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Thank
you to everyone who has been following along with our daily coverage of
the Synod. We'll be taking a brief pause this weekend, but will resume
on Monday with updates for the final week. Delegates will begin
discussing conclusions and proposals for the final synthesis document,
and in addition to reportage we hope to include reflections and
commentary on the Synod's next steps--Ed.
Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD, of Tokyo, said that “local
cultures and local realities should be respected when we talk about
synodality” at a press briefing this morning.
Archbishop
Kikuchi is the president of Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of
160 Catholic relief and social service organizations operating
worldwide. His remarks came the day after participants in the Synod
joined in a moment of prayer for migrants and refugees in St. Peter’s
Square. Pope Francis presided over the service.
After
a reading of the Parable of the Good Samaritan from the gospel of Luke
(10:25-37), Francis described the parable as “the key to moving from a
closed world to an open world, from a world at war to a world at peace.”
The
parable “tells us that [the Samaritan] saw the wounded man and had
compassion on him,” Francis said. “Compassion is the imprint of God in
our hearts. Here is the key. Here is the turning point.”
Referencing
the Samaritan’s sense of “long-term responsibility” to the wounded man,
Francis continued, “The Good Samaritan is also concerned about
returning. This is why it is important for us to be prepared adequately
for the challenges of today’s migrations, understanding not only
critical issues, but also the opportunities they offer, with a view to
the growth of more inclusive, more beautiful and more peaceful
societies.”
Joining
Archbishop Kikuchi at today’s briefing were Archbishop Gintaras Grušas
of Vilnius, Lithuania; Sr. Houda Fadoul, a Syrian Catholic nun of the
Deir Mar Musa Monastery in Nabk, Syria; and Sr. Mary Theresa Barron,
OLA, president of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG).
For Sr. Fadoul, the Synod is “a time of exchange” that “is very much for everyone in the church.”
“There is a starting point, there is a route to follow,” she said. “We are all members of the same body of Jesus.”
Archbishop
Grušas said that the Continental Assembly of the Synod in Europe, held
in Prague this past February, helped prepare him for the current Synod.
After that five-day meeting, he said, “Everybody left with a very
positive experience.”
The
archbishop said that the 45 European countries represented at the
Continental Assembly provided a “great variety of people and
perspectives in [the] sharing debate.” The current Synod “is that type
of sharing on a much large scale,” he said.
The
archbishop also stressed the importance of “formation as a way of being
church.” He explained that an ongoing “conversion of heart, conversion
of our own minds” underlies formation, and that Synod delegates are not
focused on a final document so much as “working through the process” of
being formed in synodality.
Sr.
Barron is a member of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our
Lady of the Apostles. Picking up on a theme that was introduced yesterday
by Archbishop Anton Dabula Mpako of South Africa, she spoke of how her
experience with Small Christian Communities (SCCs) has informed her
understanding of synodality.
Sr.
Barron’s work as a missionary took her to East Africa, which she called
“my first introduction to a synodal church.” She described a parish
structure in her region that comprised 35 villages. Each village had an
“outstation” with a catechist. There were only two priests to serve the
entire parish, she explained.
“It
was such a synodal process,” she said. “We listened to each other. The
decisions were taken together. The outstation fed into the center, which
fed into the parish, which then fed into the diocese.”
Sr.
Barron said that the Synodal Assembly reminds her of the Sunday
meetings of Small Christian Communities in East Africa, particularly the
way that everyone is given a chance to contribute regardless of rank,
position, or educational status.
“We
shared our faith from the depths of our hearts and we came to a
decision together,” she said. “Every voice was the same around that
Basic Christian Community.”
Reports from the Synod working groups this morning continued to focus on section B.3 of the Instrumentum Laboris,
“Participation, Governance, and Authority.” Dr. Paolo Ruffini of the
Dicastery of Communications said that “co-responsibility” and “the
coordination of all charisms” within the church have been noted in the
reports, as well as the need to “avoid authoritarianism.”
“The bishop has the last word but not the only word,” he said.
The
Synodal Assembly also discussed how clericalism has enabled abuse and
“a loss of credibility to the church,” said Synod communications team
member Sheila Pires. She said that “synodality can play a part in
preventing abuses” by emphasizing listening and co-responsibility.
Pires
also mentioned financial transparency and the importance of digital
media as “a place of mission,” particularly to younger people, as
subjects that have arisen in recent synodal conversations.
A video of this morning's press briefing is available at the Vatican News YouTube page here.
Michael Centore
Editor, Today's American Catholic
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