serve gods, that were framed by men's hands: wood and stone that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell The fergus deus (divine beech) of the celts who esteemed nothing more sacred than mistletoe and the tree it grew on. The Church had the utmost difficulty in suppressing tree worship,because it was rooted in nature worship. I get the association of the pachamama and the BVM. The Church often effected a compromise image of the gods affixed to trees were replaced with an image of the Virgin. Next week in New Orleans we will see the continuing blending of paganism and Catholicism manifested in Marde Gras. Three wood logs are still worshiped today in India as symbolic chariots called the feast of Puri Rath Yatra. Let us hope the Vatican will not confuse us again with these "inculturation ceremonies. Knock on Wood....AMDG....

>62 brone:

Fair comment. Maybe I should have been clearer. Maybe you're right and there have been cultures which worshipped such idols, and maybe there still are, although a lot of western perceptions of non-European cultures are still clouded by colonial stereotypes and a flawed understanding of their religious beliefs, just as many protestants still mistakenly believe that we Catholics worship statues of Mary and the saints. But what I meant to say is that inculturation in the Catholic Church is not about worshipping blocks of mahogany, it is about recognising that Christ is incarnated into non-European cultures: "The Word became flesh, he lived among us" (John 1:14).

Jesus was not born into a modern or even a mediaeval European culture, he was born into the Jewish religion and culture, which he transformed into what became Christianity. The new Church was then heavily influenced by Greek and Roman culture (and philosophy), and later for many centuries it took on different cultural trappings in the east and the west. Its culture was influenced again by the protestant reformation and the enlightenment, and so on up to the present day in Europe and north America. For the last three or four hundred years, and particularly since the 19th century, it expanded into "mission territories" in Africa, Asia and Latin America, at first as a foreign imposition led by foreign missionaries and inextricably tangled up with colonialism, but nowadays as a local Church in its own right, with local bishops and priests, embedded in the cultures of their people just as the Church in Europe and north America is embedded in the cultures of its people. As St Luke tells us, "So Paul stood before the whole council of the Areopagus and made this speech: 'Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because, as I strolled round looking at your sacred monuments, I noticed among other things an altar inscribed: To An Unknown God. In fact, the unknown God you revere is the one I proclaim to you'... And he did this so that they might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him; and indeed he is not far from any of us" (Acts 17: 22-27). Thanks be to God that people in Africa, Asia and Latin America are indeed "feeling their way towards him" who "is not far from any of us" as they discover that far from being a foreign imposition, God is indeed "the unknown God {they} revere" somehow, imperfectly perhaps, in their own cultures and tradtions.

Synodal Process Ongoing in South Sudanese Diocese Despite “humanitarian emergency”: Bishop (ACI Africa)

The people of God in South Sudan’s Malakal Diocese are taking part in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality despite the humanitarian emergency due to floods, the Local Ordinary of the South Sudanese Diocese has said. In an interview with ACI Africa, Bishop Stephen Nyodho Ador Majwok underscored the value of the Synodal process, and described it as “an important journey for the people of God.” “Our concern has been on emergency, humanitarian emergency”, Bishop Nyodho said during the February 19 interview, adding that despite efforts to address threats to livelihoods due to floods, “we continue also to sensitize the faithful about the importance of the Synod, because it is the journey together, the journey of faith with the people of God.” “The issue of flooding has affected pastoral work as people are concerned about their livelihood,” he said, adding that the Diocese, one of the most affected by floods in South Sudan, is “under water”. “The Diocese is under water up to now,” Bishop Nyodho said, and added, “the floods have affected most of our parish work, and (since) we could not manage, some of our Parishes are closed … most people have fled to higher grounds”... Bishop Nyodho said that despite the floods, the Diocese of Malakal “is trying to make it (Synodal process) real for the people of God” as “an important journey for the people of God.” The Synodal process is a journey “that we have to walk together, starting with the Bishop, the Clergy and Religious and all people of God,” the South Sudanese Bishop said...

I have had an association with Malakal Diocese for almost forty years, and it really is one of the poorest dioceses in the world, even before the recent floods. Pray for them.

Synodality: Catholics demand a reform of the clericalist priesthood (La Croix)

A Catholic scholar speaks openly and honestly about tensions between clergy and the laity... If the proposed Synod is not to be an empty gesture, there must be a clear commitment to justice and truth on the part of the clergy and religious orders...

Synodality Church’s “antidote to clericalism”: Mauritian Cardinal in Pastoral Letter (ACI Africa)

The Bishop of Port Louis Diocese in Mauritius, Maurice Cardinal Piat has, in his latest pastoral letter for the Lenten period, said that the Synod on Synodality and the ongoing preparations are part of the Catholic Church’s initiatives to counteract clericalism. In the Friday, March 4 pastoral letter, Cardinal Piat highlights the effects of clericalism in the Church today and proposes walking together with the faithful as an appropriate way forward. “In order to act on the root cause of evil, Pope Francis clearly asks us to adopt synodality as a way of life and functioning in the Church,” Cardinal Piat says. The Mauritian Cardinal adds in reference to synodality, “This expression means ‘walking together’. It is about adopting the habit of reflecting, discerning and deciding together between lay people, Priests and religious at different levels of the Church's life... This way of doing things is essential today as the antidote to clericalism and as the way to allow a true renewal of the Church under the action of the Spirit,” Cardinal Piat says in his 17-page Pastoral Letter, which he unveiled March 4...

African Theologians Advocate for Adoption of African Values in Synod on Synodality (ACI Africa)

Participants in the ongoing Synod on Synodality symposium of Theologians that was organized by the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar (JCAM) are suggesting that the Synodal process be anchored in African values. The team of Theologians who were selected to represent various segments of the Church in Africa suggested that as the people of God journey together in the Synodal process, they need to readopt such African values as the care for each other and the environment and other helpful values, which the scholars said seem to have been forgotten... Sr. Veronica Rop, a lecturer at the Kenya-based Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) said that the Synodal process should be anchored in Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter on the environment, Laudato Si’, and in “listening to the wisdom of our ancestors.” “We need to interrogate our African culture and listen to the wisdom of our ancestors. We need to be guided by the relatedness of the Laudato Si’, which guided Africans,” the Kenyan theologian said, and explained, “Africans always believed that they were each other’s relatives and they lived in solidarity with each other, caring for the unborn, the living and the living-dead. They also cared deeply about the environment. These are the values we need to think about.” She added, “There is a need to reclaim and share our Africa values of communitarian relationship, hospitality, respect for family and human life especially the young and old and relatedness with all of creation. We need reference to God and to our ancestors”... need to revive the culture of barazas (traditional African public meetings) and to allow everyone to have a voice in such meetings. “We need to sit together in barazas and to discuss our issues. We however need to critique who sits and speaks in such meetings. Voices of those who feel marginalized, those who are actually marginalized, including women, the youth and our mother earth need to be amplified”...

‘Encourage the Spirit of Synodal Theology’ and Dialogue: Vatican to African Synodal Initiative (AMECEA)

Giving an opening address, online, to the participants who gathered at JCAM House in Nairobi from March 9 to 11, 2022, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican, Sr Nathalie Becquart XMCJ thanked JCAM for the initiative to bring together a diversity of theologians and professional experts from Africa to reflect on synodality. “When we speak about synodality, the first thing is that the Church is a synodal Church. Therefore, more important is that perhaps I listen to you as a group of theologians,” she said and added. “The first point I want to share with you is a reflection from theologians from our Synodality Commission. After opening the synod, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said: ‘We are living the most important ecclesial event since the Vatican Council II. It is the first time in 2,000 years that the whole Church is involved in a Synod – everyone called to participate in the Synod.’ As we are living in this time of chaos for the Church and for our world, in this time of change, if we think of the Vatican II, one of themes was how to work together between all the people of God and the bishops, to foster a dialogue between theologians, the people of God and bishops and for the continuation of this spirit of dialogue and conversation,” said Sr Nathalie. She then urged African theologians to take this synodal stage of gathering and synthesizing reflections from the people of God in the dioceses as one of the most important things in the synodal process, urging them to play their important role of bringing into theology whatever is happening during the synodal process...

>65 John5918: Beware of Lay Clericalism.

Theme of Synodality “breath of fresh air” to Migrants, Refugees: South African Archbishop (ACI Africa)

The theme of the Synod on Synodality is a relief for those on the move including the refugees and migrants for they have a chance to participate and be heard, a Catholic Archbishop in South Africa has said... In a statement circulated Wednesday, March 16, Archbishop Buti Joseph Tlhagale of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg says that the migrants and refugees “wish the Church should consider them as a necessary constituency of the church”... The South African Archbishop says that representatives of migrants and refugees need to be given official status as “bona fide” elected delegates in the Synodal discussions and that they need to use the opportunity to present their challenges...

Plight of Single Mothers in Southern Africa Part of Synod on Synodality Topics (ACI Africa)

In an interview with ACI Africa, the Coordinator of {the Inter-regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa} IMBISA Pastoral Department, Fr. Rafael Baciano Sapato, expressed his awareness of the plight of single mothers in Southern Africa and that he had shared his reflections with participants in a consultative session on the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality. “I chose the theme ‘Church, the family, and the Pastoral Care of single mothers’, in response to the question posed in the preparatory document for the Synod 2023”... “In my priestly experience as a Christian, I have seen that single mothers are part of this group of people who were left on the margins"... Pope John Paul II condemned discrimination against members of social categories, including that of “single mothers”, Fr. Sapato indicated in his presentation, making reference to the November 1981 Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio...

I can see why the Holy Father is focusing on the east, let's hope that we follow the African Church's path rather than the German lead by Batzing and Marx (not Karl) synodal path which blesses homosexual union, in the meantime in Puerto Rico people are demonstrating outside the cathedral in San Juan in protest of the Bishop for disagreeing with some fellow bishops, this good holy man was removed by Bergoglio like he was a branch manger of wells fargo without recourse...JMJ....

>53 brone:

Just as a matter of interest, have you found a link yet to that letter signed by 13 cardinals including Pell and Dolan expressing their concerns about the Synod on Synodality? From time to time I Google it again using the key words "Pell and Dolan send letter to the Pope" which you suggest, as well as other search terms, but still all I can find is the letter written by 13 cardinals seven years ago expressing concern about the completely different Synod on the Family. I would really like to see this letter which you refer to and read what they are saying, but you seem unwilling to provide a link to it. Or is it in fact the old letter to which you are referring? If so, I read it at the time, and I find it a bit odd to raise it now, seven years after the Synod they were concerned about has been and gone. Could you clarify for us?

Paul, James,Peter. Jude.John, wrote letters 2,000 years ago do you find them odd.

In March of this year 8 Nordic bishops said German bishops risk reducing the Church to a visible communion at the expense of the "Sacred Mystery", " the orientation, method and content of the Synodal Path of the Church in Germany "fill us with worry". In a statement on March 15th Cardinal George Pell called for the CDF to publicly reprimand two of Europe's most senior bishops for what he said was their "wholesale and explicit rejection" of the Church's teaching on Sexual Ethics. Cardinal Pell's appeal follows a mass celebrated by Reinhard Marx(not Karl) "marking 20years of queer worship and pastoral care" this today not 7 years ago in the pachamama era....AMDG....

>72 brone:

No, but then nobody is claiming that their letters were referring to a specific Church synod some years in the future. And when we refer to their letters, we cite the source, eg St Paul's 1st Letter to the Corinthians, chapter so and so, verse so and so. It means everybody can read it for themselves rather than just having it second hand from someone else.

But is your post a tacit admission that there is no new letter by 13 cardinals about the Synod on Synodality, and in fact you are referring to the letter by 13 cardinals on the Synod on the Family seven years ago? If so, that's fine, but why are you so reluctant just to say so? That letter may well have things in it which are relevant to the current Synod and which we would all benefit from reading, so why not just post a link, let us read it, and explain which bits you think are relevant? This is, after all, a conversation.

>73 brone:

It would be very interesting to read what these good Nordic bishops said. Can you provide a link, please? I presume you read it somewhere, so it should be easy enough to share the source with us all. I really don't understand why you are so reluctant to share sources. Don't you want us all to learn more about the causes which you champion?

>73 brone:

Is this the March 15th statement by Cardinal Pell to which you were referring: Cardinal Pell Calls on Vatican to Correct 2 Senior European Bishops for Rejecting Church’s Sexual Ethics (EWTN)?

In a statement released March 15, Cardinal Pell asked the Vatican’s doctrinal congregation to “intervene and pronounce judgment” on comments made by Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the relator general of the Vatican Synod on Synodality, and Bishop Georg Bätzing, president of the German Bishops’ Conference... Jesuit Cardinal Hollerich of Luxembourg and Bishop Bätzing of Limburg have both called for changes to the Church’s teaching on homosexuality in recent interviews... The cardinal, who served as the first prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy from 2014 to 2017, also criticized the “Synodal Path” of the Church in Germany...

Posting this link wasn't so difficult, was it?

NCR

>not where I saw it wise guy, its in a number of different places....JMJ....

>77 brone:

"Wise guy"? A personal insult? Against the LT TOS and also rather uncharitable for a Catholic thread. Can we try to avoid personal attacks, please, and stick to the issues.

If it's in "a number of different places", why was it so difficult for you to post a link to one of them? And if it's true, why does it matter where you or I first saw it? The point is that we are able to read something in full and in context and thus have a more comprehensive and fruitful conversation about it, rather than just relying on sound bites. It's also a way of avoiding propagating fake news, which often happens because someone innocently re-posts a sound bite from social media or from a source which does not do fact-checking. By posting links we can double check with other sources.

