2023-04-27 05:01:00
In a new step on the path traced by Pope Francis towards a greater and more equitable participation in the Catholic Church, Jorge Bergoglio decided to significantly expand the presence of lay men and lay women at the next synod, a kind of ecclesiastical assembly previously only reserved for bishops. The announcement in this sense was made in the Vatican through the General Secretariat of the Synod, acting as spokesmen Cardinals Mario Grech and Jean-Claude Hollerich. The synod is expected to take place in two stages, the first from October 4 to 29, and the second on a date not yet scheduled in 2024.
Pope Jorge Bergoglio added “another 70 members who are not bishops, who represent other faithful of the People of God (priests, consecrated persons, deacons, lay faithful) and who come from the local Churches” Vatican spokesmen said. To this is added the request to the regional conferences in charge of suggesting names for “that 50% are women and that the presence of young people is also valued”. As Francisco had already advanced in a journalistic interview all synod participants will have a voice and vote in decisions. Although the determination implies an important change with respect to what has happened so far, the bishops will continue to be three-fourths of the synodal assembly.
The synod is a participatory instance provided for by the constitution of the Catholic Church and, being a consultative body, it has the power to propose to the Pope programmatic lines for the course of the institution. It can be said that Francis, who in his capacity as pontiff always has the last decision reserved, has developed a strategy aimed at ensuring that the changes that it promotes in the Church come from the communities of the ecclesial base. It is, according to the opinion of ecclesiastical analysts, a political resource to take weight away from those who oppose the renewal.
The synod is an area that Francis decided to promote in order to broaden participation, integrating both clergy and laity. But apart from the conclusive instances of the synod that will be held in Rome, the Pope also promoted a general mobilization of the Church -which began in 2021- promoting synodal spaces in the dioceses, in the countries and in the regions of the whole world. . From there, recommendations arise that will be taken to the assembly that will be held in the Vatican and in which, among other issues, it is expected to discuss reforms to the government of the Church, to the consecrated ministry (ministerial priesthood) and other relevant issues such as the role of women and the participation of the LGTBQ community. These and other issues have been incorporated into the agenda at the request of ecclesiastical assemblies held throughout the world.
Another modification in the synodal norms establishes that the representation of “the institutes of consecrated life” (religious congregations) previously foreseen for ten religious men, from now on will be made up of “five religious men and five religious men”, chosen by the superiors and the general superiors of the congregations and, both, will have the right to vote.
The Pope reserves the power to select the new seventy synod participants from a list of 140 people that will be provided by seven international meetings of episcopal conferences and by the Assembly of Patriarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches. As requested by the General Secretariat of the Synod to the episcopal conferences, when selecting candidates, it is requested that “not only their general culture and prudence be considered, but also their knowledge, both theoretical and practical, as well as their participation in various capacities in the synodal process“.
On the other hand, on April 21, the Vatican officially informed that it will launch processes of formation of the bishops of the whole world against pedophilia. Francis had created in 2014 the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Now US Cardinal Sean O’Malley, head of the commission, explained that the initiative contemplates “that the new bishops can hear first-hand the dramatic testimony of the victims and the effects that this terrible crime has on their lives.” Francis had expressly asked the Commission “to go out and work with the bishops of the whole world so that they are trained and thus be able to accompany and work with the victims.”
[email protected]
#Lay #women #men #voice #vote #synod #Francis #expanded #ecclesiastical #assembly #previously #reserved #bishops