SoS Sat Report: Synodality in Lebanon and Haiti
Day 4 at the Synod on Synodality
The big news of the day is that the Synod members will have a day when they can talk to the Synodal Study groups that Pope Francis set up in March 2024 to deal with important theological issues that were raised in the concluding document of the first session of the Synod on Synodality. A number of assembly members had petitioned the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops to set up a dialogue with the 10 study groups. The coordinator of each of these group provided up update on their work on the first day of this Synod, which covered controversial topics, such the female diaconate, as not to have these issues dominate this session of the Synod, as they had done last year. A proposal for establishment so kind of interaction between the members of the Synod and the Synodal Study Groups was put to Holy Father, who indicated that this should be put up for a vote by the Synod delegates. This passed with 265 votes for, and 75 against. As a result on Friday, October 18, coordinators of the 10 study groups will be available for meetings with synod members who would like to meet with them. It was already established that Synod delegates, or indeed anyone in world could submit written proposals to the Secretariat of the Synod who would then pass it on to the relevant synodal study group. It is beginning to look like Synodality will become synonymous with church meetings. These synodal study groups, who will continue to meet until June 2025, are as follows:
1. Some aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church.
2. Listening to the cry of the poor.
3. The mission in the digital environment.
4. The revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in a missionary synodal perspective.
5. Some theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms.
6. The revision, in a synodal missionary perspective, of the documents touching on the relationship between bishops, consecrated life, and ecclesial associations.
7. Some aspects of the person and ministry of the bishop (criteria for selecting candidates to episcopacy, judicial function of the bishops, nature and course of ad limina apostolorum visits) from a missionary synodal perspective.
8. The role of papal representatives in a missionary synodal perspective.
9. Theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues.
10. The reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in ecclesial practices.
End conversational phase of the first module
On the Synodal journey, this morning saw the conclusion of the “conversational phase” of the first module of the Instrumentum Laboris, this is the “Foundations”, which include the topics of i) the Church, People of God, sacrament of unity, ii) the shared meaning of synodality, iii) unity as harmony in diversity, iv) sisters and brothers in Christ: a renewed reciprocity, and v) call to conversion and reform.
Each of the language working group drafted a document which was handed to the Secretariat of the Synod on this topics, with proposals, statements that they wanted to incorporated into the Final Document of the Synod
Friday Afternoon’s Free Interventions at the General Congregations
Paolo Ruffini, President of the Commission for Information of the Synod on Synodality, offered an update on the discussion from yesterday afternoon, highlighting two key topics that emerged; i) how to develop the fundamentals of Synodality, especially in places of poverty and suffering, and ii) what does Synodality say about the way of understanding the life and mission of the Church.
how to connect Synodality to prayer and liturgy
suggested that the final document uses simply, understandable language, in order to communicate effectively to the people of God.
need to include the voices of young people and the local community, in order for the Church to remain attentive to the sign of the times
the role of women
young people, what attracts them, what makes them runaway from the Church
ecumenism
This is the third time that a suggestion of some sort of liturgical reform is needed to accompany the age of Synodality, no doubt that whoever is proposing this has in mind how the liturgical reforms of Vatican II are seen as fundamental to the other changes that the Council brought to the Church.
On the role of women one intervention said “it must no longer happen that women who want to serve the Church, who help the Church and society so much, are in marginalised positions. We must respect the call to welcome all people, including women who want to be ordained as priests, as well as LGBTQI+ people, but also find answers for them based on the Gospel and the bible.”
On young people, it was said that when you ask them what they want from the Church, they respond saying; “evangelical radicalism, we must put Jesus back at the centre.” Another response was that “young people are the subject, not the object of evangelisation, let us make them breathe and breathe with them. Sometimes we do not know what role to entrust to them.”
On ecumenism, applause broke out when one delegate said: “synodality opens doors to discern the presence of God and the Holy Spirit in other ‘churches’ and other religious expressions.”
Saturday Morning Interventions
One speech condemned all forms of fundamentalism, saying: "we must all be artisans of peace, Christians, Jews, and Muslims"
On the poor, another speech said “listening to the cry of the poor and include them as participants and not as mere recipients of Synodality.”
The Synod Hall applauded one intervention that said that the “history of salvation teaches us that the way is often shown to us by least, the unlikeliest, we must listen to the cry of the earth, and of the peoples.”
Criticism of the Instrumentum Laboris was also highlighted namely that “charity” only appears twice in the document, saying that “charity and mercy are at the core of all Christians.” Another criticism was the absence of any mention of diocesan synods in the Synod’s working document. The role of Petrine Ministry was also questioned, with what will be the Pope and his role in a post-Synodal world being asked.
