Synod Briefing - Day 4: 'We must overcome fear of one another'

By Antonella Palermo

The Synod General Assembly has launched an urgent plea for peace, which was discussed on October 4 during the work at the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality. Participants at the assembly condemned all forms of fundamentalism, saying: "we must all be artisans of peace."

At the same time, there was a widespread call to denounce the "main causes of all evils," namely the arms trade. These proceedings of the Synod were reported on October 5 at the day's press briefing in the Holy See Press Office by Paolo Ruffini and Sheila Leocádia Pires, president and secretary of the Synod’s Information Commission, respectively.

Appeal from Lebanon to respect rights of oppressed people

“Unfortunately, the world remains silent or gives the green light to all this violence because there are too many political and economic interests that have nothing to do with Christian values.”

That was the consideration expressed by Bishop Mounir Khairallah, Maronite Catholic Bishop of Batrun.

In conflict-ridden Lebanon, said the Bishop, hope still persists, so that the Land of the Cedars may continue to be a message of peace.

Bishop Khairallah recalled how the Resolution on the recognition of two States and two peoples (Israel and Palestine) has always been rejected by politicians in Israel.

“I do not say that all Israelis are in favor of violence,” he observed, “only that interests come first, and even the West does not support us as it does not support oppressed peoples. May they have the right to decide their own fate,” he emphasized.

The Synod on Synodality, he added, is a good opportunity to reiterate the centrality of those who suffer most from violence and poverty.

“The greatest decision to be made is that the Church, through the Synod, be a messenger of living together, of respect for the other, and of the need to free ourselves from the fear of the other,” concluded Bishop Khairallah. “This would be a first step as a great recommendation for humanity.”

Haitian Archbishop: 'We are desperate'

Archbishop Launay Saturné of Cap-Haïtien, in Haiti, spoke next to reporters, noting how his country lives in a state of chronic insecurity.

“Those who should have brought order and peace so far have not been up to their responsibilities,” he said, adding that respect for human dignity “is far from being a reality there.”

The Archbishop recalled the recent massacre on October 3 that caused 70 deaths, many houses set on fire, and many displaced, an act of violence perpetrated by armed gangs.

Though the gangs had even announced the violence, nothing was done to prevent it, he said.

“We are in despair,” he lamented, noting that, in Haiti's capital, 70 percent of the population has been forced to flee.

Archbishop Saturné highlighted the negative impact on the lives of young people and the mission of the Church, since many parishes have been closed.

The Archbishop explained that even from an economic perspective, the last five years have seen no progress, as the country is cut in two without the possibility of communication between north and south.

In this context, "Communion, Participation, Mission" emerge as fundamental values to be strengthened, he said, pointing out that many religious groups are trying to transmit them to the new generations, so that one day they can build a society based on them.

The Haitian Bishops' Conference has asked that the so-called political transition times not be too long and has acted as a spokesperson to the “multinational forces” for assuming this responsibility.

Haiti's Bishops, said Archbishop Saturné, greatly thank the Pope for his attention to events in the Caribbean State.

The Philippines and the Missionary Church

Bishop Pablo Virgilio S. David, Bishop of Kalookan in the Philippines, a member of the Synod Information Commission, spoke next.

He recounted the continental consultation with the parish priests that took place between the two synodal assemblies, noting the relationship between synodality and mission in light of the migration phenomenon affecting the Philippines.

Migration in the country, he said, is both international, with Filipinos leaving to work abroad, and internal, as people move from rural areas to cities.

As a result, some urban residents have considered people from rural areas a threat. “When the Pope came in 2015, he told us to go to the suburbs," he said. "And we did. We created 20 mission stations in my diocese.” Thus, the parishes are increasingly transforming in a missionary sense.

Demographic boom and bust

Catherine Clifford, a Canadian professor of systematic theology at St. Paul University in Ottawa, then spoke to journalists about the first week of the Synod second session.

She noted the sincere and frank atmosphere that prevails among Synod participants, especially since they already know one another.

Prof. Clifford said the Western world must also come to terms with the changes facing its Church communities.

“We see that the Global South is assuming an increasingly central role in our conversations,” she said, adding that the important thing is to make clear that despite the many challenges from a demographic perspective and the process of emptying the churches, “the Church is not disappearing.”

Poor people, young people, women, lay people: Not recipients but active participants

Offering a summary of the topics discussed on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication (our parent organization), said the Synod assembly spoke about listening to the cry of the poor and the need to include them as participants and not as mere recipients.

"The path is indicated to us by the least is that we must listen to the cry of the earth and of the peoples," he noted, pointing to numerous interventions on the role of women in the Church.

It must no longer happen, Synod participants said, that women and LGBTQ+ people who want to serve the Church and do so with great commitment find themselves marginalized. 

One of the questions at the center of various reflections concerned young people, as the assembly wondered: "What attracts them to the Church today?"

"Evangelical radicalism," was the answer from several participants. The most widespread acquisition is that "young people need to breathe" and that adults must breathe with them; thus, a full and understandable sense of the so-called new evangelization will likely be given.

Ecumenism, diocesan synods, the role of the Pontiff in post-synodal assemblies were among other topics addressed. Across the board, it emerged that synodality offers a way to combat clericalism.