First of all I'm not insulting you, weren't dose guys from the east who visited baby Jesus Wise Guys, I understand this is a global site but I was not taught globalese. Guys around my neck of the woods are friends... "I'll be out with the guys","Hey guy whats up" I fully expect that you have the means to have me censored, because of my disagreement with you and the current leaders of the church but nevertheless when things are said and done conservative NO's and traditional Catholics will still be here, forget about links the only links I know are two one in heaven the other on earth....AMDG....

>79 brone:

My apologies if you genuinely meant it to be a friendly comment. That's not how it came over to me. Yes, "guys" is usually used in a friendly fashion, but "wise guys" is usually dismissive or pejorative in my experience.

Who is trying to censor you? You are free to post your opinions. The only thing I ask is that you post them courteously, respectfully and charitably.

And yes, I will continue to ask you to post links. I and other readers are actually interested in some of the things you post and we want to read them in full and understand them, even if we may still disagree with them. Sound bites are no basis for a conversation, and I would have thought that if you want your opinions to be heard by others then it would be in your own interest to allow people to read them in detail and discuss them. Why are you so reluctant to share the details of your opinions and the arguments which you believe underpin them?

Pax Christi International and the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative will host a series of listening sessions for the Synod on Synodality, and we hope you will be able to join us.

See a brief explanation about why Pax Christi is engaging in this process in this video.

The listening session will consist of a 10-minute introduction, followed by small group conversations on the following questions for about an hour:

If the Church were to adopt nonviolence as a way of life, how would relationships in the Church change?
How can the Church best promote nonviolence and just peace?
Can you share an example of how the Church promotes or undermines nonviolence and just peace in your community?

Interpretation will be available if needed for the introduction, but the breakout groups will be arranged by language preference.

The sessions will be held on following dates. Please feel free to join any session that is convenient for you.

United States and Canada, Thursday 31 March, 7:30 PM EST (UTC -4)

Europe and the United Kingdom, Monday 4 April, 8 PM CEST (UTC +2)

Japan and Korea, Friday 8 April, 8:30 PM JST (UTC +9)

Philippines, Monday 18 April, 9 AM PHST (UTC +8)

Latin America and the Caribbean, Thursday 21 April, 8 AM COT (UTC -5)

Australia and New Zealand, Friday 22 April, 6 PM AEST (UTC +10)

Middle East, Wednesday 27 April, 5 PM EEST (UTC +3)

Africa, Friday, 6 May, 4 PM EAT (UTC +3)

Notes from each small group will be sent to nonviolence@paxchristi.net in order for that group’s ideas to become a part of Pax Christi International’s overall contribution to the synod process. By mid-June, a draft document will be made available for participants’ review. By the beginning of July, we will send a final document to the Synod of Bishops Office in Rome...

Please share this invitation with your community.

Each of those regional notices is a link to the registration page for that particular session. Feel free to sign up - this is not only for Pax Christi members but for all those interested in peace and nonviolence who wish to make a contribution to the Synod process.

After meeting with Pope Francis, college students watch for 'more than business as usual' in church (NCR)

The historic Feb. 24 encounter between Pope Francis and college students from across the Americas was part of a larger continental experience of synodality that involved 58 universities in 21 countries. For two months university students across seven regions in the Americas gathered virtually in a synodal process exploring the root causes of migration and dreaming together just resolutions... The powerful public meeting between Francis and university students was mutually rewarding... the pope "was tenderhearted and very open-minded to differences." A number of students were touched by the fact that the pope listened to them, took notes during the Zoom meeting, and commented on their ideas and proposals to tackle the root causes of migration... the pope "was tenderhearted and very open-minded to differences." A number of students were touched by the fact that the pope listened to them, took notes during the Zoom meeting, and commented on their ideas and proposals to tackle the root causes of migration...

Africa’s Participation in Synodal Process “very promising”: Vatican Cardinal

The contribution of the people of God in Africa in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality is “very promising,” a Vatican Cardinal has told participants at a virtual event. Addressing participants during the Wednesday, March 30 webinar, which the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) organized, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops said the participation of local churches is fundamental for the success of the present synod. “In this synodal process the contribution of Africa is very promising,” Mario Cardinal Grech said, and added, “There is no doubt that the subject of this consultation is the people of God, of the whole people of God; no one is excluded.” Cardinal Grech emphasized the need to have all the people of God involved in the synodal process saying, “If a Diocese or a particular group or religious institute decide for some reason or another not to participate, we will be missing a lot”...

Synod on Synodality “an opportunity for voices to be heard”: Youth Leader in South Africa

A Catholic youth leader in South Africa has said the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality offers an opportunity for many voices to be heard including those of young people in Africa... Ms. Yon added, “It's been an opportunity to ensure that voices are being heard that aren't typically a part of our leadership teams that typically have a voice within church structures.” “This couldn't be more relevant for young people to be involved in specifically. In fact, it's been helping as a game changer as most young people do not feel that they have an opportunity to be heard”...

Both from ACI Africa

Synodal Process Time to Showcase “role in mission of evangelization”: Tanzanian Nun

A Catholic Nun from Tanzania has challenged women and men Religious in Africa to use the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality to showcase their “active role in the mission of evangelization”. Sr. Wilhelmina Uhai Tunu who was speaking during the Wednesday, March 30 virtual meeting that the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) organized to explore ways in which the synodal process can be understood in local contexts said Consecrated persons are expected to be “prophetic witnesses of holiness”...

Catholic Lay Leader in Senegal Says Synodal Process “not a forum for settling scores”

The President of the National Laity Council (CNL) in Senegal has cautioned the people of God against using the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality as forums for settling scores. Dr. Philippe Abraham Birane Tine who was speaking at the Wednesday, March 30 webinar, which the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) organized described the ongoing synodal process as a “forum for dialogue” in love. “The Synod is not a forum for settling scores, because many people may think very quickly that it is necessary to put debates and to settle scores between Priests, Religious,” said Dr. Tine who also serves as the Secretary General of the Regional Council of the Laity of West Africa. The synodal process, he said, is “a forum for dialogue in truth, but above all in charity, because it is only at this price that we will be able to take up the real challenges, because the Church, as it has been recalled, has always been synodal, therefore it is a place of dialogue.” “If we think that synodality is just words, just concepts, we risk wasting time; we will talk, there will be many webinars, there will be colloquiums but nothing will advance and of course, by the grace of God through the Holy Spirit, we will be able to build a strong church, a standing church, because our world needs this church, facing the multiple crises,” he said...

Both from ACI Africa

Just a thought: most of the material I see on the Synod is from Africa, as that's where I live, and to a lesser extent from other parts of the Global South. I hear very little from the Global North and I'd be interested to see other members of this Catholic Tradition group posting updates from their own areas. I did get an e-mail from a colleague in the USA last week which ended abruptly as she said she had to rush off to a meeting on the Synod in her local parish...

I can say most Catholics I know are cynical about the synod. If the so-called Amazon Synod is an indication of what's coming well, we will wait and see. Today's "Reformation" is no different from the one in 1517. It took two lifetimes to separate completely. Please God this won't happen again but there appear among the Catholic elite an increasing number who are not so much concerned to set right the evils that have grown up since Vat. ll to be reformed, as they are filled with a passionate hatred of the thing itself, its essential, its good, that by which it has a right to survive....JMJ....

>86 brone:

Interesting comment. It matches my own feeling that there is great enthusiasm for the Synod amongst ordinary Catholics, not "elites" (whatever they are), in countries where the Church is young, vibrant and expanding, but that in a number of the countries where the Church is already tired and shrinking there is a degree of cynicism.

But I think you're also right that a small self-styled "elite" of Catholics in the USA and some parts of Europe "are filled with a passionate hatred" of Vatican II.

The Catholic Church is still very young in the US, we are a result of the European struggle of the Reformation where Europe split into two cultures, one Protestant the other Catholic, resulting in the religious wars of the 16th century. The result was a Protestant domination of Europe ect Dutch banking, English Naval power, Prussian militarism, all resulting in societies opposed to Catholic culture, Industrialization, Capitalism, the peaeantry of England, Ireland eliminated by repacement of the feudal system with the rich owning the land, thus destroying the unity of Europe giving rise to the independent states, "patiotism" and a huge hatred of the Catholic Church, forcing some 20,000,000 million emigrants to the New World an extremely Protestant Culture. How did we survive, we clung to our Church, and we became powerful with our Catholic Traditions, with that struggle in our blood it is no wonder we resist "some" of these evolutions of doctrines, The crisis in the church in the US is classic we on the "right" believe whatever is first, is true; whatever is later is spurious....AMDG....

>88 brone:

Thanks. Yes, I think it's often the case that minorities who perceive themselves to have been persecuted cling to the past. But the Catholic Church is not a museum of the past, it is a living organism which takes account of all its members throughout the world, not only in the richest parts of the world steeped in western culture but also amongst the poorest of the poor whose cultures are very different. That diversity is part of the universality, catholicism with a small "c", of the Catholic Church. As for "whatever is first, is true; whatever is later is spurious", I find that to be a fairly meaningless slogan, as in fact the Church has deepened its understanding, evolved and changed from the very beginning, and continuing to evolve is actually part of the Tradition. Christ is Alpha and Omega, the eternal Logos who has been there since the beginning (John 1:1), and will be there to the very end. Christ has been around for all eternity, indeed before time itself was created, while the Church has been around for a mere two thousand years, so no worries there.

Canonist Cleric Emphasizes Collegiality of Prelates in New Book on Origin of Episcopal Conferences (AMECEA)

Fr. Emmanuel Jada Patrisio the author of the book underscores that the bishops and those working in the Episcopal Conferences need to understand that “As Conferences operate within the local environment, they are part of the universal Church, they are a universal figure and a bridge”... the history of Episcopal Conferences is traceable “as a long existing institution of powerful decision-making within the Church.” He narrates how Episcopal conferences originated way back in the last century and how their evolution came about during the Pontificates of Pius X, Benedict XVI, Pius XI and Pius XII. Additionally, the conferences development “is shown in the Vatican Council II and Post Conciliar document, as well as the 1983 Code of Canon Law and in the 1985 Extraordinary Synod of Bishops”...

While not explicitly about the Synod on Synodality, I think this is part of a broader view of synodality.

"a fairly meaningless slogan". If you (plural) still believe the devil rivalled and resisted the truth, then you (plural)believe then his aim is to destroy the truth sometimes by defending it. However, he himself is a liar from the beginning John 8: 44, what we do with this Inviolate rule (not slogan) is proscriptive, it gives us opportunity to review the current new ideas on doctrine with a reason to give instruction and protection to different persons; were it only that it may not seem that each perversion of the truth is condemned without examination, and simply prejudged; especially in the case of the issues today which might suppose itself to possess the truth without scrutiny....JMJ....

>91 brone:

I'm really not sure what you are trying to say. Our understanding of the truth has evolved: "For we know only imperfectly, and we prophesy imperfectly; but once perfection comes, all imperfect things will be done away with. When I was a child, I used to talk like a child, and see things as a child does, and think like a child; but now that I have become an adult, I have finished with all childish ways. Now we see only reflections in a mirror, mere riddles, but then we shall be seeing face to face. Now I can know only imperfectly; but then I shall know just as fully as I am myself known" (1 Corinthians 13:9-12). Or do you think our understanding and articulation of the truth hasn't evolved from the Old Testament through the New Testament through the early Church, the desert fathers and mothers, the Great Schism, the scholastic period, the reformation and counter-reformation, etc, etc? A basic tenet of Catholicism which distinguishes us from most protestants is the belief that divine revelation is found not only in the Scriptures but also in Tradition, ie there has been and continues to be divine revelation. Do you really believe that this is all a "perversion" and that it is "prejudged" (whatever that means) and done "without examination" and "without scrutiny"? Can you cite any evidence for those claims? Don't you simply mean that you disagree with certain aspects of Church teaching?

Edited to add: Although Jesus was very radical, I would say that the Church is inherently conservative. That can be immensely frustrating for many Catholics who are impatient and wish for a bit more of his radical-ness. However I don't necessarily criticise the Church for being conservative. It is important that we don't just act on the whims of the moment, but rather take the long-term view appropriate for an institution with two millennia of Tradition behind it. Hence change in the Church comes very slowly, after a great deal of prayer, discernment, study and consultation, and I find your suggestion that it is done "without examination" and "without scrutiny" to be rather ill-informed and lacking in reality.

"Look to the past with gratitude... live the present with passion... embrace the future with hope", Pope Francis, Witnesses of Joy (1-3), 21 November 2014.

In a previous post of mine I was criticized for mentioning a letter written to the Pope. On April 11 over 70 bishops from around the world including Cardinals from the US, Canada, and Africa have signed a letter in opposition to the synodol path taken by Germany and other Europeon Bishops it basically states this path will lead many otherwise faithful Catholics to distrust the very idea of "Synodolity"....JMJ....

>93 brone:

Just for the record, you were not criticised for mentioning a letter, but you were challenged on your apparent inability or unwillingness to provide a source for the letter, particularly when it turned out that the letter which you implied was about the Synod on Synodality was actually a seven-year old letter referring to a completely different Synod. Now once again you fail to provide a source, so we are reduced to googling to try to find the letter to which you refer. Is this the one: Bishops sign letter warning that Germany's 'Synodal Path' could lead to schism (CNA)?

