In 2021, Pope Francis announced the start of what he called \u201ca Synod on Synodality\u201d \u2013 a two-year process meant to explore ways to promote a more \u201cSynodal Church\u201d. <\/p>\n
Unfortunately, many people still don\u2019t know what that means. Unless they speak ancient Greek, in which case they\u2019d know that the word \u201csynod\u201d means \u201cjourneying together\u201d, literally \u201con the same path\u201d. <\/p>\n
While the word may begin to make sense, a lot of the headlines relating to the synodal process don\u2019t. Instead of \u201cjourneying together on the same path\u201d, the whole operation sometimes looks like a free-for-all: social media is abuzz with calls to end priestly celibacy and ordain women priests, demands to restructure local parish management, and more. <\/p>\n
But, according to Pope Francis, that\u2019s what makes it a process. And that\u2019s why it takes so long. \u201cA synodal Church,\u201d he says, \u201cis a Church that listens.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cListening\u201d has been at the heart of nearly all the Church\u2019s attempts at renewal since the momentous days of the 2nd Vatican Council. The Council only concluded in 1965. Which is not that long ago. At least for some of us. <\/p>\n
It brought together thousands of bishops, and others, from all over the world, to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit and to open up new paths for the Church in the modern world. <\/p>\n
Cardinal Mario Grech is Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops. During an exclusive interview with Rome Reports, he described the present Synod on Synodality in a way that\u2019s not very different from previous descriptions of Vatican 2\u2026 <\/p>\n
CARD. MARIO GRECH A \u201cspiritual process\u201d is very different from a democratic process, where those with the most votes win. That could be bad news for anyone trying to impose their own ideology, or hoping this Synod will overturn established Church traditions, or modify official Catholic doctrine. The Synod may be an open system in which everyone is given a voice, but it\u2019s definitely not a smorgasbord-buffet. <\/p>\n CARD. MARIO GRECH Pope Francis has very clear ideas about what he means by a Synod-style Church. For one thing, he means greater openness, collaboration and mutual listening. But he also wants to consolidate another key element of the 2nd Vatican Council: giving greater responsibility to lay people. <\/p>\n It\u2019s something he\u2019s already started doing right here in the Vatican. But he\u2019d like to extend it, finding ways to encourage more active participation by the faithful, in their parishes and dioceses, all over the world. <\/p>\n One of the best ways to avoid confusion about this Synod is, quite simply, to reflect on its full title, which actually expresses its aim and purpose quite well: \u201cFor a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission\u201d. <\/p>\n And considering it\u2019s still in the consultation and listening phase, it might also be a good idea not to get too carried away by those pretending to predict the outcome \u2013 when, really, the fun has only just begun.<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" June 23, 2022. In 2021, Pope Francis announced the start of what he called \u201ca Synod on Synodality\u201d \u2013 a two-year process meant to explore ways to promote a more \u201cSynodal Church\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":43763,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/W6RuDAFeDrM","video_descarga":"http:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/CONFIDENCIAL OBIETTIVO SINODO ENG.mp4","international_url":"http:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/CONFIDENCIAL OBIETTIVO SINODO ENG.mp4","type":"bn","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43762"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43762"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43762\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43763"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43762"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43762"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43762"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>Secretary General of the Synod
\n'It\u2018s a spiritual process. And if we don\u2019t invoke continuously the Holy Spirit, we will fail.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>Secretary General of the Synod
\n'The central theme of this consultation is what are we going to do? What are we expected to do in order to create this Synod style for the Church.'<\/em><\/p>\n