The fourth and final week of the Synod began on a bit of a contentious note on Monday, as questions about the organization and working methods of one of the 10 synodal “study groups” continue to be raised.
The 10 study groups were commissioned by Pope Francis to examine issues pertinent to the synodal church, including ecumenism, listening the cry of the poor, and the nature of the ministry of the bishop. The focus of study group five is “some theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms,” including that of the women’s diaconate.
Unlike the other nine groups, the membership of group five has not been revealed, and the group has been placed under the oversight of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
On Friday afternoon, representatives from the study groups met with Synod delegates to discuss their findings. Notably absent was Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the prefect for the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith.
At the press briefing this morning, Paolo Ruffini, prefect for the Dicastery for Communication, read a communique from Cardinal Fernández in which the cardinal clarified that the coordinator of group five is another member of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Fr. Armando Matteo. Matteo had a “medical intervention” on Friday that prevented his attendance at the meeting, Fernández said, and he sent representatives in his place.
Fernández’s statement went on to say that Pope Francis “is very worried for the role of women in the church” and has asked the dicastery to “explore the possibility of a development without focusing on the sacred Holy Orders.”
Stating that “there is nothing in the nature of a woman preventing her from occupying very important roles in the leadership of the church” and “there are forms of authority that do not require Holy Orders,” Fernández cited the expansion of the ministry of catechist as one among several concrete ways of promoting women’s leadership in the church.
“What truly comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped,” he added.
Fernández also affirmed that the dicastery will receive “proposals and reflections” from Synod delegates on the issue of ministerial forms, and that he will be present for a follow-up meeting with delegates on Thursday October 24.
Responding to questions on the status of group five, Fr. Timothy Radcliffe, spiritual assistant to the Synod, stressed that the “highest positions” in the church are those of the “doctors of the church” or “those who teach us”—and that many of these doctors are women, including Saint Catherine of Siena and Saint Teresa of ávila. Bishop Manuel Nin Güell, OSB, apostolic exarch for Catholics of Byzantine rite in Greece, also pointed to the exemplary lives of the Desert Mothers from the early era of Christian monasticism.
Sr. Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, undersecretary for the Synod of Bishops and the first woman to have voting rights in a synod, shared examples of female presidents of Catholic universities, charitable organizations, and other institutions, as well as female chancellors of dioceses, as evidence of the expansiveness of the church and the many opportunities “to foster women’s leadership.”
Synod proceedings this morning began with a Mass at Saint Peter’s Basilica. Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, gave a homily in which he stated that “the Synod must be seen as a new beginning.”
The Mass was followed by a General Congregation of delegates. Radcliffe delivered a meditation on the theme of freedom and responsibility, and the Synod’s General Rapporteur, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, presented a draft of the final document that will be voted on later this week.
The draft of the final document “includes all the work carried out during the years” and all the stages of the synodal process, said Sheila Pires, Secretary of the Information Commission for the Synod. She added that the draft is being kept confidential in order to maintain an open discussion environment within the Synod hall.
In remarks at the briefing, Radcliffe said that he felt there will be a temptation “to look for startling decisions, headlines,” in the final document, but that this would be “a mistake.”
There is “a danger of social collapse” in the world, he said, and in this “perilous, difficult moment, I think the church has a very particular vocation: to be a sign of Christ’s peace and Christ’s communion.”
He characterized the Synod as “about a deep renewal of the church in a new situation” and “a new way of imagining the church, which his in fact an old way.”
Just as Christ announces the kingdom through “images, parables, ways of being with people” rather than in statements, so must the church announce “how we can be together in new ways,” he said. He put forth the image of Pope Francis washing the feet of prisoners as “a new way of living the Petrine ministry.”
After concluding a retreat day today, delegates will resume full-length General Congregations tomorrow with a focus on developing the final version of the Synod document. Radcliffe again stressed that the document should be received in light of how it evokes “new ways of being a church in which we relate to each other much more profoundly in Christ, and to Christ much more profoundly in each other.”
Michael Centore
Editor, Today's American Catholic |
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