Again, to be clear, the letter is not referring to the Synod on Synodality but to a different process which has been ongoing in Germany for some years, the so-called "German Synodal Path". Of the seventy bishops 49 are from the USA and fourteen from Tanzania, ie 63 of them (90%) are from just two countries. There are 5,364 bishops and 195 countries in the world. The letter apparently "doesn't cite any specific changes to Church teaching called for so far" but "broadly criticizes the Synodal Path's approach and the content of its draft documents". The full text of the letter is available at the link I posted. It is openly supportive of Pope Francis (cf 1, 4) and of "the idea of 'synodality'" as part of "the Church’s necessary conversation about fulfilling the mission of converting and sanctifying the world" (cf 7), while expressing concerns solely about this German process.

Edited to add: It has now also been reported by ACI Africa: African Bishops among Signatories Warning of German Synodal Path’s “potential for schism”

Edited to add: It's also reported, less objectively, in the National Catholic Register: Pope Benedict XVI and the ‘German Question’. I can't say I really agree with the trend of this article. I find it vaguely amusing that they include Yves Congar, Henri de Lubac and Edward Schillebeeckx amongst "the giants of German-speaking theology"; "giants" amongst theologians indeed, but two Frenchmen and a Dutchman?

Many Supra elites of the Catholic Church are falling in with the Rainbow Reich, Hollerich of Luxemborg is partners with the EU bureaucracy, says the Church's age old teaching about homosexual acts is wrong (wrong is right here) he even has the gall to assert the New Testament condemnations of homosexuality concerned only the pagan cult. " we cannot give answers of the past to questions of today" (a regular Bob Dylan this guy). The German embarkation on the "Synodal Way" epitomizes the corruption of modern Catholicism. It highlights the Pope's favorite term "synodality" a fake or ersatz theological term an invention to serve as a place holder for the secular trinity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, a clever way for Euro leftists to position themselves as servants of the pope while in reality they would radically revise Catholic doctrine and practice....JMJ...

>95 brone:

Supra elites? I tend to deal with ordinary Catholics, albeit not usually north American nor European ones, not elites, so I don't know anything about those. Rainbow Reich? That sounds both meaningless and pejorative. Hollerich of Luxembourg? So we're not talking about the German Synodal Path any more, but of the tiny nation of Luxembourg?

" we cannot give answers of the past to questions of today"

Nothing new there. Texts do not give answers to questions which haven't yet been asked or even imagined. That's why the Catholic Church teaches that Divine Revelation continues after the bible, and why we have bishops and theologians to try to understand and apply the spirit of the bible and existing Church teaching to new situations, "scrutinising the Signs of the Times" (Gaudium et spes).

the Pope's favorite term "synodality" a fake or ersatz theological term an invention to serve as a place holder

And yet the seventy bishops whom you quote support "synodality" - I quote again from their letter, that synodality is "the Church’s necessary conversation about fulfilling the mission of converting and sanctifying the world".

Have a blessed Easter Triduum.

Such Heresy....AMDG....

I thought I would mention what the Archlayman in "tiny Luxembourg", which only reiterates Marx's views in "big Germany" which must be the new revelation after the bible; I thought the only divine revelations out these days are revealed to Quakers, Mormons, 7 dayers, Jehovah witnesses I guess modern progressive catholics receive them to. The reason modern progressive catholics are still receiving divine revelations is because texts do not give answers to questions that haven't been asked Hmmn. One question the church has answered is that there has been no new Divine Revelations since about 100 ad when the apostle John died, St Pius X's Lamentabile Sane condemned and proscribed the modernist Heresy that constitutes that revelation was not complete with the apostles....JMJ....

>98 brone:

The Catholic Church finds Divine Revelation in both Scripture and Tradition. Most protestants find Divine Revelation only in Scripture.

Agreed but Divine revelation ceased except for Joseph Smith, Mohammed,and various other snake charmers past and present after John yes/no....AMDG....

>97 brone: ff

My apologies if my language was less than rigorous. To quote a rather more up-to-date Catholic doctrinal source than Lamentabile sane, Dei verbum does indeed affirm that "no new public revelation is to be expected" (4), but it explains "that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood" (6), and "there is a growth in insight into the realities and words that are being passed on" (8). So there may be no new "Divine Revelation", but there are new revelations (small "r") about Divine Revelation which themselves are surely inspired by the Holy Spirit at work in the Church and in the world. It would be very easy to descend into semantics.

One of the ways that the growth in insight and more profound understanding of Divine Revelation comes about is by asking questions which have not been asked before, and then applying Scripture and Tradition to answer them. At the time of Christ and for many centuries before and afterwards nobody thought to question slavery - it was the accepted norm. Eventually, thank God, both the Church and secular society began to question it, and now slavery (and its broader modern incarnation, human trafficking) is condemned by the Church. The feudal system was the norm in European history for many centuries and was not questioned by the Church. It was not really until the industrial revolution that people began to question social, economic and labour-related issues, leading to Pope Leo XIII's Rerum novarum, which is widely held to be the beginning of modern Catholic Social Teaching. The list of Church teachings which have evolved and developed, which have been understood more profoundly, about which our insights have grown (dare one say changed?) as new questions are asked about new and previously unknown (and often unimagined) situations goes on and on - priestly celibacy, ecumenism, inter-faith relations, the reception of the Eucharist, whether or not the earth revolves around the sun, limbo, fasting and abstinence, the "just war" theory, the death penalty, Church-state relations, the rite of marriage, etc. Even dogma develops. The Immaculate Conception was the subject of theological controversy for centuries and only became official dogma in 1854. Papal infallibility, while widely accepted in the Church from early times, was only defined dogmatically in 1870.

In the parallel thread on Francis I recently quoted from Lumen gentium, (25). The assumption appears to be that the bishops will speak and teach and the faithful are to respect their teaching, indeed adhere to it "with the submission of faith". One presumes it is referring to their provision of growth in insight and more profound understanding of Divine Revelation.

Bishops, teaching in communion with the Roman Pontiff, are to be respected by all as witnesses to divine and Catholic truth. In matters of faith and morals, the bishops speak in the name of Christ and the faithful are to accept their teaching and adhere to it with a religious assent. This religious submission of mind and will must be shown in a special way to the authentic magisterium of the Roman Pontiff, even when he is not speaking ex cathedra; that is, it must be shown in such a way that his supreme magisterium is acknowledged with reverence, the judgments made by him are sincerely adhered to, according to his manifest mind and will. His mind and will in the matter may be known either from the character of the documents, from his frequent repetition of the same doctrine, or from his manner of speaking. Although the individual bishops do not enjoy the prerogative of infallibility, they nevertheless proclaim Christ's doctrine infallibly whenever, even though dispersed through the world, but still maintaining the bond of communion among themselves and with the successor of Peter, and authentically teaching matters of faith and morals, they are in agreement on one position as definitively to be held. This is even more clearly verified when, gathered together in an ecumenical council, they are teachers and judges of faith and morals for the universal Church, whose definitions must be adhered to with the submission of faith.

>93 brone: ff

German Bishops' President Responds to Letter Warning of Schism Risk in Synodal Path (ACI Africa)

Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German bishops’ conference, responded Thursday to a letter warning the country’s synodal path could lead to schism by defending the process as a response to abuses in the Church. "The Synodal Path is our attempt in Germany to confront the systemic causes of the abuse and its cover-up that has caused untold suffering to so many people in and through the Church,” Bishop Bätzing wrote April 14 to Archbishop Samuel Aquila of Denver... Bishop Bätzing wrote in his response to Archbishop Aquila’s concerns that abuses in the Church had hampered her witness, and that “the synodal path is therefore also our attempt to make a credible proclamation of the Good News possible again... This occasion and context is particularly important to us, but unfortunately it is not mentioned at all in your letter,” he charged... There must be consequences of the abuse scandal for the “structures” of the Church, Bishop Bätzing continued. He characterized the recent open letter as using “euphemistic embellishments” that “do not really help” the problem. He called “accusations” made in the letter “surprising,” and claimed no justifications for them had been made. “I can reassure you with an open heart: these fears with regard to the synodal path of the Catholic Church in Germany are not correct,” Bishop Bätzing wrote. “So the synodal path in no way undermines the authority of the Church, including that of Pope Francis, as you write”. Bishop Bätzing rejected the observation that the synodal path is guided by “sociological analysis and contemporary political, including gender, ideologies,” asserting that it is guided rather by Scripture, Tradition, the Magisterium, theology, the sense of the faithful, and “the signs of the times interpreted in the light of the Gospel”...

So the answer is yes and no, the no part is nothing new with the big R but the little r has evolving news from the Holy Spirit. In other words the little r is in the "process" of becoming what it will be, it is called process because this theology see's the Universe as moving to completion. There is no "thing" in this belief because things keep changing. So in conclusion even the thinking mind, is ever becoming what it was not and ceasing to be what it was not. Ex " a more up to date Catholic Doctrinal source''....AMDG....

On Synodality, Catholic Nuns Call for Re-Examination of Traditional Roles of Consecrated Women in the Church (ACI Africa)

Panelists from the Association of Consecrated Women in Eastern and Central Africa (ACWECA) have called for examination of traditional responsibilities of Religious women in the Church, highlighting education as a significant element for Consecrated women to qualify in participating more in Church activities. Speaking at a zoom webinar that brought together Consecrated women from Africa on Thursday, April 28, to share their dreams, communion and participation in the Church towards the ongoing synodal process, panelist Sr. Prof. Agnes Lucy Lando said: “The perception that Consecrated women are to stay in their traditional apostolates, in my view, need to be critically examined during this synodal period.” As the entire Church participates in the first stage of Synod on Synodality process which has opened doors for participation of all without anyone being left behind, Sr. Prof. Lando a member of the Sisters of Mary of Kakamega underscores that “We (Consecrated women) need to interrogate how our respective charisms and spiritualities can still be used to serve the wider Church in the context of emerging needs”...

Synod on Synodality Offering "opportunity to share fruits of discernment”: Nun in Zambia (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality offers room for discernment and “an opportunity to share the fruits of the discernment”, a Catholic Nun has said... the Synod on Synodality “allows each member to discern and has an opportunity to share the fruits of the discernment”...

The Archbishop of Denver has written again to the head of the German Conference, condemning once more the '' Synodal Path" accusing the Germans of " betraying the Gospel" by defending the movement which he said, "repudiates" the deposit of Faith. It is one thing for a lowly ole Catholic like me to dissent from the pew, It stands to reason that when a faithful Roman Catholic Bishop publicly writes, "to surrender to the Zeitgeist is not a matter of the times it is a betrayal of the Gospel". Very courageous in this day and age, resist....JMJ....

Catholic Diocese in Eswatini Conducting Home Visits to Boost Participation in Synod (ACI Africa)

The team tasked with facilitating participation in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality in Eswatini’s Catholic Diocese of Manzini is conducting home visits to the people of God in the Diocese to encourage conversations on the Synod. In a report shared on Tuesday, May 3, Ayanda Nkhambule who has been entrusted alongside others “to facilitate a smooth process of discernment for the people of God” within the Diocese highlights a number of programs that have been launched to drive the Synodal conversations, including surveys. “The Synodal process has already begun in our Diocese. Various programs have been prepared to ensure that every member of the church participates. Currently, there is an online survey, where members of the church are encouraged to answer a few questions, as we reflect on the journey of faith thus far,” Ms. Nkhambule is quoted as saying. Explaining how the home visits on the Synod have been structured, Ms. Nkhambule says, “A group of people from our local parishes have been selected to form part of the synod teams. These people are expected to visit every Catholic home.” During the home visits, families are requested to come together, and engage in discussion on various topics, through the guidance of the delegates from the synod teams...

I still find it interesting that all the time I'm seeing good news stories about the vibrant and growing African church showing enthusiasm and creativity around the Synod process, whereas from the shrinking church in north America and Europe there seems to be very little being talked about.

Mind you, I've always been a great believer in home visits. I've been in parishes where the pastoral team tries to visit every Catholic family, whether practising or "lapsed", at least once a year, and I've been in other parishes where I see what I call "office priests" - the only way to get to see one is to make an appointment within office hours, and you of course have to go to him rather than him coming to you.

Yes it must be wonderful to be in the new garden of eden, please pray for us shrinking global northeners. Hopefully youse guys will send us some of those beautiful orthodox priests from Africa.....JMJ....

>107 brone:

Your sarcasm is misplaced. We do indeed pray for the Church, wherever it is and whether it is growing or dwindling. It must be very difficult being a Christian (or an adherent of any religion) in societies which no longer value religion and even see it as an aberration; I admire those who cling on in that climate, and I feel privileged to live on a continent where religion is still largely respected and is seen as the norm. Yes, many African priests are going as missionaries to Europe, north America, even Australia. Maybe what they will bring you is some of the joy and vibrancy of being a Christian, to counter the cynicism and negativity which I see amongst many in the Global North, and indeed in many of your own posts.

