Head of Vatican’s Synod office places trust in voices of faithful

Cardinal Mario Grech has stressed that bishops have a duty to listen to the people of the Church when making decisions that affect the institution and its members.

The head of the Vatican’s Synod office says that when it comes to hot-button issues such as the reception of Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics and the blessing of same-sex couples, dialogue cannot be limited to doctrinal concerns, but must also include pastoral considerations.

“These issues are not to be understood simply in terms of doctrine, but in terms of God’s ongoing encounter with human beings,” said Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops.

“What has the church to fear if these two groups within the faithful are given the opportunity to express their intimate sense of spiritual realities which they experience?” he asked. “Might this be an opportunity for the church to listen to the Holy Spirit speaking through them also?”.

Summit

Grech’s comments came during a virtual address on September 22 to the annual summit of Leadership Roundtable, an organisation that promotes a model of co-responsibility between ordained and lay people as a best practice for church governance, as reported by The National Catholic reporter.

“The whole people of God must be involved in the synod,” Grech informed the summit, which was held in Washington D.C.

The Vatican entity named the “Synod of Bishops” has begun to modify its branding to “the Synod,” which is meant to signal that both the office and the process is open to everyone.

“The Synod has been transformed into a listening process,” he continued. “The Synod does not exist separately from the rest of the faithful.”

Frascati

As the cardinal offered his virtual address, a group of more than 24 theologians and pastoral leaders from six continents were meeting in Frascati, Italy, to take the more than 100 national synod reports and synthesise them for the next stage of the global synod, which takes place at the continental level over the next year, before an October 2023 gathering in Rome. This gathering in Frascati will continue until October 3.

Grech noted that he had twice read the report from the United States which included the involvement of some 700,000 individuals. He remarked that the involvement was “unexpectedly high”, even though it represents just over 1% of the country’s 66.8 million Catholics.

Listening

The cardinal, who has spent much of the last year addressing synodal gatherings around the globe, said that listening is the “founding act of the synod” and a “true pastoral conversion of the church”.

He said that he often reminds bishops that while they are responsible, that “there is no flock without a shepherd” and “there is no shepherd without a flock”.

“Bishops have a duty to listen to their people,” he continued, adding that all the baptised are “empowered by the sacraments of baptism and confirmation”.

“Let us trust in our people,” he said. “Let us trust that the Holy Spirit acts in and with our people. And this Spirit is not merely a property of the ecclesial hierarchy.”

Serious concerns

While the cardinal recognised that there are some bishops and others who have “serious concerns” about where the synodal process will lead the church, he said that he hopes it will reveal that there is “legitimate” diversity in church life, but that should not lead to rupture among believers.

“The ties which draw the faithful together are stronger than those which separate them,” he said. “Let them take unity in what is necessary, freedom in what is doubtful and charity in everything.”

Whether it be LGBTQ Catholics or those who favor the Latin Mass, Grech said that “everybody should be listened to” and “nobody is excluded”.

“I hope the synodal process,” he concluded, “will provide an experience that will inaugurate a much-needed spiritual, systematic and missionary renovation for the whole church”.

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