Synod: Cardinal Hollerich's opening address - Full text

1st  General Congregation
2 October 2024
OPENING DISCOURSE OF CARD. JEAN-CLAUDE HOLLERICH
General Relator of the Synod of Bishops

Good afternoon. It seems right to start with a cordial "Welcome" to those - not many - who have joined us at the Second Session without having attended the First. I hope you felt welcomed. But I continue immediately with a "Welcome back" equally cordial, addressed to all those who are here for the second time. It was nice to meet again, it’s a sign that really between us the familiarity and friendship have grown, and that the past year has not erased them.

So here we are again: the faces of those around each one of us are known, the classroom is the same, and so are the tables. As far as I’m concerned, even the place is the same as last year. Although some tables have been moved, I believe I am not the only one in this situation. This helps us to feel at home, but perhaps not to realize something very important. The Second Session is not a repetition or even a simple continuation of the First, in respect of which we are called to take a step forward. This is what the People of God expect from this Synodal Assembly.

So, I thought that at this moment it might be useful to reflect on what is different between the First and Second Sessions, in order to better tune ourselves with our new task.

The objective of the Second Session

The first, and most important, difference is that of the purpose of the two Sessions, which also defines the character of our being together and our exchanges. The aim of the First Session was to allow us to know each other, but above all to enable each one to acquire a better knowledge of the Churches from which others come, of their situation, of the way they live the mission, of the priorities of their action, their concerns and questions about the synodal nature of the Council. With an image, we could say that in the First Session we were called to look at each other through the eyes of the others. It was a fascinating, sometimes arduous journey which brought to light the many differences of which the Church is a bearer - language, culture, traditions, gender, condition - and led us to recognize them as a wealth and a gift from God. As the Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session states, «The experience of pluralism of cultures and the fruitfulness of their encounter and dialogue is a condition of life in the Church, not a threat to her catholicity» (IL2, n. 81).

From that experience and full of wonder and gratitude for the wealth that the Spirit gives to the Church, in this second session we are instead called to focus our gaze, or rather to discern together where to turn it, indicating possible paths of growth along which to invite the Churches to walk. The aim is that those riches do not remain locked in a chest, but enter into the circuit of exchange of gifts that nourishes the communion of the Church as a whole. The guiding question for this Second Session invites us to this: «How can a missionary synodal Church be?» on which all the Churches of the world have been consulted

The Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session, on which our work in the coming weeks is based, offers us a "distillate" of what we as the Church have learned along the way over these three years. Significantly, its title reproposes the guiding question of the Second Session - «How to be a missionary synodal Church» -, but dropping the question mark. This is exactly the step we must take together as an Assembly.

The Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session

This brings us to the second important difference. When you received the Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session, you will have realized at first glance how different it is from that prepared for the First. The work tool is different because our task is different.

The Instrumentum laboris for the First Session was a collection of questions, in particular in the Working Papers. It invited us to question ourselves and above all to tell: the answers to those questions were above all the story of the experience of our Churches. Quite different is the Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session, in which the question mark appears a dozen times, compared to more than 300 of the previous one - I took the trouble to count them. It seems to me a good indicator of the step forward that the Second Session is called to take and a clear invitation to focus all our attention in one direction.

At the service of our effort, the text of the Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session condenses what we can consider to be the main achievements matured during the synodal process in relation to the themes addressed. The experts who collaborated in its drafting, whom I wish to thank here for their commitment - many are present in this Hall, but not all -, started from the Synthesis Report of the First Session and the results of the second consultation of the local Churches. They also took the previous documents into consideration. They as well considered the results of the international meeting "Parish Priests for the Synod", about which we have already heard a testimony, and the materials produced by five working groups set up by the General Secretariat of the Synod.

To be able to use the Instrumentum laboris well, it is necessary to focus on its nature: it is not a draft of the final document that simply needs to be amended, but the collection of the results of a process that is our task to discern. It is up to this Assembly to indicate where to place emphasis or underlining, because this is something particularly important; it is also up to us to discuss what needs to be deepened and reformulated. It is above all our duty to indicate the direction in which we feel that the Spirit asks the whole Church to proceed, entrusting the Holy Father with guidelines and perspectives for the phase of implementation.

The working method

The differences in the Intrumenta laboris of the two sessions correspond to those of the working method we will follow. Of course, we will always have time for group work (the circuli minores) and time for plenary work (the General Assemblies), but compared to last year the dynamics of both change. You will have seen this in the information on methodology (the document entitled "How we will work together") which we received in recent weeks or the regulation.