And now, back to positivity about the Synod, with three articles from AMECEA:

African International Theological Colloquium on Synodality Proposes a Journey of Reform

Participants at a recent international colloquium which was organized under the African Synodal Initiative (ASI), propose a vision of synodality from their perspective as discernment of the Spirit, a fraternal collaboration and a journey towards reform on the basis of reading the signs of the times. In a statement just released by ASI at JCAM in Nairobi and the shared with AMECEA Online Friday, May 6, the Colloquium members drawn from various African countries including Burkina Faso, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania gives an overview of synodality process “as a journey of reform rooted in reading the signs of the times, the Word of God, the Word in Church and in the world, a word that springs forth in the African church from creation, from our lives and culture, from the idea of Church as family of God.” They emphasize that synodality is best understood by an “open and honest conversation, by genuinely valuing in word and deed the different charisms of all the people of God,” which applies to the “laity marginalized and patronized by excessive clericalism.” In the collective statement from theologians, professionals, and academics both laity, Religious and clergy who attended the three- day colloquium from various institutions in Africa, they note that synodality, which recognizes and celebrates the charisms of all Christians, “is not simply a corrective to clericalism but the way in which we can truly be Church.” “It (synodality) breaks down rigidity and creates a culture of listening to the voice of the Spirit that forms us all for the mission of the Church: integral evangelization of peoples and cultures, particularly our diverse African cultures, as well as new worlds to be evangelized, education, health, technology, politics, economy, and the Church itself,” reads an excerpt of the statement. “This is the work of clergy and laity, theologians and bishops working and walking together as members of the family of God (as) we are all learners and teachers; laity and clergy evangelize one another as we evangelize the world,” the statement continues...

Dar es Salaam Archdiocese has concluded the Synod on Synodality process

The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Rev. Jude Thaddaeus Ruwai’ch OFM Cap, who has received a report on the process of the Synod on Synodality, has stressed that the end of the data collection phase with this event does not conclude the Synod on Synodality process will conclude in 2023... ‘By receiving the report on the synodal questionnaires which reflect your thoughts considering the Church in Dar es Salaam Archdiocese, it doesn’t mean that we stop praying for the synod. We must continue journeying together as one family of God,” he insisted... Most Rev. Ruwai’ch called on the faithful to continue the journey of the Synod on Synodality in the family, individual, community, region, deacon and parish to bring about the equality of walking together as the Synod demands. He said in the process of the Synod, many shortcomings were also identified in living and acting as believers, so the visible gaps needed to be worked on and the good ones needed to be taken and developed for the Church to prosper...

KCCB Secretary General Encourages Linking AMECEA Theme to Spirit of Synodality

The Secretary General for Kenya Conference of Catholic bishops who happens to be former Secretary General for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA), Fr Ferdinand Lugonzo, has recommended that the theme of the upcoming 20th Plenary Assembly of bishops be connected to the spirit of the ongoing synod which is calling for communion, participation and mission. “AMECEA is going for plenary at a time when the Church is focusing on synodality. It would be important that even though the themes are different, the bishops and the entire Church of AMECEA would think of the connection between living the message of Laudato Si’ and the theme of the Synod,” Very Rev. Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo shared with AMECEA online...

And now back to reality, Feb 20,22 The Synodal meeting in Germany ended with a clarion call for same sex blessings, revision of the catechism on homosexuality arrogantly claiming that homosexual acts are not sinful, the bureucrats "dominating the SYnodal Way" and most German Bishops said, Cardinal Pell " think that by adopting the teachings of the World around them, they are going to help the Church", " They are heading and facing in the wrong direction" Then Pell said,"we appeal to Christ, we appeal to Revelation, we appeal to or Judeo Christian traditions, we do not appeal to sociology or medicine....JMJ... No sarcasm from this Archbishop, buy the way I notice when I quote a viable bishop or other Catholic notable you have no comment no I'm wrong on that you did mention the fired bishop in Puerto Rico not in a favorable light though, I'm noticing your posting over the Good Bishop of Denver, Maybe you'll mention Pell and Sheen, Like I said im just a poor ole boy in a pew dissenting and you are all over me, not a word however about dissenting Bishops,,,,AMDG

>110 brone:

All very interesting. Yes, there are a number of bishops (at last count I think it had gone a little over the original seventy) who are deeply concerned about the German Synodal Process, which I repeat is not directly connected to and long pre-dates the Synod on Synodality. It is good that they are making their views known. If the German bishops bring their views to the Synod on Synodality, no doubt it will all be prayed over and discussed, and eventually the Church will discern where to go with it.

Clearly you are very interested in the German Synodal Process - do you have German connections, perchance? I'm not focused on that single country and its own internal process, I'm focused on the Synod on Synodality which belongs to the whole Church, which is probably why I'm not noticing some of the bishops whom you quote - thank you for contributing them to the conversation.

im just a poor ole boy in a pew dissenting and you are all over me

I'm not sure what you mean by that. Are you putting yourself down? Don't! We're all equal in the eyes of God and in the Church. I'm not sure how I am "all over you". If you mean I disagree with a lot of what you write, that's certainly true, and that's part of the diversity of our Universal Church. And if you mean I ask you to explain why you disagree and to give citations to the sources that you use, well yes, that's also true. I think it makes for a better-informed conversation, as we can all look it up and see what the source actually said in full and in context. If you choose not to do so, and post unattributed quotes and sarcastic sound bites, so be it, but I will continue to remind you that I would like to have a better and fuller conversation. Hopefully I will do so charitably and courteously, and my apologies where I slip up in maintaining those standards. Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. We're all sinners.

When I saw your words "im just a poor ole boy" I have to say my first thought was Simon and Garfunkel's song "The Boxer" - "I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told..." Fortunately for you your story is certainly not "seldom told", with outspoken champions such as Cardinals Pell and Dolan, and the late Archbishop Sheen, amongst others. There's also a thriving internet, social media and publishing industry associated with the views that you often express. Once again, all part of the diversity of life and Church.

Synod on synodality to be ‘process of spiritual discernment,’ participants say (Crux)

“This synod was conceived not as an event that will take place in a moment, meaning October 2023: It has already begun, and this awareness has been assumed by all of us taking part in this assembly,” said Colombian layman Oscar Elizalde, spokesman for CELAM, the Latin American bishops’ conference. “We are not preparing for the synod, it has already begun”...

Carmen Pena Garcia, a professor of canon law at the Pontifical Comillas University in Madrid, said that “all the synods look at the church, but those we have had thus far, look at the church in its action with respect to a concrete reality: The family, the youth, the Amazon.” “This synod, in a way, is a return to the church itself and to the understanding of the church, truly wanting to implement the Second Vatican Council,” she said, highlighting that there is both continuity and novelty in the process. “The continuity is the development and reception of the Second Vatican Council. The novelty is that much emphasis is being placed on the idea of the ecclesial subject.” Through this entire process, which includes consultations at a parish, diocesan, national and continental levels, “the baptismal condition is at the center,” Pena said. Baptism is what “unites us and makes us members of the church, co-responsible for its action, without taking away the fact that there are different charisms, different ministries and functions.” “The hierarchy has its role, which is capital, but it is also very important to point out that it does not detract from the co-responsibility of all the baptized,” she said. As a canonist, she said she hopes that the entire process will help make the faithful aware of their responsibility and their role within the church when it comes to having an active participation. “And that the bishops will allow them to be so!”...

Pope Francis Says "Church must become increasingly synodal" (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis said on Thursday that “the Church must become increasingly synodal”...

“Each of us shines like a star in the heart of God and in the firmament of the universe. At the same time, though, we are called to form constellations that can guide and light up the path of humanity, beginning with the places in which we live. This is the mystery of the Church: a celebration of differences, a sign, and instrument of all that humanity is called to be. For this reason, the Church must become increasingly synodal: capable of walking together, united in harmonious diversity, where everyone can actively participate and where everyone has something to contribute”...

I know your your not focused on some tiny fiefdom.I get the global thing I do, if the same heresies comming out of Germany which you don't condemn, if they were coming out of Africa, would they then be condemned by you, tell me i'm wrong. I think you gonna tap dance as usual...JMJ...

>113 brone:

So far no heresies have come out of Germany. A small number of bishops have expressed concern about some of the developments in the German Synodal Process. So far, this is the personal opinion of, er, a small number of bishops. As I said, if the German developments are brought to the Synod on Synodality no doubt it will all be prayed over and discussed, and eventually the Church will discern where to go with it. I think we have to have some confidence in the indefectibility of the Church. The position of the Church will be expressed by the Holy Father in due course, not as a knee-jerk reaction but after much prayer, consultation and discernment. We have recent experience of how successive popes dealt with a group that was causing concern and division in the Church; after nearly half a century of waiting, trying to understand their position, and trying to find ways of incorporating their views and bringing them back into unity, eventually it was clarified by Traditionis custodes. If the German bishops are in error, no doubt it will also be clarified in due course, and probably much less than half a century.

No heresies leftists say.

>115 brone:

Why focus on political terms such as "leftist" which have little to do with the Church? Pope Francis has pointed out that the Church is not a political body with "left" and "right" (I can't find the quote immediately but I remember posting it, probably in the "Francis" thread). And why try to short-circuit a discernment process within the Church? Whatever the potential issues with the German bishops' position, we are about to enter a discernment process, the Synod on Synodality, in which these issues will be subjected to scrutiny by the global Church. Have confidence in the indefectibility of the Church! Have confidence that the Holy Spirit will guide the universal Church along the right path! And if there are errors, they will be defined as such by the appropriate authorities. "Heresy" is a nice slogan, a good stick with which to beat those one disagrees with, but there are due processes to be diligently carried out before something is defined as "heresy".

African Scholars Hoping for Lengthy Synodality Beyond October 2023 Synod of Bishops (ACI Africa)

A working group of theologians, professionals, and academics who participated in a symposium that the African Synodality Initiative (ASI) organized on the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality have exuded confidence that the synodal deliberations will live beyond the October 2023 Synod of Bishops... the team of African scholars comprising members of the Clergy, women and men Religious, and the Laity said that Synodality is supposed to be an everyday way of the Church, and therefore timeless. “It is our hope that Synodality will not end with the synod. We believe that Synodality is an ongoing, long-term pedagogy and way of life of the Church,” the team of scholars said in their report following the ASI colloquium...

Clergy in Africa Hesitant “to embrace change” in Synodal Process: African Scholars (ACI Africa)

Members of the Clergy are hesitant to embrace a Church where dialogue is fostered among her variety of members, participants in a Synod on Synodality encounter organized by the African Synodality Initiative (ASI) have said... the African scholars said that Priests are especially shying away from the change that comes with the Synodal process that Pope Francis announced in view creating a Church where people journey together... various challenges had emerged, including the unwillingness of members of the Clergy to embrace change and the Laity’s fear of not being heard in the existing “rigid” Church structures... "Some, including clergy, hesitate to embrace change for fear of the unknown and how that will affect the position of the Church and its leaders”... “Some Laity have expressed fear and reluctance questioning whether their opinions will be taken seriously. In some places, the insufficient creation of awareness of Synodality and what it stands for affects participation as does a distorted conception of Synodal engagement and its overarching depths”...

Need “to repair broken families” Highlight in South African Synodal Process: Archbishop (ACI Africa)

The need to bring stability in family life, repairing families that are “broken”, is among the highlights of the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality in South Africa’s Johannesburg Archdiocese, Archbishop Buti Joseph Tlhagale has said. In an interview with ACI Africa, the Archbishop of Johannesburg said that in the synodal process in his Metropolitan See, the people of God are also examining the youth and their participation in Church activities. “Several themes have been raised. The first is marriage and family life. We need to stabilize family life; we need to repair broken families. If we don't do that, the unhappiness tends to perpetuate itself in the children in those families”, Archbishop Tlhagale told ACI Africa during the Wednesday, May 11 interview... The South African Catholic Archbishop said the Synodal process is also giving space to young people "so that their voices are heard and that they are also seen and participate in church activities.” In giving the youth space, he said, “you will be expanding their aspiration to be also participants”...

Vatican Hosts Synod Listening Session with Disabled Catholics (ACI Africa)

The Vatican hosted a virtual listening session with Catholics with disabilities on Thursday as part of the Synod on Synodality process. People from more than 20 countries participated in the video call hosted by the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life on May 19, with some expressing concerns about experiences of discrimination and exclusion. A participant from France with Down syndrome shared on the call: “At birth, I could have been aborted. I am happy to live.” “I love everyone and I thank God for creating me,” she added, according to the dicastery. Other participants from Mexico, Liberia, Ukraine, and other countries also took part in the discussion of some of the synod’s preparatory questions, including: “How are we walking with Jesus and our brothers and sisters to proclaim Him? For the future, what is the Spirit asking our Church to grow in our journey with Jesus and with our brothers and sisters to proclaim Him?”... Father Alexandre Awi Mello, the secretary of the dicastery, said that one of the challenges posed by the global synodal process is to “overcome any prejudice of those who believe that those who have difficulties in expressing themselves do not have a thought of their own, nor anything interesting to communicate”...

Synod: Series of free online courses on discernment and decision making (Vatican News)

A host of Catholic institutions are teaming up to offer a series of free, online courses to explore discernment and decision making in the Church, as part of the ongoing Synod on synodality...

Experts debate meaning of ‘synodality’ for Global Church (Crux)

Throughout July, some 100,000 people will be able to participate in a free, online seminar about synodality, curated by three theologians from Latin America and including witnesses from all around the world. “Common Discernment and Decision Making in the Church” is the theme of the first in a series of courses that will be hosted by Boston College’s School of Theology and ministry, sponsored by the bishops’ conferences of Latin America, Europe, and Asia, as well as the Jesuits in Latin America and the organizations of superiors general of male and female religious congregations...

Archbishop Nkea at WMOF: Synodality is a life that is lived (Vatican News)

Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Bamenda reflects on the synodal process in Cameroon and encourages the participation of the faithful at all levels...

Catholic Bishop in South Sudan Announces “Diocesan Week” on Synodality End of July (ACI Africa)

The Catholic Bishop of Rumbek in South Sudan has announced a “Diocesan Week” to be realized at the end of July with participants focusing on the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality... “The main focus will be on the theme of Synodality as proposed by the Universal Church and the three words or concepts: communion, participation and mission”...

