CLERGY and laypeople are set to gather again in Rome in October for the second session of Pope Francis’s “Synod on Synodality,” to continue discussions on the most contentious issues facing the Church.
The synod, which began in 2021 with consultations among dioceses around the world, will culminate with the second session scheduled for Oct. 2 to 27 at the Vatican, after which the Pontiff will issue a document accepting or rejecting recommendations from some 400 delegates.
The assembly has placed various issues on the table, including a larger role for laypeople, especially women and youth, accountability of priests and bishops, ordination of female deacons, outreach to members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer or questioning persons (LGBTQ+), and the admission of married men into the priesthood.
One of the four Filipino delegates, Kalookan Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, who serves as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), said the synod’s novel roundtable format is a healthy way of dealing with contentious matters.
“I am glad that Pope Francis introduced to us [to] this method of conversations. That sort of changed the whole scenario because we used to be very hierarchical in the way we [are] in the synods,” David said in an interview with the Varsitarian back in January.
“This time, we’re sitting in roundtables, all on equal footing – the bishops, the priestess, the religious and the laypeople,” he added.
The Synod on Synodality is unprecedented, with non-bishops, including theologians and lay people, comprising 20 percent of participants. More than 50 women are eligible to vote on synod proposals.
David leads the Filipino delegates. Joining him are Pasig Bishop and CBCP Vice President Mylo Hubert Vergara, Manila Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, and theologian Estela Padilla.
Francis has overseen four synods of bishops during his 11-year reign, but these assemblies usually start and end with minimal intervention from non-bishops.
In 2021, the Pontiff announced that this time, the synod would involve large consultations at the diocesan and continental levels before the delegates gathered at the Vatican.
Francis appointed Cardinal Mario Grech of Gozo, Malta – regarded by a newspaper as a “European more likely to become pope” – secretary general of the synod of bishops. He visited UST this January to deliver the keynote address of the 10th Philippine Conference on New Evangelization (PCNE).
Vatican synod chief at PCNE: Synod on Synodality ‘liberating’ for both laypeople, ordained
At the conference, Grech stressed that parishioners felt appreciated to be included in discussions about the direction of the Church.
“Many laypeople in the course of this particular synod have spoken about how important it has been for them to experience being listened to in and by their Church,” he said in his keynote address. “For many, it is the first time they have experienced this.”
In a press conference at the sidelines of PCNE, Grech said he had expected disagreements during the synodal process, which he said was normal.
“Tensions can really be generative of something new,” the Vatican synod chief said. “If there are tensions, that means that the people of God are interacting.”
Some prelates are criticizing the confusion brought about by the Synod on Synodality.
For instance, Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the retired bishop of Hong Kong who is not a synod father, said the synod discussions had become unwieldy with the participation of non-clerics.
“On the one hand, the Church is presented as founded by Jesus on the apostles and their successors, with a hierarchy of ordained ministers who guide the faithful on the journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem,” he observed in his nearly 3,600-word essay published in February.
“On the other hand, there is talk of an undefined synodality, a ‘democracy of the baptized.’ Which baptized people? Do they at least go to church regularly? Do they draw faith from the Bible and strength from the sacraments?” Zen wrote.
For David, the entire synodal process is a moment of renewal.
“I’d say it is a kind of a reaffirmation of the direction that the Church took at the Second Vatican Council, both in terms of a return to sources and renewal, responding to the call to renewal in accordance with the signs of the times,” he said in the interview.
The CBCP president wants to return this October to the Vatican with fresh perspectives from the youth, as the Church hierarchy is packed with elderly people.
“I wish that you (the youth) be more acquainted really with the documents that are being published by the Holy See, especially those that are related to the Synod on Synodality,” David urged. “Please read the synthesis report […] and I would like to know how you feel about the points raised.”
“I would like to bring with me some voices, especially from young people like you,” he added. With reports from Ralent M. Penilla