The working groups will continue to follow the method of conversation in the Spirit, but with some adaptations to the specific objective of this session. We will receive more precise information on these novelties tomorrow morning. Our facilitators have followed three days of training, in order to be able to accompany us at the best. We thank them for this.

We will also receive more information on the work in plenary. I am only emphasizing here the choice to give a greater focus to our exchanges. For this reason, in each of the four modules that we will become familiar with from tomorrow, the first task of the Assembly will be to approve the order in which the topics will be addressed during the many hours (for three modules, there will be nine) of plenary available, Based on a list to be drawn up by the group. We asked the Chairpersons to play a proactive role in helping us not to derail the priorities that we ourselves will approve, and for this reason they too have been trained. But their task will be easier if each one helps them by exercising a little self-discipline. However, each module will provide time for interventions on topics that the Assembly has not identified as priorities.

In dialogue with the Study Groups

There is one last difference I would like to stress. Last year, our Assembly was the only body which, at the level of the universal Church, carried forward a reflection on synodality by practicing the synodal method. This year is no longer so. We have companions on the road, which are the ten Study Groups established by decision of the Holy Father in February.

These ten groups are first and foremost the concrete fruit of our work. According to the Holy Father, in fact, «The Synthesis Report of the First Session [...] lists many important theological questions, all of them to varying degrees connected with the synodal renewal of the Church and not without juridical and pastoral repercussions. These questions, by their very nature, require a thorough study. As it is not possible to carry out this study in the time of the Second Session (2-27 October 2024), I dispose that they be assigned to specific Study Groups so that an adequate examination can be made»[1] . In other words, with the establishment of these groups, the reception and implementation of our Assembly’s instructions has already begun.

 This also applies - and I am particularly anxious to stress it - to the working method of these groups. At the moment of their establishment, the Holy Father also stipulated that they «work according to an authentic synodal method» (ibid.), entrusting to the General Secretary of the Synod the task of ensuring that this is indeed the case. This explains, for example, the composition of these groups, which sees the presence of the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia competent on the various topics together with that of pastors and experts from different geographical origins, of different conditions  (men and women, priests, consecrated men and women, lay people) and of different professional competence. The General Secretariat of the Synod has actively participated in the launching of these groups, and continues to follow their work by ensuring its coordination with the synodal process. They are real synodal workshops, from which you will also learn by making an evaluation.

In this sense, these ten groups are also our interlocutors, and we will devote the time that remains with us this afternoon to dialogue with them, inviting a representative of each of the ten groups to update us on the programme they have made for themselves. We will do this within the framework of a quick examination of the contents of the four sections of our Instrumentum laboris, which correspond obviously to the themes of the first four modules of this Assembly. We will thus discover how closely our work and that of the ten Groups is interwoven. In a synodal style, I will not be the only one to speak during the Report of the General Rapporteur. This dialogue may continue in the coming weeks, as you will see that many members of the ten groups are taking part in the work of the Second Session on a variety of different occasions.

An overview of our work

The Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session opens with the vision of the Messianic banquet of the prophet Isaiah (25:6-8). Thus he reminds us that the risen Lord entrusts his disciples «with the task of reaching all peoples, to serve them a banquet made of food that gives fullness of life and joy» (IL2, Introduction). The mission is the horizon of the synodal Church. The text is then divided into four sections. In the first four sections of our work we will focus on each of them, as will be explained more fully tomorrow. For this evening I will only highlight the connections with the ten Study Groups.

The first section is entitled “Foundations”: outlines the horizon within which to place the elaboration of the answers to the guiding question, explaining the theological reference points that have gradually been consolidated in recent years. It is in this context that the Instrumentum laboris recalls the work of the Study Group n. 10, "The reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in the People of God (RdS 7)". The coordinator, His Lordship Most Rev. Paul ROUHANA, O.L.M., Auxiliary Bishop of Joubbé, Sarba and Jounieh of the Maronites will handle this. I remind all who will speak, that they have three, maximum four minutes, after the short video of introduction.

To all of them, our gratitude for the work they have done.

Thank you. It is always in the «Foundations» that the Instrumentum laboris mentions Study Group n. 2, "Listening to the cry of the poor (RdS 4 and 16)". Dr Sandie CORNISH, Australian, who is the coordinator, will speak about it.

