Synod: Cardinal Aguiar Retes' opening address - Full text

1st General Congregation
2 October 2024
OPENING ADDRESS FROM CARD. CARLOS AGUIAR RETES
Delegate President of the Synod

I would like to begin this opening greeting by recalling a reflection which Pope Paul VI put forward in his first encyclical “Ecclesiam Suam” in the context of the Second Vatican Council, and which I believe is still valid in relation to the current challenges we face in achieving the New Evangelization, indicated by Pope Saint John Paul II as indispensable to transmit the Faith with hope, joy and effectiveness to the new generations, and especially to all those who suffer the unfortunate consequences of the inequality and social polarization so widespread in many of our countries.

Pope Saint Paul VI stated: “These two policies of Ours-which are yours, of course, as well-lead naturally to a third policy, which has to do with the relations which the Church must establish with the surrounding world in which it lives and works. … It is at this point, therefore, that the problem of the Church's dialogue with the modern world arises. It will be for the Council to determine the extent and complexity of this problem and to do what it can to devise suitable methods for its solution (Ecclesiam Suam, 12, 14).

On behalf of those present here and of all the bishops, priests, religious, consecrated men and women, and the faithful in general, who are participating in the synodal process, and which today begins its culmination with the present 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, I express our gratitude to the Holy Father Francis for his providential convocation; for we have perceived in this process the growing awakening of the Church to establish synodality as the proper way of life to strengthen the fraternal bonds of the great family of God, on pilgrimage towards the House of the Father, as a priority basis for responding satisfactorily to the present challenges of our time.

In particular, I have appreciated through the greater participation of the ecclesial sectors the importance of listening to the varied and very positive perceptions of the faithful, about the evangelizing mission; as well as its needs, and also its very encouraging fruits, which undoubtedly strengthen us, especially the bishops, priests, and pastoral workers to continue with greater enthusiasm and more accurately our responsibilities, and to combine the efforts in the synodal process, making real what You, Holy Father affirmed in paragraph 5 of Episcopalis Communio: “The Bishop is both teacher and disciple. He is a teacher when, endowed with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit, he proclaims to the faithful the word of truth in the name of Christ, head and shepherd. But he is a disciple when, knowing that the Spirit has been bestowed upon every baptized person, he listens to the voice of Christ speaking through the entire People of God, making it ‘infallible in credendo’”.

Therefore, with a great conviction as pastors, we must continue our efforts with the greatest possible determination and hope, because the inertia of the traditional pyramidal model of exercising ecclesial authority at its different levels continues to remain in a good part of the priests, faithful and even in some of our brother bishops.

We will walk in this confidence throughout these weeks, listening to the Word of God and the word of our brothers, and sharing what the Holy Spirit is sowing within us.

Now that we have seen the benefit of the journey towards a Missionary Synodal Church, and with God's blessing, let us place our firm hope in the assistance of the Holy Spirit. Always remembering that in this earthly life there is no fullness, the achievements are only an encouragement not to falter on the way and to persevere to the end.

In this regard, it seems appropriate to recall the beginning of the Encyclical Spe Salvi in which Pope Benedict XVI states: “According to the Christian faith, ‘redemption’—salvation—is not simply a given. Redemption is offered to us in the sense that we have been given hope, trustworthy hope, by virtue of which we can face our present: the present, even if it is arduous, can be lived and accepted if it leads towards a goal, if we can be sure of this goal, and if this goal is great enough to justify the effort of the journey”.

Indeed, I trust that all of us present, having lived through the synodal process since 2021, although we have noted the real difficulty of renewing our particular Churches, have perceived how, our faithful and pastoral workers in particular have become enthusiastic, full of hope, in achieving a fraternal, supportive, subsidiary Church, which shines a light in the difficult circumstances of our contemporary era.

In this way, we will make tangible what is expressed in paragraph 6 of Episcopalis Communio: “The Synod of Bishops must increasingly become a privileged instrument for listening to the People of God: ‘For the Synod Fathers we ask the Holy Spirit first of all for the gift of listening: to listen to God, that with him we may hear the cry of the people; to listen to the people until breathing in the desire to which God calls us’”.

It is therefore very timely, in this Assembly that we begin today, to recover our awareness of the promise of Jesus, who said: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them”.

Let us then allow ourselves to be led by the Holy Spirit, and let us experience how good the Lord is to those who trust in Him!

May God the Trinity and the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, accompany us in this way!