Over the weekend, the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality will focus on decision-making processes and highlight the need for transparency, accountability and evaluation.
Vatican News
Over the past few days, the work of the Synod has focused on the Modes section of the Instrumentum Laboris, with particular attention to how the Church’s religious leaders make and implement decisions.
During Monday’s daily press conference, Dr. Sheila Pires, Secretary of the Synod Information Commission, highlighted the importance of listening to the experiences of the Church in different contexts, and drew attention to the problems that sometimes arise between Christian traditions and local customs. and laws arise by establishing harmony between.
He said the ideas and suggestions come from people who are already experiencing the various current realities. Dr. Pires addressed the major topics of recent days, including the importance of children in Catholic schools and the role of schools in education and evangelization. Another important topic was the issue of abuse, particularly that suffered by religious sisters, and several speakers highlighted the need to promote policies and procedures to address this issue.
Once again, the role of women in the church was a major topic of discussion, including the need for a greater role for women in seminary training.
For his part, Dr. Paolo Ruffini, president of the Information Commission, stressed during the debate the need to include women and lay people in decision-making processes within the Church.
He also addressed issues related to accountability, including what it means in the context of the church and how it can be achieved.
He also addressed issues related to accountability, including what it means in the context of the church and how it can be achieved. Other topics mentioned in several interventions in recent days included the need to improve the synodal realities that already exist, learning from those Churches that already follow synodality in various decisions; And proximity, dynamic relationships and decision-making imply the need to oppose any form of clericalism by bringing together people from across the Church.
Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Icheverri, ODN
Among those invited to Monday’s press conference was Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, ODN, president of the Confederation of Latin American Religious (CLAR) and witness to the synod process.
In her opening remarks, Sister Liliana said that the council’s vision puts before us “the work of Jesus,” the evangelical values and style that should permeate the synod.
He also highlighted the need for meaningful formation based on committed testimony and emphasized the need to work with others in a way that “allows us to adopt the style of Jesus.”
Sister Liliana also spoke about introspection, which offers the possibility of determining what the Holy Spirit asks of the Church. He said introspection, both individually and communally, helps us see together in our diversity the certainty about the journey and the mission. To this end, he highlighted the importance of participatory structures throughout the church.
Finally, Sister Liliana focused on Monday morning’s discussion, which largely revolved around the concepts of transparency and culture, not as tools, but as a culture “that must exist in the Church” and that must permeate the practices and identity of the Church.
In the following address, Bishop Edward Sinayobe of Siyangu, Rwanda, spoke about the situation in his country after the horrors of the genocide that occurred thirty years ago.
He said that the work of the Synod is similar to what the apostles lived and experienced in the Cenacle at the time of Pentecost, where they received the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Speaking about the situation in Rwanda, he commented on the reconciliation process aimed at unity that continues almost three decades after the genocide. He said the Church is working on a pastoral level to heal people, both victims and perpetrators. He said the Synod is “something we are experiencing as an opportunity to strengthen unity and reconciliation”, a living lesson that can help Rwandans understand that the path ahead is one of brotherhood and is based on a style of spiritual life.
He said the Synod experience is an opportunity to deepen diverse perspectives with the goal of building unity by helping people live in a spirit of unity.
Bishop Sinayobe also highlighted the importance of participation and listening and the need for missionaries to evangelize.
Archbishop Zbigniew Stankiewicz
Finally, Riga Archbishop Zbigniew Stankiewicz told reporters that the synod responds to the “deep desire of my heart to include every baptized person in the Church,” so that they can “expand the Kingdom of God throughout the world and become as a missionary preacher. .
He told reporters that when he was first appointed bishop, he spoke of his “strategic objectives” to promote a spiritual renaissance that included all Catholics, all Christians, all men and women of good will. And he expressed his “deep conviction” that the objective of the synod should be “to release the charisma of each baptized.”
According to the Archbishop of Latvia, this objective is related to the notions of co-responsibility and decentralization within the Church, but also as an expression of ecclesiastical and spiritual communion rather than in a secular or democratic way.
Bishop Sankevics highlighted paragraph 58 of the Instrumentum Laboris, which refers to Gaudium et spes and focuses on the true understanding of the presence and designs of God. He said the ultimate goal of the Synod is mission, to make the Church more missionary “as we go.” He concluded the conference by saying that the Synod should examine various ecclesial efforts around the world to understand where good results are seen in local communities and learn from them.
On Tuesday morning the General Assembly will begin work on the third module, “Places.”