Catholic Media Entities in Africa Urged to Foster “a more inclusive, participatory Church” (ACI Africa)

Catholic media entities in Africa have been urged to embrace the spirit of the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality by incorporating all members of society, including “more women and young people”, in their respective governance structures...

Synodal Path “only way to Address “common global challenges”: Bishops in Zimbabwe (ACI Africa)

Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe have, in their latest Pastoral Letter, described the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality as the “only way” the people of God have to resolve the crises they face in life, including “common global challenges”... They add, “As a Church, we have the mandate to continue Christ’s mission in the world today. The synodal path represents the only way for the Church and for the world today.” “By choosing this path, we choose to listen and not just hear the other; we choose to journey together and not alone; we are choosing the way of consensus not dictatorship”...

Africa Given “a voice to be heard”: Catholic Archbishop in Cameroon on Synodality (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality has finally given Africa a voice to be heard by the rest of the world, a member of the Synod Council in Rome has told delegates of the 19th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) in Accra, Ghana. In his presentation on the second day of the July 25 – August 1 Plenary Assembly that has brought together over 120 Catholic Bishops in Africa and Madagascar, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda in Cameroon said that the process leading to Synod on Synodality is also a chance for Africa “to craft out its own identity as a Church.” “Many people often say that the future of the Church is in Africa. I don't know whether Africans themselves say this, but all I can say is that Synodality at the continental level gives Africa the opportunity to craft out its own identity as a Church,” Archbishop Nkea said in his Tuesday, July 26 address. He added, “The continental stage of the synodal process simply means that Africa has been given a chance for her voice to be heard in the world as Africa. But better still, Africa has been given a chance to hear her own voice on her own soil about what she wants for herself”...

The abuse of the liturgy in Milan with mass being "celebrated" on a profane floating mattress. There is no interest in this "ceremony", Sacredness is abused, abolished, profanity is now called worship. Worship is no longer worship it is a community act, with communal participation, which is not worship but merely participation or activity, these translations, trivializations are not only in Milan but are wide spread and detract from the idea of the Council WE Catholics love. These virulent processes of putting these types of liturgical reforms into practice are born from what BXVI properly labeled the media council, these abuses we see are detached from the proper council, that of faith. We know the media council (fake news to some) was and still is accessible to everyone and it created and still creates many disasters causing the real Council to defend itself as opposed to the virtual council who made sure the media was standing by the floating tube to show the world the results of Vat II....AMDG....most mine some not.

Vatican Enlists Influencers to Get Young, Disenchanted Catholics to Answer Synod Survey

Now that parishes have recorded testimony from the faithful and compiled it in official reports, the Vatican is sending the message that they want to hear from those they may have missed – young or inactive Catholics who failed to show up at the parish meetings...

“Doing synodality” among Highlights of “Diocesan Week” on Synodality in Rumbek, S. Sudan

The need to go beyond discussing about the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality to “doing synodality” is among the highlights of the recently concluded “Diocesan Week” on synodality in the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek, the Bishop of the South Sudanese Episcopal See has said...

Both from ACI Africa

Synod on Synodality Giving Women Opportunity to Voice Concerns: South African Theologian (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality is offering women an opportunity to voice their respective concerns as members of the Church, a South African female theologian has said. In an interview with ACI Africa following the recently concluded Diocesan level the synodal process, Annastacia Mphuthi said that women are enabled to make known their thoughts regarding inequality, discrimination and issues impeding women’s full participation in the Church in the ongoing synodal process. “Pope Francis with the synodal process is giving us an opportunity to listen, to speak up and to voice our concerns; he is encouraging us to come together,” Ms. Mphuthi who heads the Department for the Office of Divine Worship and Liturgy of South Africa’s Johannesburg Archdiocese said during the Monday, August 15 interview. She expressed her satisfaction with the ongoing deliberations, saying, “We really need this; it shouldn’t stop here. An ongoing synodal process will be helpful for women; it will assist women to continue raising their voices”...

As the synod prepares to enter the "continental Phase'' The general repporteur Cardinal Hollerich a Jesuit from Luxembourg is quoted today as saying that he had "no personal agenda" after being asked about his quote earlier this year saying that he believed that the "sociological scientific foundation" of the church's teaching on homosexuality was "no longer correct". Participants in the diocesan phase of his diocese called for a change in church teaching on homosexuality and abolition of mandatory priestly celibacy. He also said he was given a concrete task by his fellow Jesuit PFI....JMJ....

>130 brone:

Can we see the full quote, please? And who or what is PFI?

called for a change in church teaching

There is nothing wrong with calling for a change in Church teaching. People do it all the time, and have done through the millennia. Theologians do so routinely. Theology has been described as “faith seeking understanding”; our faith in God revealed in Jesus Christ prompts a questioning search for deeper understanding. You yourself appear to challenge Church teaching on the liturgy, social justice and violence. That's OK, and indeed it's healthy that questions are raised and clarified, although it is best done with charity in a non-toxic environment that does not threaten the unity of the Church. But as Pope Francis and others have said, it is not the questioners nor theologians who decide Church teaching, it is the Pope and the bishops. They are the ones who will decide where there can be a development in Church doctrine, and where the theologians and questioners of whatever ilk will be told, "thank you for your concern, but no", or at least "not yet".

Only Holy Spirit Will "hijack" Synod on Synodality: Cardinal at Vatican Press Conference (ACI Africa)

At a press conference in the Vatican on Friday, two cardinals introduced the “continental phase” of the Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality — and assured journalists that the only one "hijacking" this synod will be the Holy Spirit... The summaries sent to Rome from bishops’ conferences “are the fruit of discernment from the syntheses received from the dioceses,” Hollerich said, while the syntheses of the dioceses come from the “listening sessions” and surveys of parishes, associations, movements, religious congregations, Catholic schools, and Catholic universities. Vatican dicasteries, Eastern Catholic Churches, international unions of religious congregations, institutes of consecrated life, and societies of apostolic life have also submitted summarizing documents to the Vatican for consideration. Hollerich also mentioned a social media survey that was shared by 237 Catholic “influencers,” and more than 100 institutions, in seven languages... At Friday’s press conference, Cardinal Hollerich and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, emphasized the importance of listening and discernment... “the consultation of the People of God demands discernment,” Grech said. “Not everything spoken is the voice of the Spirit: one must grasp within the sound of voices, the voice of the Spirit,” he added. “Therein lies the function of discernment, which is already operative in the process of listening, when the community converges on a point”...

The cardinal also dismissed a question asking if he was afraid that political interests might hijack the synod... Cardinal Grech also responded to the question, commenting that “the synod will be hijacked by one, the Holy Spirit, if I can use this term.” Hollerich said the work of the synod “is not to create a ‘shock’ for the Church,” as one journalist had asked, “but to listen to what the People of God are saying.” “It is a very complex thing that cannot be reduced to simple positions, and I think that the model of the synod is a model based on ecclesial consensus,” he said.

I love that concept, that "the only one 'hijacking' this synod will be the Holy Spirit". It calls to mind the Second Vatican Council. A text was prepared by the theologians and experts in the Vatican (the "bureaucrats" and "desk jockeys", as brone has labelled them previously), but the Holy Spirit had other ideas, and the world's bishops gathered together in solemn Ecumenical Council cum Petro et sub Petro were inspired by the Holy Spirit to "hijack" the process and completely reject that text in order to produce the groundbreaking Sacrosanctum concilium. We eagerly await the Holy Spirit's "hijacking" of this Synodal process. Veni Creator Spiritus!

On the Continent of Europe the Phase seems to be novelty masses, a couple of months ago we had the shirtless priest celebrating the rubber reclining chaise mass in the harbor in Itlay. In Austria recently in the diocese of Graz-Seckan we have the annual "sports liturgy" mass, featuring the helmeted bicycle riding priest led by a juggling (bowling pins) baseball hat on backwards acolyte, with you guessed it teenaged girls cheer leading all this sacredness on right before the gospel, the congregation all 25 of them sitting on the floor,being entertained by a rock band. How unoriginal seeing this you would think you was at a high school basketball game in the USA. The Vatican must be happy with all this it is such a relief from all those backward TLM Masses that they are hearing about....JMJ....

>133 brone:

Oh what a load of nonsense. The Holy Father has criticised all forms of liturgical abuse. The two examples of mass to which you refer are aberrant and are not approved. I presume TLM is code for The Latin Mass (but correct me if I'm wrong)? The Latin Mass is not only approved but it is the normative mass from which all vernacular translations stem. The mass on which restrictions have been placed, but which is not "banned" as it is permitted in certain designated locations, is the Tridentine Rite, ie the rite, not the Latin language. And liturgical abuses have nothing to do with the Synod on Synodality.

A load of nonsense this "mass " was for sure. The facts behind this load of nonsense is that the bishop of this diocese approved this nonsense, he himself was appointed bishop by Francis in 2015, Wilhelm Krautwasili on the one hand supports "ars celebrandi" saying that it would be the focus of the synodal process which begs the question does Krautwasili know what some of his clown mass priests are up to and has Francis so micromanaged his pontificate that he doesn't no what some of his appointed bishops are up to....AMDG....

>135 brone:

Try to be specific. You mentioned the mass on the floating mattress, which has been discussed already in this group. It was not approved by the archdiocese, an investigation was launched, and the priest himself has admitted that it was imprudent. Now, if you're concerned about another mass which none of us have heard of before, and you want your complaints about it to be taken seriously, please give us the details so that we can read about it rather than relying on the brief and incoherent snippets which you have provided so far.

A load of nonsense this "mass " was for sure

Is any mass really "nonsense"? It may be aberrant, it may be illicit, it may fail to conform to some of the rubrics, but even with all these defects the mass may still be valid. Is a valid celebration of the mass "nonsense"? I think you're entering dangerous theological territory there, my friend.

he himself was appointed bishop by Francis in 2015

Yes, that's what popes do. They appoint bishops to vacant dioceses where the bishop has retired or died. As far as I know Francis has appointed over 250, including five in South Sudan. There is a long canonical process of consultation with the nuncio, the local bishops' conference, and the clergy and laity of the diocese concerned. The pope does not personally know every one of the more than 400 thousand priests in the world, so he relies on the recommendations of those who do know the priests in a particular diocese. In South Sudan we had dioceses which were vacant for ten years due to the complexities of the consultation process in an active war zone in a country where communications and logistics are difficult at the best of times. Thank God (and Francis and the nuncio) that all but one of our seven dioceses now have bishops.

I note you don't reply to my mention that Latin masses are not banned. It is the defunct Tridentine rite which has been restricted, but again not banned, only limited to certain particular places.

Incidentally, I struggle to see how any of this is relevant to a thread on the Synod on Synodality.

Cardinal Hollerich: Spirit at work in the Synod (Vatican News)

“I am convinced that we are facing an ecclesial dialogue without precedent in the history of the Church,” said Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, speaking Friday at a Vatican press conference introducing the second, continental, stage of the ongoing synodal process. The first stage of the Synod on Synodality was focused on local churches (dioceses and eparchies) and other ecclesial realities, and saw “hundreds of thousands of meetings taking place all over the world, and involving ecclesial realities of various kinds.” The Cardinal, who serves as General Rapporteur of the Synod, said, “It was impressive to discover the enthusiasm and creativity of all these groups." He explained that the first stage should be understood “as the culmination of communal spiritual discernment,” and that the syntheses produced by the various groups aimed “to gather and express the fruits of the synod process in a way that is understandable even to those who did not participate, indicating how the Holy Spirit's call to the Church was understood in the local context”...

The problem of the "synodal" path, is that the voice of the laity as it is interpreted by the Synod's elite is not the voice of tradition but the voice of anti-tradition. The Pope is an anti tradionalist to his core. Anti tradition will break the link to the apostolic revelation of the apostles and that of Christ Crucified, no spiritual good will come of it and much harm....AMDG....Mother Most Admirable pray for us.

>138 brone:

Again, utter nonsense. Who are "the Synod's elite"? Where is your evidence that the pope is "an anti tradi{ti}onalist to his core"? Who is trying to "break the link to the apostolic revelation of the apostles and that of Christ Crucified"? I agree with you of course that no spiritual good would come of doing that, but in the real world that is not what is happening. The Church is traditionalist by its very nature - Scripture and Tradition. That's who we are.

Your problem with the interpretation of "the voice of the laity" is that the majority of the laity in the world (and almost certainly in the USA too) does not happen to agree with the voice of a small but vocal and visible group of laity in the USA, UK, France and one or two other countries, which you happen to be part of, an elite group which you have described elsewhere as "good Catholics" and set in opposition to the rest of the Church "who will destroy our faith and its practices". Your voice will indeed be heard in the Synod (at least if you and your ilk bother to participate sincerely rather than just sniping from the sidelines) but it will apparently be at odds with the leadership of our Church and the vast majority of Catholics.

It is easy to find truth, hard to face it, harder still to follow it....AMDG....Mother Most Pure Pray for US.

>140 brone:

Yes, we agree on that. The Church is calling us to face the truth and to follow it, and the Synod is part of that process.

Agreement how unusual! ....JMJ....Seat of Wisdom Pray for Us.

The US dioceses have completed Synodol consultations,low turnout and confusion of the purpose of the synod has raised questions about the value of the process. How ever newly appointed Cardinal McElroy put his two cents in claiming the US is eager to put down permanent roots of the process, with less than 2% of the catholic population participating he's going to need a lot of rooting powder to make that horse jump....MJ....Our Lady of Victory Pray for Us.

