Pope to Synod: The Holy Spirit guides us towards harmony and respectful listening

By Deborah Castellano-Luboff

“The hero of the synod is not us, but the Holy Spirit,” says Pope Francis, stressing that if the Spirit is in charge, it is a good synod, and if not, “it is not.”

The Pope made this powerful reminder during the opening of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which began today at the Vatican, in his opening remarks.

The Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be held in two terms, that is, in two sessions separated by one year: the first from 4 to 29 October 2023, and the second in October 2024.

The Holy Father began his speech by welcoming those who came before him and thanking them for their work, recalling the initiative of Pope Saint Paul VI to establish the General Secretariat of the Synod after the Second Vatican Council to facilitate the consultations of the Synod of Bishops. He acknowledged that the Church had not always been ready to have this conversation, but it was now becoming more and more important for the bishops of the world and the People of God to talk about conciliarity.

“It’s not easy, but it’s beautiful. It’s very beautiful,” he said.

The Holy Father particularly recommended that the Assembly read a set of patristic texts that would help them in their synod journey.

The hero of the church guides us by the hand

The Pope reminded those before him that the Holy Spirit is “the hero of the life of the Church” who “leads the Church forward” and “motherhood.”

He said: “The Holy Spirit guides us with our hands and comforts us.”

The Holy Father called for work toward “harmony,” stressing that harmony will inevitably leave room for “nuances.”

He suggested that if we end the Synod in exactly the same way, “without nuance, it is not a Synod.”

“It was done by the Holy Spirit, not by us.”

“Privacy must be integrated into the church,” he said, stressing that “this must be done by the Holy Spirit, not by us.”

The Pope warned against mischaracterization of the Synod, saying that it is “neither a parliament” nor “a meeting for the pastoral care of the Church.”

While he praised the press for the good work it does, he regretted that it sometimes focused on hot-button issues, and urged it to work to convey the Church’s concern for the “priority of listening.”

“Everyone must express themselves freely,” the Pope said, noting that the Holy Spirit will confirm them in their faith along the way.

“Christocentrism – the guiding thread of the Synod”

Before the Pope’s speech, the celebration began in the Paul VI Hall in the Vatican with a greeting from the President Delegate, Coptic Catholic Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, Patriarch of Alexandria in Egypt, who stressed how the Lord continues to show and demonstrate his love for the Church. It inspired the Synod.

Patriarch Sidrac admitted that this synodal process was not always simple, especially at the beginning, or clear-cut, because this synod on the synod was prepared “as a consultation of the people of God, each baptized, each one with his own charism, in a more lively, realistic and concrete way.”

He acknowledged that the world “expects from us the testimony of Christ risen from the dead, the testimony of life and hope.”

“Let Christocentrism be the guiding thread of this Synod. May he be the Alpha and Omega of our discussions, may he be the light that illuminates our discussions, and may he be the ultimate goal of all our efforts. “I pray that the Synod will succeed in achieving its own goals.”

Opening Mass and Preaching “Laudate Deum”

The Holy Father presided over the Divine Mass held in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday morning on the occasion of the opening of the Synod Assembly, and called on the believers to walk with the Holy Spirit “with confidence and joy.”

And also on October 4thyOn the feast day of Saint Francis and his namesake, Saint Francis of Assisi, the Pope published the second part of his historic 2015 encyclical on the environment, Laudato Si’: Caring for our Common Home.

document today, laudite day, It is an apostolic exhortation that Pope Francis described as a look at the current environmental situation and what needs to be done.