Synod forum: Local Churches offer ‘richness in dialogue through diversity’

By Edoardo Giribaldi

On the evening of October 16, the second theological-pastoral forum, organized as part of the Synod on Synodality, took place at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome.

"The mutual relationship between the local Church and the universal Church" was the guiding theme for the interventions moderated by Professor Anna Rowlands, a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.

The speakers were fathers and mothers of the Synod assembly, including Professor Antonio Autiero, a priest from the Diocese of Naples; Professor Myriam Wijlens, a Dutch canon lawyer and theologian, consultant to the General Secretariat of the Synod; Professor Miguel de Salis Amaral, a Portuguese priest and theological consultant at the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints; and, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.

Richness in diversity

Cardinal Prevost focused his intervention on two personal experiences related to his episcopal formation. During a pastoral formation course in Rome in 2011, organized by the then "Sacred Congregation for Bishops," he recalled an "emphasis on the role of the bishop in helping local people look beyond the limits of the individual diocese, broadening horizons to promote an understanding of what it means to be part of the Church."

He also recalled that new bishops from Asia and Africa used to attend a separate course in Rome after their election. However, said the Cardinal, “this year the course was organized in close collaboration between the involved Dicasteries, so that everyone could meet.”

Cardinal Prevost shared an assessment of the new teaching method, which was received with great enthusiasm for offering "an experience of the universal nature of the Church that could not be found in any other format."

The opportunity to sit with bishops from all over the world, "just being able to dialogue," made the learning "noteworthy."

Local Churches, he said, are not "mere parts" of the universal Church, which represents "the sum of all." Rather, each particular Church brings a uniqueness and richness to the universal Church as part of their “mysterious being" of the different communities.

The Church that lives in all parts

Speaking afterward to Vatican News, Cardinal Provost emphasized the unity of the body of Christ in the Church.

"Throughout the history of the Church, the formation of local communities has been a reality in different places, but always with reference to the one Church of Christ," the Cardinal Prefect said. “We must not try to understand this as a matter of mathematics or geography, but to see it on a deeper level of communion. The Church lives in all parts."

Entire people of God

Fr. Miguel de Salis Amaral affirmed that all relationships, including the one examined in the Forum, are built on the dynamic promoted by the current Synod, highlighting the importance of the relationship that binds various ecclesial realities.

The Portuguese priest noted that the Second Vatican Council marked the first opening in this direction, referring to local Churches as "part of the whole," in reference to the universal ecclesial community, and at the same time, they are "present and active in the whole."

Quoting Lumen Gentium, the priest highlighted that "in every local Church" resides "the power, the richness of all sacramental and spiritual gifts."

He illustrated this relationship with a metaphor of a slice of cake. "In every portion, there is all the flavor, all the people of God," he noted.

In conclusion, the professor noted the current global context, marked by "polarization, individualism, wars, and a globalization that only informs us about part of reality, but does not always unite us." Faced with this scenario, he said, "pastors" are called to insist "on the Church" and its various fields "where truly human relationships, openness to others, are lived."

Primacy of local communities

Fr. Autiero then pointed out that "the local Church, in its articulations" represents "the place where we can" experience the "synodal and missionary life of the whole Church."

The Neapolitan priest said the issue of the relationship between local and universal communities is linked to the classification of the concept of place.

"The place is much greater," he said, adding that “place” represents the horizon "within which different subjects converge, united by shared intentions, common aspirations" of the Church.

The "character of place" cannot, he added, be reduced to a secondary element but, on the contrary, "enters into the substance" of the ecclesial whole.

Though an individual’s experience of the Church is primarily local, each person can draw on the “principle of unity” though the figure of their local Bishop and his collegiality with the universal Church.

Ecclesiological frameworks are often "questioned and challenged" by this assertion, which "does not merely call for procedural adjustments or marginal improvements to our established practices," but rather instills in consciences "the need for a conversion, both relational and contextual."

Australia’s example of diocesan and plenary councils

Professor Wijlens' intervention focused on the various forms of diocesan and parish pastoral councils, as well as plenary councils.

She noted that "the people of God" expect "much more; they desire canonical norms to transform them into real vehicles of a synodal Church, allowing them to participate in Christ's royal office."

Alongside the diocesan councils are plenary councils, characterized by "structured cooperation" and capable of "expressing notions of catholicity, even for the universal Church."

Professor Wijlens positioned them halfway between local and universal communities. All active bishops in a particular territory participate, but several other categories of people "can and should be invited," including vicars general and episcopal, seminary rectors, deans of theology faculties.

The Dutch theologian offerd an alternative model in the experience of the Australian Church, "which recently celebrated a plenary council" in a context of "deep crisis due to sexual abuse scandals."

The bishops "felt they could not restore trust in the Church on their own," and thus called all the faithful to "take action, so that they could emerge together."

The broader participation of the "invited" members was granted through an "indult from the Holy See," leading to a composition of 44 bishops and 275 faithful.

Professor Wijlens noted that “decisions were fully made even by non-episcopal members," and expressed her hope that such institutions could be adapted to needs in other particular Churches.