Cardinal Ambongo at Mass: Synodality helps fight evil of division

By Lisa Zengarini

The Eighth General Congregation of the Synod General Assembly opened in the Vatican on Friday morning following Holy Mass presided by Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo in St. Peter’s Basilica.

In his homily, the Cardinal Archbishop of Kinshasa described the Synod on synodality as a “time of grace and discernment”,  and “a new Pentecost”.

He said the Synod “will certainly renew the Church in the communion of its members and in the active participation of all in the life and mission of the Church.”

Asking for God’s forgiveness for the Church’s sins

Reflecting on the day's first reading from the Book of Joel, Cardinal Ambongo drew a parallel between the prophet's words and the current synodal experience in Rome.

He noted that the Church faces “serious crises of confidence and credibility” linked to sexual abuse, abuse of power, abuse of conscience and financial scandals.

“Coming from all continents, and united as one family, in this beauty of unity in cultural diversity, we are also invited to weep and lament before this altar, at the tomb of Saint Peter, because of our weaknesses as a Church,” he said. “We are here to cry and ask God for forgiveness for our sins. But the best way to cry is the courage to undertake the path of repentance and conversion, which opens paths of reconciliation, healing and justice.”

Weapons of synodality against evil of division

Cardinal Ambongo went on to reflect on the day's Gospel of Luke, on Jesus' struggle against the devil.

This reading, he said, “reminds us that the devil is still present and active in our world” and “always seeks to ruin the work of God” by sowing division and discord even in the Church.

“This is why,” the Archbishop of Kinshasa concluded, “we must courageously fight the Evil One, using in particular the weapons of synodality, which require unity, walking together, discernment in prayer, mutual listening and to what the Spirit has to say to us."