Synodality: a perspective, a method and a goal for the Centesimus Annus community
by Giovanni Marseguerra
Today we hear so much talk about the Synod and synodal method. Pope Francis insists so much on these concepts and asks us to ‘walk together’. Why is this so important for the Church? And how can our Foundation contribute to and benefit from this process? Starting from a direct personal experience, this editorial will try to provide some answers.
Why are the Synod and the synodal method, which Pope Francis forcefully relaunched during his pontificate, so important for the Church today? Thinking back to the first words he spoke on the evening of 13 March 2013 from the Loggia of St. Peter’s, immediately after his election as Pontiff, it is evident today how, even then, Francis had a clear idea of the direction in which he wanted to go: ‘And now, let us begin this journey: bishop and people. This journey of the Church of Rome, which is the one that presides in charity over all the Churches. A path of brotherhood, of love, of trust between us‘. Immediately, then, a strong insistence on the need to ‘walk together’. But Synod, which derives from the Greek word synodos composed of the preposition syn (with) and the noun hodos (way), refers precisely to the journey of the people of God, to its coming together as an assembly, each listening to the other and all to the Holy Spirit. When the Pope asks us to be ‘an outgoing church’, he invites us to walk together, to meet, to listen and understand reality, because ‘reality comes before the idea’. This is what the Synod is all about: walking together sharing the road, strengthening the sense of a common belonging and of that deep bond that exists between all human beings.
It sounds like an abstract project. Instead, it is an extremely concrete path of extraordinary growth for those involved and for the entire community that undertakes it. I can speak from direct personal experience. For three years now I have been a member, representing the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart of Milan, of the National Committee of the Synodal Way of the Churches in Italy. And it is a demanding experience – the work is really a lot! – but at the same time wonderful, involving and enriching. We meet, online and in presence, we listen and are listened to, we dialogue in harmony, without prevarication. It is truly great the communion that is created between people of all ages, lay people and pastors, from all parts of Italy, where each and every one brings his or her humanity and thought, their desire to be there and to contribute. One senses a deep sense of belonging, one feels included in what the community is living, with the possibility of planning and building something important together with others, and thus contributing to a true, deep and shared renewal. One always perceives the presence of the Holy Spirit who oversees and guides the whole process. As the Pope teaches us: ’…the protagonist of the Synod is not us: it is the Holy Spirit. And if we have the Spirit in our midst to guide us, it will be a good Synod. […] Synod is a journey that the Holy Spirit makes‘ (Pope Francis, Opening Address of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, 4 October 2023).
The Synodal Way of the Italian Church started at the same time as the path of the Synod desired by Pope Francis on the theme of synodality in the universal Church. The Synodal path of the Churches in Italy was therefore intertwined with the Synod of the Universal Church, and moreover also with the Synods of the individual Italian Dioceses. While the Synod of the Universal Church, which ended last 27 October with the second and final session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, took place along a three-year path (2021-2024) – although in truth it will then be extended in time with the implementation phase of what is contained in the final document – the path of the Synodal Way of the Italian Church has instead planned a five-year path divided into three major phases the narrative phase (2021-2023), dedicated to listening to and recounting the lives of the people of the communities and territories; the sapiential phase (2023-2024) dedicated to the spiritual reading of the narratives that emerged in the previous two years; the prophetic phase (2024-2025) dedicated to the evangelical choices that our Churches will be called upon to give back to the people of God.
Synodality opens up a new perspective on everything we do: being Church today means walking together, it means being a community of people who know how to confidently walk the roads of our time and invite everyone to take part in this journey. But synodality is also a method, conversation in the Spirit, which involves all the baptised and makes them feel responsible for the mission, and in which speaking and listening aim to make the Holy Spirit the true protagonist. In conversation in the Spirit, different points of view are listened to, the participation of all in the mission is made concrete, diversity is valued in order to synthesise in communion. In mutual listening each one learns something from the other because listening ‘is more than hearing’ (Evangelii Gaudium, no. 171). Finally, synodality is also a style, a way of living and being together with others, thinking of others and abandoning the many individualisms of our time.
Synodality can also become an important perspective for our Foundation. How to give concrete form to our mission of spreading the Social Doctrine of the Church, with whom we can collaborate, with what resources: these are all questions that can be answered by a synodal path convincingly undertaken by our community made up of members and sympathizers, local groups, Ecclesiastical Assistants, and those who participate in our initiatives. We could start from the next General Assembly, involving all participants divided into thematic working tables. After the plenary return of the results achieved by each table, the common discussion will lead to concrete indications for the life of our Foundation, and to the commitment to follow up and implement our determinations. This is an idea on which, together with our President, Secretary General, and Council, we are working to make the most of the next FCAPP General Assembly on 15 May.
Participation generates communion. And with the presence of the Holy Spirit every goal can be achieved. Together and in harmony.
Happy Synod to all!
Giovanni Marseguerra, Coordinator Scientific Committee Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation