Until yesterday, 43 European delegates were preparing for the World Synod in October at the Catholic Private University in Linz, Austria. Switzerland was represented by Bishop Felix Gmür, the President of the Bishops’ Conference, Claire Jonard and Helena Jeppesen as European delegates.
“The European exchange showed that the Swiss concerns about decentralization and strengthening the role of women are also supported by other members of the Synod,” Helena Jeppesen told kath.ch after the preparatory workshop.
«Not past the Synod»
Bishop Felix Gmür also made a specific statement at the meeting on the question of how the final reports of the ten commissions should be discussed in the synod. He wanted an in-depth discussion on this in the synod, because the topics had been brought to Rome from the consultations and should not now be discussed “without the synod’s knowledge”.
World Synod in Rome in October 2023.
“There have also been several discussions about how the church could be made more participatory at the European level,” Jeppesen told kath.ch.
Three-day workshop
A total of 43 representatives of the European local churches at the World Synod took part in this meeting. The basis for the three-day workshop was the working document (»Instrumentum laboris») for the Synod of Bishops.
Among the participants were the President of the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE), Archbishop Gintaras Grusas (Vilnius), and his deputy Archbishop Ladislav Nemet (Belgrade). In addition to Switzerland, the Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences of Italy, Austria and Switzerland, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi (Bologna), and Archbishop Lackner (Salzburg) also took part.
On the basic theme of synodality, the summaries of the six small groups stated that the synodal process to date had been very fruitful and must be continued. The World Synod of Bishops should not be an end point, which is why regular meetings at all church levels were proposed for the period afterward.
«Very important step»
Salzburg Archbishop Franz Lackner described the synodal process with the second part of the World Bishops’ Synod on synodality, which is due to take place in October, as a “very important step”. The Catholic Church has thus embarked on a path, “and this path will continue, no matter what concretely happens now,” said the Chairman of the Austrian Bishops’ Conference.
Bishop Felix Gmür and his Salzburg colleague Archbishop Franz Lackner, in Prague in February
Just as Pope Francis represents a surprise for the Church, the processes he has introduced also come as a surprise to many, “and the surprises will not stop,” said Lackner, who described his basic attitude to this with the “principle of hope”: “Hope is the belief in what one does not yet see.” This also applies to the Church itself.
“Realistic view needed”
Of course, a “realistic view” is necessary to move forward, says Lackner, which is why some in Austria who had overly high expectations initially felt enthusiastic but then became disappointed and frustrated.
This was due to the fact that certain topics were removed by the Pope from the Synod and thus also from the working paper (»Instrumentum laboris«) and delegated to working groups. The fact that this is the case must be respected, «but I would be interested to see how things develop from there,» said the Archbishop.
Called for a positive perspective
The Czech religious philosopher Tomas Halik has called for a positive view of the Church in Europe inspired by the Christian belief in the resurrection.
Tomas Halik, Czech priest and religious philosopher, at the Synod in Prague.
The secularization and collapse of many forms of church can be compared to the suffering, dying and death of Christ on Good Friday and Holy Saturday, but can also be reinterpreted as the right moment (“kairos”) and as a “gift, test and challenge from God,” said Halik in his closing speech at the meeting of the European synod participants in Linz on Saturday. The “entry into a new era in the history of Christianity” can be made possible above all through “synodal renewal.”
The theologian said that current experiences also evoked associations with the biblical book of Job. The church is being plagued by bad news, such as a polarization of opinion and “old and new sex and financial scandals.” Added to this are people leaving the church, the decline in church attendance and the number of people becoming priests and members of religious orders.
Synod Method
The preparatory meeting in the premises of the Linz seminary was based on the method used by the Vatican World Synod. The largest part of the three-day program was made up of six small groups, each of which consisted of around six people. Key questions from the “Instrumentum laboris” were worked on in several rounds, with each session beginning with a moment of silence. (kathpress/woz)
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