>143 brone:

Yes, I have noted before that we were not hearing the sort of enthusiastic reports from the USA that we were hearing from other parts of the world. Perhaps Cardinal McElroy was right when he said that US Catholics often do not see themselves as part of the universal Catholic Church (link):

McElroy said that he sees his new responsibility as a cardinal as two-pronged: to point to the universality of the global Catholic Church and to be in union with Peter — the pope — as the center of the church. U.S. church leaders, he said, "tend not to see ourselves as part of a global community very often." As a cardinal, McElroy says the invitation he has been given is to help expand the U.S. church's global vision. "That's a very heavy lift in the United States," he added. "We tend to look at things through an American lens through a deep degree"...

Not his view of it .

>145 brone:

Could you elaborate? I don't understand your comment.

McElroy is full of what makes the grass grow green. Is all right for other countries and people of indigenous areas to where head gear, dance native dances, where their country's costume. When Americans go about their everyday business of observing the church's precepts as we see them as Americans praying for the pope, giving alms in a big way (Knights of Columbus top charity in the world) praying for peace, for Unity and most importantly supporting our priests and nuns we somehow tend not to be global.... JMJ....Our Lady of Sorrow Pray for Us.

>147 brone:

So you're the victims of some massive global conspiracy? People are picking on you? Good grief. But changing the subject is a time-honoured way of trying to avoid discussing an issue, which in this case is the Synod on Synodality. Whatever the reason, Catholics in the USA seem not to have taken advantage of the opportunity to make their views known, as you yourself admit in >143 brone:, so any claims of victimhood ring very hollow indeed. If you're offered the opportunity to be heard and you don't take it, then nobody but yourself bears the responsibility.

as we see them as Americans

Look, the USA is not monolithic, and you do not speak for all US Catholics. Probably Cardinal McElroy doesn't either, but what he says in a reasoned tone rings more true than incoherent rants about victimhood, and certainly sounds much more like what I experienced when I lived in the USA and was involved with Catholic parishes, universities and institutions. It also reinforces what I hear from those US Catholic missionary priests and nuns that you are so supportive of, and US Catholic aid agencies who presumably are spending some of that funding from the Knights of Columbus, which incidentally is also one of the biggest insurance companies in the world, about which there have been allegations of fraud (here). I would add that KOC is very selective about which Catholic projects it supports (here), and more recently I have seen it turn down very credible pastoral and humanitarian projects serving the poorest of the poor in Sudan and South Sudan.

praying for the pope

Hopefully so, but sniping against the pope seems to be more visible.

Pope Francis' big gamble: The synod on synodality (NCR)

Pope Francis' synod on synodality, which will take place in October 2023, is the greatest gamble of this papacy. It may succeed in bringing greater unity to the church, or it could result in greater conflict and division. Synods under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI were stage-managed affairs, where the agenda and debate were carefully controlled. Curial cardinals instructed the gathered bishops what topics could not be brought up or discussed. Although the purpose of the synod was to advise the pope, speakers spent most of their time quoting the pope to himself: "As you so wonderfully said ..." Rather than advising the pope, the synod was an opportunity for the bishops to show their loyalty to the pope and his teaching. Francis broke this tradition in his first synod in 2014, the synod on the family, where he encouraged the members to "speak boldly" and not worry about how people reacted to their words. It is hard to overestimate how extraordinary this was. Francis may have gotten more than he bargained for, as bishops not only disagreed with one another but also criticized the pope, something no bishop would have dared do under earlier papacies. The heavy-handed censorship of earlier, more conservative papacies resulted in pent-up frustrations among those who wanted to continue the reforms begun at the Second Vatican Council. Conservatives, meanwhile, felt a sense of entitlement, confident that the Vatican supported their views. This allowed conservatives to criticize progressives as being unorthodox and disloyal to the pope. All this changed under Francis. Suddenly, conservatives saw a papacy doing things they did not like, saying things that they considered unorthodox. Those who had prided themselves on loyalty to the papacy suddenly began attacking it... Francis has pushed back on what he terms "politicizing" the synodal process. He stresses that the synodal process beginning in parishes and dioceses should be a time of prayer, listening and discernment, not a time for pushing agendas. It is about consensus-building and finding God's will, not mobilizing supporters to get a majority vote for your agenda. For Francis, you might say that the synodal process is more important than the results. For Americans, who are result-oriented, this is unintelligible. Francis sees the experience of prayer, listening and discernment as a way of healing divisions and building the Christian community. If we are not true to the process, the results are meaningless...

Non-diocesan Catholic groups submit their own synod reports to the US bishops (NCR)

Inmates, college students, climate activists, LGBTQ people, clergy sex abuse survivors, health care professionals, church reform advocates and older Catholics are among those who have participated in their own listening sessions for the grassroots consultation that has been held ahead of the 2023 Synod of Bishops in Rome. In all, 110 non-diocesan Catholic groups—universities, advocacy nonprofits, religious congregations, ministries and private associations of individuals, among others — submitted their own synodal "synthesis" reports this year to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops...

It doesn't mention those who favour the Tridentine rite of mass, nor others who are often critical of Church teaching since Vatican II, but hopefully they also submitted their own reports to the Synod process.

No one is listening to this synodal nonsense, bring back the faith of our fathers then we will listen....AMDG....Queen of Prophets pray for us

Southern Africa’s Synodal Process an Opportunity to Discuss “new way of being” (ACI Africa)

The Secretary General of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) has said that the Synodal process in the three countries of the Conference, Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa, allowed people an opportunity to gather together to discuss “a new way of being”...

U.S. synod synthesis shows ‘desire for greater communion’ (CNA)

The Synod on Synodality has thus far demonstrated the “joys, hopes, and wounds” shared by members of the Church in the United States, according to a report on the process issued Monday. “These consultations express a deep desire for greater communion,” read the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Synthesis document, released Sept. 19. The fruit of consultation in the Latin-rite dioceses in the U.S, as well as Catholic associations, organizations, and national ministries, the synthesis noted several themes: enduring wounds, especially those inflicted by the sexual abuse crisis; enhancing communion and participation in the life of the Church; ongoing formation for mission; and engaging discernment... it is “an expression of what we as a Church have heard each other say when asked about our deepest preoccupations and hopes for the Church of which, by the grace of God, we are all a vital part”... “the publication of this document is not a concluding moment, however; it is a reflective, forward-moving moment. It is an invitation to listen, to discuss together and to discern together as the Church, about how best to understand and act upon those matters that sit deeply in the hearts and minds of Catholics in the U.S.”... Division within the Church was also a major wound, especially related to the use of the Traditional Latin Mass: “The limited access to the 1962 Missal was lamented; many felt that the differences over how to celebrate the liturgy ‘sometimes reach the level of animosity. People on each side of the issue reported feeling judged by those who differ from them.’” Division among the bishops was also noted: “The perceived lack of unity among the bishops in the United States, and even of some individual bishops with the Holy Father, as a source of grave scandal. This perceived lack of unity within the hierarchy seems to, in turn, justify division at the local level.” Marginalization was another wound highlighted in the synthesis, with two groups highlighted. The first is those with a lack of social or economic power... The second marginalized group, the report said, “includes those who are marginalized because circumstances in their own lives are experienced as impediments to full participation in the life of the Church... a desire “to be a more welcoming Church where all members of the People of God can find accompaniment on the journey...

‘Full members of the Church’: Catholics with disabilities contribute to Synod on Synodality (CNA)

Catholics with disabilities delivered to Pope Francis on Wednesday a report they prepared for the Synod on Synodality... “I think the big message, which I think is being heard now, is that people who are disabled are actually full members of the Church,” Father Justin Glyn, a Jesuit priest from Australia, told CNA Sept. 21. Glyn, who is blind, said there is a history in the Catholic Church of seeing people with disabilities as “recipients of charity, objects of pity.” “Whereas I think now the message is very much that we are full participants in the Church, we are people who are part of a Church that walks together synodally,” he added...

Synodal Process Entails “reciprocal listening”, Discerning the Spirit: Nuncio to Namibia (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality entail the fostering of “reciprocal listening” and the discerning of the Spirit, the representative of the Holy Father in Namibia has told delegates of the 13th Plenary Assembly of the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA)... “Synodality is about reciprocal listening, where everyone has something to learn by listening to the Word of God, responding to the signs of the times and trying to discern what the Spirit is saying to the Church in their prayer and dialogue with one another,” Archbishop Wells said... “In exercising this reciprocal listening as an activity of doing something together (journeying together), we tend to interact, listen and learn from each other, cooperate and exchange ideas and together make decisions.” He went on to describe the ongoing Synodal process as “an essential dimension of the Church” and explained, “It expresses the Church's nature, form, style, and mission, and is what the Lord asks the Church in the third millennium”...

Africa’s Synodal Contributions Should Foster “walking together” Approach: Vatican Cardinal (ACI Africa)

There is need for the people of God in Africa to foster the approach of “walking together” as they participate in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality, the Prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development has said...

Do as I as I say not as I do....AMDG....

Synod: An exercise in hope (Vatican News)

Synod advisers meet outside Rome to consider 'time for change' in Catholic Church (NCR)

Synodal Journey Calls for Implementation of Ordinary Activities: African Panelists (AMECEA)

“Our daily African experience of life is rich enough to provide reflection material we can use in order to contribute to the universal synodality process,” African panelist has shared at a Webinar session urging the African Church to uphold the cultural values that brought the people together for this is what synodality calls for...

Speaking of the Synod I've been "listening" it is presented as a pastoral approach to "accompanying" the " faithful". The hierarchy in the Vatican and their immediate allies have been highly enthused, but sorry guys no one else seems to be interested and are simply confused by it all. I wonder if previous synods or approaches to synods could have been as boring as this one. Of course we hear the fair and balanced line from the Vatican, I think not, does Rome listen to TLM devotees as much as they listen to LGBTQ+ catholics. Cardinal Gerhard Mueller warned us just last week a serious "hostile Takeover" is now going on inside the Church Herself which must be resisted....JMJ....St Pius V Prayfor Us.

>162 brone:

I don't think you've been reading all the posts about ordinary people all over the world who are highly enthused. Speak for yourself. You are not interested, and neither is the small group with which you align yourself. Fair enough; that's your opinion. If you choose not to engage with a process which gives you the chance to engage, then again, fair enough, that's your choice, but then don't complain about not being heard, and don't continue sniping at a process from which you choose to distance yourself.

Can I once again ask for some clarification on "TLM devotees"? The Latin Mass is freely available. Why don't you avail yourself of it? It is the Tridentine rite which has some limitations and restrictions placed upon its celebration, not the Latin Mass.

Vatican’s Synod on Synodality Organizers Say Synod is ‘fruit’ of Second Vatican Council (ACI Africa)

In a message marking the 60th anniversary of the opening of Vatican II, the organizers of the Synod on Synodality called the Synod of Bishops a “fruit” of the council. Quoting Pope Francis, the synod’s general secretariat on Monday said the synod was “indeed one of {the Council’s} most precious legacies.” “The purpose of the synod was and remains to prolong, in the life and mission of the Church, the spirit of the Second Vatican Council,” the message said. “The concept of ‘synodality’ is found throughout the council, even though this term (only recently coined) is not found expressly in the documents of the ecumenical assembly”...

The "listening Phase" in the US was listened to by about 0.01% of the faithful, why should they listen the Bishop's can't get a word in edge wise. 53 moto proprios (more than BXVI + JPll combined) has boxed the episcopate in. All the catorgorizing of people in a sociological sense is a danger as for example the affirmation of the LGBTQ+ immediate demands as the breath of the spirit. The most dangerous idea is the democratization of the Church, this idea they say will attest to the presence of the holy spirit, one wonders what church will come out of the synod will it be Catholic. The alarm is great, although few will say so....AMDG.... Our Lady of Peace Pray for US.

Furthermore if you are not sure what the Synod of synodality means you aint alone, very few know what it is about. Cardinal Gerhard Muller, former head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has warned us that the SOS is engaged in a hostile takeover of the Church. As for me the bus driver in the pew as far as I can figure it, it is a multi year process of the usual elite fakers banqueting, meeting, forming ad hoc committees after which they strech their legs and do a little "walking together" listening and gathering opinions from the faithful and the not so faithful. They have'nt gotten around to our pews yet to listen. My humble insight is what I see here posted on the subject and a little research on me own. Now don't take this as gospel but from what I gather from these guys after they have listened to the Spirit and everybody else they dont need to hear from us. You guessed it these geniuses have already heard from the Spirit. I guess the Holy Spirit has already told one of the top characters, Hollerich was listening one night and the Spirit told him " the Churches teaching on homosexuality is no longer correct" saying "its about time" " we need a fundamental revision of doctrine here" ah! whats one doctrine here or there. Now getting back to the pew I might ask do you guys think ya might say something about the new movements in the Church such as young families flocking to latin Masses. No they say the Spirit has told us to take care of the victims, you know gay "marriage", Trans rights, women priests, Communion for everyone, social justice is our goal....AMDG....

>165 brone:

I'm truly sorry to hear that so few Catholics in the USA felt inclined to engage in this discernment process, although you don't cite any source for those figures so who knows how accurate they might be. The Pillar gives the US figure as 1.37%, not 0.01%. If things do not go the way that the non-participants would like, they have only themselves to blame, although I fear they will continue sniping at the Church from the sidelines.