Press Conference
Bishop Ambo of Kalookan and the President of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, spoke about being involved in consultation with priests between the first and this session of Synodality, stating that it was a grave oversight to not include the views of parish priests before the first session, and that he hoped that this had now been corrected. The Pope himself has subsequently challenged parish priest to become “apostles of Synodality.” Both he and Archbishop Launay Saturné of Cap-Haïtien, indicated that there seems to be real concern that the Church and poor in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, simply don’t have the resources to enact synodality, and there doesn’t seem to be much talk from a Eurocentric dominated assembly on how to solve this. Cap-Haïtien’s Cathedral lies in ruins, 14 years after it was destroyed by an earthquake. Archbishop Saturné said that despite everything Haiti is going through, as a result of natural disasters, civil unrest, coups and no functioning government, the Church did its best to prepare for the Synod. It really puts things into perspective. Archbishop Saturné also thanked the Holy Father for closeness to the people of Haiti, including telephone calls to him.
Situation in Lebanon
At the Press Conference, the widening conflict in the Middle East was brought to the for with the presence of Lebanese Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batrun of the Maronites, shared his personal experience of tragedy and how he chose forgiveness, urging others to embrace reconciliation even in midst of war. It was one of the most powerful interventions that I have ever heard at a Synod Press Conference.
“I come from a country that has been engulfed in fire and blood for fifty years now. In 1975, the war in Lebanon began under the pretext of a religious and confessional war, mainly between Muslims and Christians.”
“Coming here, in this situation, to speak at the Synod might seem strange. Speaking also about forgiveness, which Pope Francis has taken as a sign for this Second Session, would be even more complex. Yes, I come here to speak about forgiveness and reconciliation, while my country and my people suffer and experience the consequences of wars, conflicts, violence, vengeance, and hatred.”
“I have personally experienced forgiveness. When I was five years old, someone came to our house and brutally murdered my parents. I have a aunt who is a nun in the Lebanese Maronite order. She came to our house to take us four children—the eldest was six years old, the youngest two—and took us to her monastery. In the church, she invited us to kneel and pray—to pray to God for mercy, for love. She told us: “Let us not pray so much for your parents; they are martyrs before God. Let us instead pray for those who killed them and seek to forgive throughout your lives. Thus you will be the children of your Father, who is in Heaven.””
“After my studies here in Rome as a seminarian, I returned for ordination. At 24 years old, I chose the anniversary of the murder of my parents, which was the eve of the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross—a great feast for us Eastern Churches—to just say that “a grain of wheat if it falls to the ground and does not die, it does not bear fruit.” And we are, I said, the fruit of this grain of wheat willed by God. Yes, it is the will of God that our parents accepted and that we have lived. And I said, 'I renew my promise of forgiveness, to forgive all those who harm us.'“
“Then, a few months later, I was speaking in a retreat to our young people there, in Lebanon, who were in the early years of war in 1977-78. I came to talk about the sacrament of reconciliation and forgiveness.”
“I felt that they did not understand me: they were all armed to wage war against our enemies. After 4 hours of speaking, I felt that the message was not getting through. Then I said: 'I shall give you my personal testimony.' And I told those young Lebanese what I had experienced and that I renewed with forgiveness and reconciliation. After a period of silence, a young man stood up and dared to ask me: “Father, I suppose you have forgiven, but imagine that now you are a priest in confession and this man comes to you, stands before you, confesses, and asks you for forgiveness. What would you do?” — the answer was not easy.”
“Then I said: 'Thank you for the question, because now I have understood what it means to forgive. Because it is true that I have forgiven, but now I see that I have forgiven from afar; I had never seen this person. Today they come and stand there, in front of me... I am also human; I have my feelings, but finally yes, I would give them absolution and forgiveness. But I say to you, young Lebanese, that I have understood why forgiveness is so difficult, but it is not impossible. I understand you, but it is possible to live it if we want to be disciples of Christ, in the land of Christ. On the Cross, Jesus forgave; we are capable of forgiving. And I tell you more: all those who wage war against us, whom we consider enemies—Israelis, Palestinians, Syrians, of all nationalities—these are not enemies, why? Because those who foment war have no identity, no confession, no religion; but the others, the peoples, want peace, want to live in peace on the land of the peace of Jesus Christ, King of Peace.'“
Are the journalists already getting fatigued by Synodality
At the Press Conference today, a Saturday, there were almost more panellists than journalists present. The fatigue is real no just among Synod delegates, but with the press corps covering it. Even at question time, hardly anyone wanted to ask a question, perhaps stunned into silence by the words of three bishops from places with real problems, when the Synod assembly seem more interested in debating the narrow interests of the West. I was surprised that no one asked Catherine Clifford, another panellist, Canadian theologian, academic and expert in Vatican II, about how Synodality is the “culmination of Vatican II.” She did say that she was pleased that the there has been a active role for theologians and advisors in this second and concluding session of the Synod, than in the first. This may have been a missed opportunity, as I think she may be the only expert of Vatican II in attendance at this Synod.
As someone on my twitter responded, perhaps the Synod is doing to journalists, what Vatican II did to the people in the pews, caused them all to leave.