Briefing: A Letter for all God's people to continue Synodal journey

By Tiziana Campisi

The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, at the end of its work, will draft a letter-message for all the people of God.

This was said at this afternoon’s briefing in the Holy See Press Office by Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and President for the Information Commission, specifying that the Commission for the synthesis document has thought of a text to tell “as many people as possible, and especially those who have not yet been reached or involved in the synodal process,” about the experience lived by the members of the Synod.

Dr. Ruffini explained that the Synod Secretariat, in agreement with the Pope, submitted the proposal to a vote of the Assembly, which approved it by a very large majority (out of 346 voters, there were 335 in favour and 11 against).

Guests at the briefing on Tuesday included Cardinal Leonardo Ulrich Steiner, Archbishop of Manaus (located in Brazil’s Amazon); Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankevičs of Riga, Latvia, and Secretary General of the Bishops Conference of Latvia; Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and Bishop of Kalookan; and Wyatt Olivas from the United States, the youngest participant in the Synod Assembly.

Nineteen-year-old, Wyatt, a student at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, participated as a missionary in the Catholic youth programme “Totus Tuus” and is a catechist in his home diocese of Cheyenne. He expressed his enthusiasm for his experience at the Synod to the various members of the media.

The Synthesis Document

With regard to the Synthesis Report, Dr Ruffini explained that Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Relator General, announced that the Commission in charge of composing the document had decided that the text would be relatively short and at the service of an ongoing process.

The announcement came on Wednesday morning at the end of the 12th General Congregation, which opened the discussion of the fourth “Module”, on Section B/3 of the Instrumentum laboris, dedicated to the theme, “Participation, responsibility and authority. What processes, structures, and institutions in a missionary synodal Church?”

Cardinal Hollerich said the Synthesis Report will be a transitional text, based on the experience of the Assembly, which will contain the points where there is consensus and those where there is a lack of agreement, as well as open questions that will need to be studied in depth from a canonical, theological, and pastoral point of view, to be verified together with the people of God.

It will have a simple style; it will not be a final document nor will it be the Instrumentum laboris for the next assembly, the Cardinal clarified, adding that it will only serve to accompany the subsequent phases of the Synod on Synodality.

Prayer for migrants with the Pope tomorrow in St. Peter’s Square

The secretary of the Commission for Information, Sheila Pires, reported that Wednesday morning’s proceedings opened with the remembrance of the late Bishop Robert Patrick Camilleri Azzopardi, bishop of Comayagua and president of the Honduran Bishops’ Conference, who passed away on Tuesday.

She also noted that on Thursday afternoon, at the end of the afternoon session, the Synod participants have been invited to gather in St. Peter’s Square for a Moment of Prayer for Migrants and Refugees led by Pope Francis. The event will be live-streamed by Vatican Media.

And on Wednesday morning, Luca Casarini, a special invitee, reported on a rescue in the Mediterranean Sea of 116 migrants from various African countries, in two different boats.

Synodality in Amazonia

Cardinal Steiner spoke of the long experience of synodality in the Church of Amazonia, which has always sought to involve all ministries and all vocations in evangelization and in debates. The Cardinal pointed out that in diocesan assemblies and in the wider assemblies of the entire region, laymen and laywomen participate, and that in recent meetings there have always been indigenous representatives.

“More and more we seek this presence in order to be able to listen and better exercise our mission,” he remarked. The Cardinal added that the Synod is a process and, while solutions are being sought, General Assembly participants are “practicing synodality,” ensuring that “everyone has the opportunity to speak, to express themselves, to say their ideas, always for the good of the Church, always considering the mission of the Church” that is, the proclamation of the Gospel.

“For us who are from the Amazon, it is an extra incentive to continue on this path of trying to listen to everyone and involve everyone in the evangelization process,” Cardinal Steiner concluded.

Responding to a journalist’s question, the Cardinal pointed out that listening helps the Church to understand the communities and their needs, to be a Samaritan Church that is present and merciful. Cardinal Steiner noted that there are 70,000 indigenous people and that listening to the different communities is important because “they tell us how they want to celebrate,” they help us to consider popular piety; in short, they help us to be an evangelizing Church.

The Synod experience in Latvia

Archbishop Zbigņev Stankevičs of Riga, the Secretary General of the Latvian Bishops’ Conference, spoke of the reaction of Latvian Catholics (representing about twenty percent of the country’s population of about two million people) to the invitation to participate in the Synodal process.

“There were ambiguous feelings” at first, he said, explaining that some people who had heard about the synodal paths in Germany had an attitude of rejection, while others thought of it as something very formal. But that changed when the Synodal process began. It became apparent that it was important to listen to everyone, not only Catholics but also other Christians, representatives of other religions, the marginalized, and even non-believers. And then to try to recognize what the Holy Spirit wants to say to the Church today, and to awaken the sense of co-responsibility for the Church’s evangelizing mission in every baptized person.

“And here there is a great challenge, first of all concerning the formation of bishops, of priests,” the Archbishop said, “because their main task is to see the faithful and recognize their gifts, their charisms.” Archbishop Stankevičs also spoke about women in the Church, saying, “They should not compete with men, but complementarity is important.” He affirmed the importance of giving them more space in the Church, but said this must be consistent with what is in the Gospel and in the tradition of the Church.

The Filipino diaspora

As for the reality of the Filipinos, Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, Bishop of Kalookan, said that there are millions of individuals from the Philippines living scattered around the world, noting they are 10-15% of the population of the Philippines, what is called “the diaspora Filipinos.”

Pope Francis jokingly called them “smugglers of the faith”, the prelate confided. They are migrants and workers, and, in practice, have become  “reluctant missionaries” because they have not been trained for this purpose, but are simply trying to live their faith.

Bishop David emphasized that this Synod insists precisely on equality in dignity. "It doesn’t matter if you’re cardinal or archbishop or whoever, we’re all, you know, basically a community of disciples equal in baptism,” he said.

Regarding the challenges facing the Filipino Church, to a journalist who asked him what the priorities are, the prelate remarked on the need for accompaniment for those living abroad, who are “forced by circumstances to become what we call ‘accidental missionaries’” by witnessing their faith in the countries where they work.

Welcoming homosexual persons

Responding to journalists’ questions about the Church’s position with regard to LGBTQ+ persons or those in same-sex relationships, Cardinal Steiner replied that the topic was discussed in the reflections and also during the small group presentations. However, he said, this session of the General Assembly of the Synod is not intended to provide definitive conclusions.

On the subject of homosexual persons, Archbishop Stankevičs recalled Pope Francis’ invitation in Lisbon to welcome “todos, todos,” “everyone, everyone” and added that homosexual persons should also be welcomed “with love, without judging.” He insisted that their human dignity must be respected, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches, and that they must not be unjustly discriminated against. He added that homosexual couples are called to live in chastity, noting that any sexual relationship outside of marriage is a sin; and added that blessing couples who do not accept this principle is a problem because it would mean blessing living in sin.

Bishop David, for his part, noted a strong tendency to label people in terms of gender, sexuality, or political or religious affiliation, but that Jesus looked upon every human being as a child of God.