Thank you, Dr Cornish. In the Instrumentum laboris to the Foundations «three closely interwoven parts follow, which illuminate from different perspectives the missionary synodal life of the Church» (IL2, Introduction). The first perspective is that of «Relations - with the Lord, between brothers and sisters and between the Churches - which sustain the vitality of the Church much more radically than its structures» (ibid.). Among the themes of this Section is the exchange of gifts between the Churches. Study Group No. 1 reflects in particular on "Some aspects of the relations between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church (RdS 6)". We listen to the presentation of his work by His Eminence, the Most Rev. Card. GUGEROTTI, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches.

Thank you, Your Eminence. Another point of great importance in the «Reports» section is that concerning ministries in the Church and the relationship between charisms and ministries. In this context the work of the Study Group n. 5. It is presented to us by His Eminence, Most Rev. Card. Víctor Manuel FERNÁNDEZ, Prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.

Thank you, Your Eminence, for your intervention. A large space within the «Reports» Section is dedicated to the service of ordained ministers (bishops, priests and deacons) and to building relationships among themselves and with the rest of the People of God. The theme is linked to the work of the Study Group n. 7, which will be presented with a video by its coordinator, Mgr. Felix GENN, Bishop of Münster (Germany).

We thank Msgr. Glenn. Within this framework, the Study Group n. 6 deals with a particular aspect. We are updated in this regard by the coordinator of the Group, His Eminence, Most Rev. Card. Joseph William TOBIN, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark (USA).

Thank you very much, Your Eminence. Let us move on to the second perspective, that of «Paths that support and nourish in concreteness the dynamism of relations» (IL2, Introduction). In the Section, attention is immediately focused on the theme of formation to synodality, which is also being worked by the Study Group n. 4. We are updated on this subject with a video by the coordinator of the Group, His Eminence, Most Rev. Card. José COBO CANO, Archbishop of Madrid (Spain).

Thank you from a distance, Your Eminence. A second crucial theme of this Section is that of the processes of ecclesial discernment and on the modalities of their development. This is the link to the work of the Study Group n. 9, "Theological criteria and synodal methodologies for a shared discernment of doctrinal, pastoral and ethical controversial questions (RdS 15)". The Secretary of the Group, Rev. Fr. Carlo CASALONE, S.I, will speak about it.

We then enter the third perspective, that of «Concerning the Places that, against the temptation of an abstract universalism, speak of the concreteness of the contexts in which the relationships are embodied, with their variety, plurality and interconnectedness, and with their rooting in the foundational source of the profession of faith» (IL2, Introduction). Among the cultures in which to embody the Gospel message there is today also that of the digital environment, to which the work of the Study Group n. 3, whose coordinator, Professor Kim DANIELS, from the United States of America speaks.

Thank you, Professor Daniels. We are in a conception of place that can no longer be defined only by geographical or spatial criteria, but must be understood as a web of relationships. 

This section also includes topics of great significance, such as the relations between the local Churches within universal communion, the role of Church associations, the function of the Synod Institute, and the service of unity that is incumbent upon the Bishop of Rome. The reflection of the Study Group n. 8 on Apostolic Nuncios is placed in this context. The coordinator, His Eminence, Most Rev. Card. Oswald GRACIAS, Archbishop of Bombay (India), reports to us on video.

Although he spoke to us on video, we can thank the Card. Gracias in person, since he is part of the Ordinary Council of the Synod and therefore of our Assembly.

After the section on the Places, the Instrumentum laboris ends with a brief conclusion, which brings us back to the horizon of the meaning of our journey as a Synodal Church, but also as a Synodal Assembly. It seems to me that the concluding paragraph of the Instrumentum laboris, n. 112, can help us today too to carry out our task with the right provisions.

«The prophet Isaiah ends his oracle with a hymn of praise to be repeated in chorus: "Behold our God; in him we have hoped that he would save us. This is the Lord in whom we have hoped; let us rejoice, let us exult for his salvation" (Is 25:9). As the People of God - and I add now, as a Synodal Assembly -let us join in this praise, while as pilgrims of hope we continue to advance along the path of the Synod towards those who are still waiting for the proclamation of the Good News of salvation!».

[1] Letter of the Holy Father to Card. Grech, 22 February 2024, available on the site of the Synod: 240081---ITA---Lettera-Santo-Padre-a-Card.-Grech.pdf (synod.va).