The most dangerous idea is the democratization of the Church

So it's a good thing that the Synod has nothing to do with the idea of "democratisation" but everything to do with participation. The Church is not a democracy and nobody is trying to make it so, but she is trying to increase the participation of Catholics, including those prodigal sons and daughters who have lost their way (cf Luke 15:11-32). Sad that many Catholics appear to be mirroring the elder son and spurning efforts to facilitate, welcome and celebrate their return.

I'm afraid the rest of your post and >166 brone: appears to be mainly innuendo and disparagement.

Pope Francis Announces Decision to Extend Synod on Synodality to 2024 (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis announced on Sunday that the Synod on Synodality will be extended to 2024. Speaking in his Angelus address on Oct. 16, the pope shared his decision to divide the Synod of Bishops into two sessions that will meet in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024. Pope Francis explained that he made the decision "in order to have a more relaxed period of discernment." “The fruits of the synodal process under way are many, but so that they might come to full maturity, it is necessary not to be in a rush," Francis said. “I trust that this decision will promote the understanding of synodality as a constitutive dimension of the Church, and help everyone to live it as the journey of brothers and sisters who proclaim the joy of the Gospel,” he said...

I always thought the timetable was a bit optimistic considering the complexity of the process and the amount of interest and participation which it has garnered (except perhaps in the USA!), so this extension is a welcome development.

“Let’s Walk the Synodal Journey in a Clean Environment” Fidei Donum 2022 Convention Call (AMECEA)

Diocesan priests who serve as missionaries in different parts of the country have thrummed up testimonies on the joy of reaching out to the underserved communities to evangelize as witnesses of Christ for a healthy environment. The priests shared mission experiences and challenges during their annual Fidei Donum assembly, held on September 30, 2022, at the Watakatifu Wote Pastoral Center in the Catholic Diocese of Ngong. The National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Kenya, Fr. Bonaventure Luchidio, explained this year’s theme, “Witnessing in a Synodal Church for a Clean Environment” saying, “Our idea is to remind ourselves and the world that we are witnesses of Jesus, and this meeting helps us to sink into this reality and give ourselves that identity as missionaries of Jesus and the environment"...

Synodality, “a pastoral imperative” for Catholic Church in Congo Brazzaville: Bishops (ACI Africa)

Synodality is “a pastoral imperative” for the people of God in Congo Brazzaville as they participate in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality, Catholic Bishops in the Central African nation have said. In a statement shared with ACI Africa Wednesday, October 19, members of the Episcopal Conference of Congo-Brazzaville (CEC) say, “Adopting the notion of synodality means opting for ‘us’, thinking and acting as a team, in synergy, in communion, combining our efforts for the same cause and the same mission.” “Our local Church feels the need to rediscover synodality, to walk together against the temptation of pastoral narcissism, of turning in on oneself, of identarian or cultural confinement, of isolation and rejection,” CEC members say. They add, “In the light of the multiple crises in the Church and society, synodality appears to be a pastoral imperative both at the level of the universal Church and at the level of our local Church.” “As far as we are concerned, we received the Gospel of Jesus Christ almost 140 years ago (1883-2023). The Church in Congo has come a long way. We are already looking towards the second centenary of our evangelization,” Catholic Bishops in Congo Brazzaville say...

Catholic Students in Africa Pour Their Hearts Out to Bishops in Synodal Conversations (ACI Africa)

Catholic students from various universities across Africa have shared their Church experiences and concerns in a meeting they held with Bishops on the continent, expressing their desire “to be heard” and to be supported in the challenges they face...The aim of the planned Papal dialogue with African university students is to stir the participation of the youth in the Synodal conversations, and to inspire them to be engaged fully in the “life of the Church and society”...

"Reaching out to the undeserved communities". Who might they be?

Role of women must be tackled 'urgently' in Catholic Church (The Tablet)

Catholics want the role and vocation of women to be tackled urgently, according to a new report that has come out of the synodal listening process. The landmark synod report says that Catholics repeatedly express the desire for a more welcoming, inclusive Church that eradicates the misuse of power...

Another interesting snippet: the Synodal process is described as "the largest consultation exercise to have been conducted in human history". It's a very comprehensive and thoughtful article which is worth reading in full.

If the synod could eradicate the misuse of power and the alienation caused by the current pope and his appointees im all for it....AMDG....

SUDAN, SOUTH SUDAN: Bishops’ Conference Ends Plenary with Call to Journey Together with Christians in Phase II of Synodal Process (AMECEA)

The synod is listening to those who for various reasons, feel a tension between the church and their own relationships such as: Remarried divorcees, single parents,polygamous marriage, LGBTQ+ people, who else is whinning, after more listening they are hearing about the role of women, diaconate, priestly ordination, positions of power, preaching. The solution the WD of the synod says is "a new culture for salvation, with new practices and structures. How does all this happen Hollerich an co. say, Well this happens by "walking together" a simple tip toe through the tulips. As for the ancient Teachings of the Church given to us by Christ (we all thought until now) is a problem with this crew. Those living in adulterous "marriages"/ men who have two or more wives/ People who believe they are not the sex they were born as/ Women deacons, priests, preachers/ Lay people who want the same authority Tto bishops and priests/ So these things they think will strengthen the church, They call us backward if we show the slightest mi-trust when they convene. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot....JMJ....

Furthermore, the WD states; "to use biblical image one could say the synodal journey marked the first steps of the return from an experience of collective exile, (I don't think he means "The One True Church" here) the consequences of which affect the entire people of God; if the church is not synodal no one can really feel at home", let's pray that some bishops who are among those of us who are in collective exile (backward) will stand up for the Church in exile and condemn this vatican sponsored exercise in self destruction....AMDG....

Synod on Synodality: Vatican Reveals Framework for Next Stage of Discussions

The Vatican revealed on Thursday a key document to guide the next stage of discussions in the Synod on Synodality. The working document, titled “Enlarge the space of your tent,” covers issues across a broad spectrum, from the clergy sexual abuse crisis to Christian unity. The text calls for “a Church capable of radical inclusion” and says that many synod reports raised questions about the inclusion and role of women, young people, the poor, people identifying as LGBTQ, and the divorced and remarried. The 44-page working document is officially called the DCS (Document for the Continental Stage). It summarizes the reports shared with the Vatican by bishops’ conferences, religious congregations, departments of the Roman Curia, lay movements, and other groups and individuals...

Use Synodal Process to Address “pressing challenges”: Vatican Cardinal to Church in Africa

A Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization is calling upon the people of God in Africa to use the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality, which Pope Francis has extended to 2024, to find solutions to the challenges they experience...

Inside Pope Francis’ Envisioned Two-hour Dialogue with Catholic Youth in Africa

dialogue between Pope Francis and young people drawn from various Catholic universities from African countries... over 3, 000 people will follow the virtual event which has brought on board youths from nine African countries to seek solidarity with the Holy father in the challenges they face on the continent. Countries participating in the initiative of the Pan-African Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) are the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Congo Brazzaville, Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon and Ivory Coast. Other countries will be roped in at the end of the six-month pilot project that is aimed at stirring the participation of the youth in the Synodal conversations, and to inspire them to be engaged fully in the “life of the Church and society”...

Cardinal in Nigeria Expresses Solidarity with Youth ahead of Dialogue with Pope Francis

Peter Ebere Cardinal Okpaleke exudes confidence that the Papal engagement with the young people will also lead to a renewal of the Church on the continent. “I wish you a fruitful conversation with the Holy Father, and look forward to the renewal of the Church in Africa through your energy, creativity and resourcefulness"...

All from ACI Africa

In Germany this week I chatted to some of my German Catholic friends about the German Synodal Path, which is of course a different process from the Synod on Synodality but which has popped up from time to time in this thread. I'm told that the German Church is not monolithic and that views vary widely both from diocese to diocese and within each diocese, a diversity which is not always reflected in soundbites. I'm also told that certain dioceses have a history of open-minded bishops while others have had a succession of more "conservative" bishops.

Completely off topic, but this morning, the feast of All Saints, a small group of us found ourselves in a beautiful Bavarian baroque church which was completely empty, so we took the opportunity to spontaneously sing some Latin chants in three part harmony. The acoustics were superb. We also lit some candles for the repose of the soul of my elder sister who died last week. RIP.

Synodal Process Opens “new horizons of listening, understanding”: Kenyan Catholic Bishop (ACI Africa)

On the other hand our cathedral church was full on All Saints day, with two priests and two deacons on the altar, the next day All Souls day the cathedral was well attended but not full I only wish our church was of baroque architecture not the post vatll hockey ring style....JMJ....

>183 brone: I only wish our church was of baroque architecture

The baroque style is very beautiful but I find it a bit too fussy for my taste, and the amount of detail is often overwhelming. I really like some of the simpler Saxon, Norman and Gothic styles, Durham Cathedral being one of my favourites. I find some of the (pre-Vatican II) Victorian and 20th century churches are a bit too plain and boring, rather reminiscent of London Transport red-brick bus garages, but nevertheless are places of reverent prayer and worship. Post-Vatican II I have never seen a "hockey ring style" church, but I have seen some excellent designs. The chapels at Worth Abbey and Taize are two that stand out in my own experience as being both beautiful and prayerful.

I've just spent a few days on holiday in Rome and we were able to visit a number of beautiful old churches there. The sense of being in a place where people have prayed for hundreds (or even thousands where a church has been built on a pre-Christian religious site) of years is tangible. The cathedral at Santiago de Compostela, St Michael's tower on Glastonbury Tor, Greensted Church (probably the oldest wooden building in Europe still standing), and many less famous churches are amongst those which come to my mind.

Is a small group of ex-Anglicans fuelling fear about the Church’s synod process? (Tablet)

It’s a remarkable document. The synthesis released last week that pulls together the results of the unprecedented listening and discernment exercise in the Catholic Church over the past year doesn’t gloss over difficulties the synod process has faced or offer a “last word” on every contested topic. Instead, it attempts to capture the “sense of the faith” of an extraordinarily diverse, dynamic, multi-cultural universal Church. The report is not an opinion survey or a sociological exercise but a Holy Spirit-listening exercise that urges the People of God – lay people, clergy and bishops – to continue “walking together” along the synodal path, in spite of the pitfalls. The synod process has faced resistance and, in some cases, rejection. Several local church reports spoke of “fears and resistance” from some clergy... One of the strongest currents of resistance comes from a relatively small group of ex-Anglicans, including some former Anglican clergy who are now Catholic priests...

Marian Eleganti Archbishop Emeritus of Chur Switzerland, a former monk and abbot, on the Synod, " The Church has not taken the wrong road in 2,000 years to be enlightened and undeceived in the 21 century by a synod process". " we don't need a slimmed down replacement for Vatlll called a synod on synodality" Paraphrasing here, instead what we get is the same old song and dance we have been hearing from the 70's. We know all the tunes we have heard them over and over ad nauseum. Participation of women, sexual morality, sexual morality out side of marriage, Homosexual "marriage", remarriage, centrality of priests in the liturgy, We know, we know, they stick all this in a bottle and label it with warm and toasty labels such as "listening, diversity, inclusiveness, equality, welcoming" ect. Their big one is "discernment" you know the Holy Ghost is on their side, A child can see this thing is in the bag, what hypocrites. Lets see if Admin finds some excuse to censor this post....JMJ....

The Bishop of Tyler Texas in quoting the Emperor Chas V who said, " A single monk led astray by private judgement, has set himself against the faith held by all Christians for a thousand years or more, and impudently concludes that all christians up until now have been in error". Bishop Strickland then speaking of the synod in Germany says, " the same could be said to day of the synodal path in Germany. It would be better to call them Luther 2.0." Seeing that this group is called "traditional catholic" I don't see anything in this post that would upset a censor....AMDG....

It would be helpful if you would cite a source for these quotes so that we can read them in full in their original context.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe they are from Archbishop Eleganti No Longer Trusts the Synod published by the Priestly Society of St. Pius X. I understand this group is not in full communion with the Catholic Church (cf eg here). Interesting that you quote a schismatic Catholic publication to bolster your opposition to a Catholic synod.

>192 brone: Please note again that the German Synodal Path is a different process from the Synod on Synodality, and also note my comment in >181 John5918: on the diversity of opinion within the German Church.

Please note also that posts are not censored. You are free to post your opinions as long as you respect the posting guidelines for this group. Posts which do not respect the group will be removed not for their substantive content but for failing to meet the guidelines of this group. “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity,” (variously attributed to a number of theologians including St Augustine of Hippo and John Wesley).

The Archbishop made the quote, that an irregular not a schismatic society outlet picked it up, does not diminish the archbishop's standing in the church. Anyone who loves the Traditional Liturgy of the SSPX may attend and fulfill their sunday obligation, SSPX may licitly hear confessions and absolve sins this from Francis himself, so are you saying that just their publication is schismatic or have you some other info that the rest of us don't know, Its interesting that your quick to down play the Archbishop and Bishop of Texas but mention John Wesley a schismatic from the Anglican church which is schismatic from the Roman Church on an equal footing with the Bishop of Hippo....JMJ....

>194 brone:

I have cited a source suggesting that SSPX is not in full communion with the Church. You are free to cite sources disputing this.

If Francis says they can here confessions, and the faithful fulfills its Sunday obligation then the source is Francis, not in full communion is not schismatic, I said it was irregular or better yet your counciliar ideology says its irregular many good Catholics think it is quite regular, furthermore PF has been more conciliatory to them than Benedict was....JMJ....

