Before this session of the Synod of Bishops, the Archbishop of Vienna gave an interview to the Vatican media.
(Vatican News) “Collegiality is the mode of operation of ecclesial communion, as well as participation in administrative issues and decisions, as well as in all aspects of the life of the Church. The Synod of Bishops on the theme of “community” is a meeting on how to live in a gospel way. Out of the meetings of ecclesial communion, all members of the People of God walk together”. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, gave an interview to Vatican media outlining his views on the upcoming Synod of Bishops. The cardinal emphasized that communion and the orientation towards unity precede different positions and he hopes that this will also be the case in this meeting.
Cardinal Shunborn first talked about his expectations for this Synod, saying: “We don’t know what will happen at this Synod. Pope Francis has set us on a rather unique path, which is The path of listening and discernment. These are things that have always been done, fundamental elements of the life of the Church, but the Pope emphasizes the question of discernment even more clearly: What does the Lord show us? What does it mean for us and for the Church today? Therefore, The Synod seeks to deepen, learn and experience this journey of discernment.”
The cardinal then explained that the Synod is not a parliamentary meeting. He said: “Synods, and in the life of the Church, always seek to achieve unanimity, not in the sense of a council in which the whole body must vote the same way, but in the search for unity. In the search for truth and the search for good Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit until you get close to unanimity. This is what I understand to be the practice of ecumenical and synodal meetings, where there is a vote in the rules of the synod, but it must be two-thirds of the vote.”
The cardinal continued: “In addition, we must not forget that the Synod is a consultative meeting, it is not a legislative body. This requires listening, jointly listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. In view of this, the Pope is willing to make the Synod on the Family a universal meeting of bishops. The Council and this Synod on Fellowship were divided into two or more phases, local, continental, etc. It was ultimately decided that the Synod should meet twice, because the process towards agreement must always be ‘one heart and one mind’ , just like it was said about the early church: all believers were of one mind. This harmony is the sign of the Holy Spirit.”
Another feature of this Synod is the participation of non-bishops, including many lay people, especially female members. Will this change the face of the Synod of Bishops, and what will be the result? The cardinal explained that “for 50 years, lay men and women have always participated in synods as experts and observers. Now for the first time, a significant number of lay men and women are full members of the synod.”
“I don’t think it has substantially changed the face of the Synod, because of course it is still a synod, and most of the members are still bishops. This is because the tradition of the Synod is first of all to meet with regional and national bishops. But the lay faithful participation is of course important for better listening. I have attended many Synods and remember that the speeches of lay men and women, both as experts and as observers, had a profound impact on the work of the Synod. This one goes a step further and allows these Voices are involved. In this Synod there will still be the presence of experts, including representatives of other Brethren Churches. I think this will be an enrichment for the Synod.”
Cardinal Shunborn also mentioned that the Synod of Bishops was established by Paul VI more than 50 years ago. This council is understood to be the voice of the bishops of the universal Church in the Successor of Peter. “We are very clear that there were votes and significant votes at the meeting, but these votes were expressions of a sense of faith and the expectations of the People of God, and they were ultimately presented to the Pope for further discernment. Therefore, this new Formal participation does not substantively change the meaning of the post-conciliar synod”.
Link URL:www.vaticannews.cn
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2023-09-28 12:40:27
