- Feb 5, 2002
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COMMENTARY: Paraphrasing Pope Benedict, there are two synods — that of the media and the actual synod itself.
As the Vatican prepared to welcome participants of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis seemed to acknowledge that the gathering he initiated to bring the Church together into fruitful dialogue has amplified intense divisions in the body of Christ.
This month he repeatedly has called for a “synodal atmosphere” imbued with a “spirit of prayer” rather than “political chatter” full of “ideologies” that divide the faithful. The synod, he has said, is “an exchange between brothers and sisters,” and “the protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit.”
To heed the Holy Father’s warning not to view the synod like a television talk show but rather as a spiritual event, it’s helpful to put it into proper historical and ecclesiastical context. It’s also helpful to examine our own conscience and increase our prayerfulness so our hearts and minds remain open to the Holy Spirit’s action in our lives.
Synods in the Catholic Church were most recently configured during the Second Vatican Council by Pope St. Paul VI. The contemporary synod was envisioned as a means of bringing bishops together from all over the world so that they could act as a consultative body to the pope on timely issues. As a consultative body, not a council, with no power over the pope or over Church teaching, a synod can only advise, and the pope is free to do with the advice as he sees fit.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
As the Vatican prepared to welcome participants of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis seemed to acknowledge that the gathering he initiated to bring the Church together into fruitful dialogue has amplified intense divisions in the body of Christ.
This month he repeatedly has called for a “synodal atmosphere” imbued with a “spirit of prayer” rather than “political chatter” full of “ideologies” that divide the faithful. The synod, he has said, is “an exchange between brothers and sisters,” and “the protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit.”
To heed the Holy Father’s warning not to view the synod like a television talk show but rather as a spiritual event, it’s helpful to put it into proper historical and ecclesiastical context. It’s also helpful to examine our own conscience and increase our prayerfulness so our hearts and minds remain open to the Holy Spirit’s action in our lives.
Synods in the Catholic Church were most recently configured during the Second Vatican Council by Pope St. Paul VI. The contemporary synod was envisioned as a means of bringing bishops together from all over the world so that they could act as a consultative body to the pope on timely issues. As a consultative body, not a council, with no power over the pope or over Church teaching, a synod can only advise, and the pope is free to do with the advice as he sees fit.
Continued below.
What’s in Play at the Synod on Synodality?
COMMENTARY: Paraphrasing Pope Benedict, there are two synods — that of the media and the actual synod itself.