A new trial balloon being floated at synod central "polygamy" I know its outlawed in the US, the Church seems to have some new concerns about this. Is thier an issue with polygamous catholics somewhere that are not listening to the Holy Spirit....JMJ....

>196 brone:

There's nothing new here. Sacraments celebrated by a suspended priest have always been deemed valid but illicit.

>197 brone:

Polygamy is of course an issue in societies where it is a cultural norm and is not illegal. However I'm not aware of any push to allow it within the Catholic Church - in Africa, I think the bishops' view is quite the opposite. Can you cite a source for this "trial balloon", or it it just rumours and "fake news"?

It has been mentioned in the fake news of the working document on the synod, I remember when there was no push to say that the church teaching on homosexuality was incorrect, but it was said to be "incorrect" by the realtor general of the synod and now polygamy shows up in the latest document but not "pushed" yet....JMJ....

>199 brone:

Thank you. Now I know where to look for it and we'll be able to have a conversation.

Edited to add: I've been looking at Synod documents including the Working Document for the Continental Stage (here), and I haven't been able to find any reference at all to polygamy, and the word homosexuality only crops up once as part of a list of issues which "were raised up across the Dioceses both rural an urban" in southern Africa and in which "{t}here were of course differing views on these and it is not possible to give a definitive community stance on any of these issues”. You seem to be more obsessed with these sexuality issues than the majority of Synod respondents. But if you have found reference to them could you not simply cite your source instead of leaving us all floundering?

And could you explain what you mean by "the fake news of the working document on the synod"? It's a document published by the Vatican and I don't think there is any doubt about its provenance. Again, if you're aware of fake versions circulating, could you share the details with us, please?

Listening, “a necessary prerequisite for faith development”: Catholic Bishops in Nigeria (ACI Africa)

Catholic Bishops in Nigeria have emphasized the need to foster the virtue of listening in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality describing the practice as “a necessary prerequisite for faith development”... also underscore the need to promote “dialogue” alongside listening. “The Synod on synodality has listening and dialogue as essential components. Faith comes through hearing”... They describe listening as “a necessary prerequisite for faith development. It is an integral part of synodality, for it is only by hearing that we discern properly as a Church"... “at the different levels of the Church, the pastors and the people are to cultivate an attitude of patience, attentiveness to and respect for the views of others"...

In the working document its mentioned twice in the whining section, "those who have been neglected" flounder around a little more and its also mentioned in the 14-15 family synod....... The bishops of Nigeria should foster the virtue of self defense. If the 90 people murdered just last month and the thousands murdered in the last few years were a little more "patient" "listened" a little more, and respected the views of the jihadist murderers then all would be synodal....JMJ....

>202 brone:

It seems impossible for you to post anything without being disparaging. I have no idea what you mean by "the whining section", and your derogatory and demeaning comments about people murdered in Nigeria are in very poor taste indeed.

"those who have been neglected"

I assume you are referring to paras 38-41. Worth remembering, perhaps, that while polygamy is rare in the Global North (apart from in certain sects in the USA), it is part of the established culture in many countries in which Christianity has been introduced. I repeat that I see no push to allow polygamy, but nevertheless it is an issue with which the Church has to deal, and it certainly leads to a lot of women being excluded through no fault of their own. Also worth remembering that Jesus reached out to the marginalised and excluded.

mentioned in the 14-15 family synod

Which is of course a completely different synod to the current one. There is a whole thread on that synod and the ensuing post-synodal apostolic exhortation Amoris laetitia. It's some years since I read it in detail, but that document does indeed mention polygamy in a paragraph (53) which is listing some of the issues which undermine and weaken marriage. In no way can it be seen as "pushing" polygamy; indeed it is doing quite the opposite.

Synod Inspires “new energy in Church’s pastoral communication” in Africa: Catholic Bishop (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality is inspiring a new “energy in the Church’s pastoral communication apostolate” across the African continent, a Catholic Bishop in Nigeria has said... Bishop Emmanuel Adetoyese Badejo expressed appreciation to the Holy Father “for the refrain that has always come back since the Synodality process began, which is not to leave anyone behind.” “Synod and communication is already a big challenge in Africa,” Bishop Badejo said... “We are grateful because the Synod has actually inspired a new energy in the Church’s pastoral communication apostolate, all over Africa.” “The African Church has always cherished the themes that come up in the Synod on Synodality, the themes of participation, of communion and of mission”... “the first Synod of Bishops for Africa in 1994, took place when the genocide was going on in Rwanda and the Church in Africa still had the courage to select for it's pastoral theme: The church as family of God in Africa.” “Participation and working together is always a desire that Africa has always had,” Bishop Badejo said, and added, “The themes that have appeared in the Synod on Synodality and the synodality process have helped Africa to re-energize the values that the Church already had”... “The values that we mentioned here give a voice to everyone working together, not leaving anyone behind and listening to one another, the whole theme of listening has been part of Africa.” “That's exactly what happens in a good family. In a good family, only the individuals listen to one another, and even when there are differences, the family does not necessarily break up, so it has been part of Africa and that is why we are happy to own the theme that appeared in the preparatory document of the Synod: Ubuntu,” he said... “There is an African proverb that says whoever is not willing to learn even from the madman can never be completely wise. That means even a madman has something useful to contribute to the community and if you are not ready to listen to him, you can never truly be completely wise”...

"Truly not an easy task": German Bishops Begin Talks in Rome amid Synodal Way Concerns (ACI Africa)

Amid ongoing concerns over the German Synodal Way, the president of the German Bishops’ Conference on Monday at the Vatican said unity and renewal in the Catholic Church was “truly not an easy task”... Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg announced the German bishops would “openly and honestly address” the topics of the controversial process during their ad limina visit in Rome this week...The German bishop said there was “a lot of lack of understanding about our process in Rome.” “That’s why I’m very grateful that we really have a lot of time to talk about this together. This is a real opportunity”... Cardinal Walter Kasper, a theologian considered close to the pope, in June warned that the German process is at risk of “breaking its own neck” if it does not heed the objections raised by a growing number of bishops around the world — and concerned Catholics in Germany...

It certainly "won't be an easy task", blessing homosexual marriage will be "breaking its own neck"....JMJ....

Synod on Synodality Call to Heal “wounds of violence, division”: Bishop in South Sudan (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality is a call to heal “wounds of violence and division” that the people of God in South Sudan have experiences, the Bishop of the country’s Rumbek Diocese has said... Bishop Christian Carlassare described the Synod on Synodality, which the Holy Father extended to 2024 as “a call to conversion from a clerical church to the Church that is the family of God.” “The Synod calls all faithful people to see themselves as members of this Samaritan Church who (are) called to cure the wounds of violence and division, proclaim the Gospel of conversion and salvation in Jesus Christ,” Bishop Carlassare said during the Thursday, November 17 interview. He said that the Synod on Synodality challenges the people of God to take up the mission of being part of the Samaritan Church “in person and as community”. “Christians are called to drop the idea of the Church as an international humanitarian agency who provides support besides speaking about God, and to rediscover their belonging to this community of faith that is missionary in nature and count on the generosity and active participation of all faithful,” he added... “We are called to promote a Church finally owned by the faithful people all together in communion among Clergy and Laity, men and women, young and old.” The synodal conversations “will build a community that is finally able to dialogue with the people of other Christian denominations, religions, worldviews and traditions,” he added. The Synod on Synodality provides an opportunity “to build communities that rediscover the importance of being rooted in Christ and evangelize”...

Reading this article led me to reflect on the "wounds of violence and division" within the Church which need healing. There's the physical violence of sexual abuse, the cultural violence against many indigenous peoples, the emotional violence of exclusion, and more. Then there are the divisions, most obviously with those who describe themselves as "traditionalists", as well as the divisions within the larger Christian family. Reconciliation and healing are needed in many spheres, and the Synod is a vehicle which could help facilitate this. All are invited to participate, including (perhaps especially?) the "lost sheep" and "prodigal sons and daughters" so beloved of Jesus in his parables. Let's pray that those who might feel they remained within the fold like the 99 sheep and the second son will play their part in welcoming one and all.

What divisions are you talking about can you be more specific, Traditionalists are against ,physical violence, sexual abuse, violence against native peoples, I know of no one excluded from the Catholic Church I attend....AMDG....

Synodality Path Inspiring Evangelization Ministry into Future: Archbishop in South Africa (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality offer inspiration for the Church’s ministry of evangelization into the future, the Local Ordinary of Cape Town Archdiocese in South Africa has said... Archbishop Stephen Brislin said the path of Synodality has made it clear that “we are ‘Church together’ – with different roles”. “The path of synodality, which has always been part of the Church, is now inspiring us to look to the future, and to ‘look to the stars’, so to speak, to determine how we can re-invigorate our determination to evangelize,” Archbishop Brislin said... He reflected on the challenges at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, saying, “We are all too aware of how people have suffered during the past two years and the ongoing consequences of COVID-19.” Participation in the Synodal process has “deeply inspired” the people of God amid the challenges of the coronavirus... He went on to reflect on the fruits of Synodality in his Episcopal See and the entire Church. He said, “The process of the synod has helped us to reflect on the life of the Church in the world and the life of the Church of Cape Town.” “We’ve become aware through the process of the fact that we are ‘Church together’ – with different roles, it is true, but that the Church is really Church when we are together as people, Religious and Clergy, praying together, listening to each, dialoguing and discerning the signs of the times and our response to them”...

The Hollerich path will if accepted by the Church cause a bigger schism than the Reformation....AMDG....

>207 brone:

I think it is extremely unlikely that the Church will agree to the blessing of homosexual marriages - apart from anything else it would probably be opposed by the bishops in the continents where most Catholics live - so that particular bit of scaremongering is getting a bit stale. Those who wish for schism will need to find another excuse.

Arkansas diocese presses ahead in effort to make church life more ‘synodal’ (Crux)

While the U.S. Bishops as a whole gear up for the continental phase of the Synod on Synodality, the lone bishop of Arkansas is maintaining a diocesan focus as well, recently announcing his plan to continue the process at the local level...

Eastern Catholic priorities ‘coincide beautifully’ with Pope’s synodal focus (Vatican News)

Bishop Bryan Bayda of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Toronto and Eastern Canada highlights the importance of synodality and joint efforts between the Eastern and Western churches, saying that they can learn from each other...

Good to see these positive reflections on the Synod from the north American continent, given some of the conversations above suggesting that in some parts of the USA it has not been so well received.

And from Africa: Ongoing Synod on Synodality Meeting to Give “modalities” for Africa’s Continental Assembly (ACI Africa)

The ongoing meeting on preparations for the Synod on Synodality in Ghana’s capital, Accra, aims at generating “modalities” for Africa’s Continental Assembly scheduled to take place next year...

African Church to Emphasize on Prayerful Discernment and Listening to Local People During Continental Stage of Synod (AMECEA)

At an ongoing meeting in Ghana’s capital Accra for members of the African continent to develop strategies on how the continental stage of synod should take place, the team is stressing the need for deeper discernment through prayer and listening to the local people...

I wonder which part of "prayerful discernment" and "listening" those Catholics who oppose the Synod object to?

I've just got home from a Catholic Nonviolence Initiative conference in Rome, where Sr Nathalie Becquart, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, spent a whole day with us and gave an interesting presentation on the Synod on Synodality in which she also described it as "an expression of nonviolence".

There's a video report from about a year ago of Nathalie talking about the Synod on Synodality here.

Incidentally, as part of the conference, we heard that Pax Christi groups in north America have made their own submissions to the Synod on Synodality independently from the diocesan consultations, perhaps a further encouragement to any dissatisfed or dissenting Catholics that there is room for all voices to be heard.

Trinity Offers “easily accessible insight” to Grasp Synodality: Nigerian Catholic Entity (ACI Africa)

The Holy Trinity, the relationship of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, provides “unique and easily accessible insight” for grasping the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality, members of the Catholic Biblical Association of Nigeria (CABAN) have said. In their latest communiqué shared with ACI Africa Friday, December 9, CABAN members say the Synodality process comprises the life and character of the Trinitarian God “who in the Bible does everything inseparably together from creation, through redemption, to sanctification, for the good of humanity and creation.” The Biblical scholars in the West African add, “We posit that this awareness of how our Trinitarian God, the different parts of our human body, and the parts of creation work together offer unique and easily accessible insight for understanding synodality and how the Church that desires to become a truly synodal Church, and whose members together are ‘the body of Christ’, should live and work together in service to the gospel”...

Synod on Synodality Opportunity to “journey together in truth”: Catholic Bishops in Chad (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality offers an opportunity for the Catholic Church in Chad to “journey together in truth”, Catholic Bishops in the North-Central African nation have said. In their Christmas 2022 Message shared with ACI Africa Monday, December 12, members of the Episcopal Conference of Chad (CET) say reflections on the theme, “For a synodal Church: communion, participation, mission”, has been at the center of many meetings in “all the Dioceses of our Church Family of God which is in Chad during the pastoral year 2021-2022.” “Church and Synod are synonymous because the Church is none other than the journey together of the people of God on the paths of history to meet Christ the Lord,” CET members say. They note that in the ongoing Synodal process, “many people have experienced, along the way, the joy of meeting as brothers and sisters in Christ, of sharing what listening to the Word has caused to resonate within them and of asking themselves about the future of the Church.” For the Church to demonstrate more communion and participation, the Catholic Bishops say that the people of God “must work in synergy in all areas of its mission”...

“Church and Synod are synonymous because the Church is none other than the journey together of the people of God". That's a striking and deeply theological phrase.