The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the second part of the work on synodality, will take place from October 2-27, preceded by two days of retreat.
Pope Francis will officially open the work with a concelebrated Mass in St. Peter's Square on the feast of the Guardian Angels, Wednesday, October 2.
In the afternoon of the same day, the debate will get underway in the Paul VI Hall with the greeting of the Holy Father, the reports of the Secretary General, Cardinal Mario Grech and the General Rapporteur, Cardinal Hollerich, and with the presentation of the reports of the study groups and the meeting of the parish priests for the Synod.
Almost the same participants of the first session
Card. Hollerich explained, during the presentation press conference, the composition of the assembly, which does not differ much from last year. The participants are divided into three macro sections: "The Members (i.e., those with voting rights) who are organized, as usual, according to the Participation Title (i.e., ex officio, ex designatione and ex electione members); the Special Guests and the other participants".
In total, there are 368 members, 272 of whom are invested with the munus episcopale and 96 non-bishops. There are only 26 changes in all these categories, mostly replacements.
There are also 8 Special Guests, while the Fraternal Delegates have increased from 12 to 16: "Pope Francis has made it possible to increase their number given the great interest that the sister Churches have shown in this synodal journey". Among the other participants, in addition to the two spiritual assistants, Father Radcliffe and Sister Angelini, and Father Ferrari, a Camaldolese reference for liturgy, this year the 70 experts have been divided into three categories: facilitators, expert theologians and expert communicators.
Prayer, listening and witnessing
"The Synod is a time of prayer, not a convention," reminded the Secretary General of the Synod, Cardinal Mario Grech. Therefore, the first listening is that of the Spirit: "It is this "original" listening that allows us to listen authentically to one another, recognizing in what the other says the voice of the Spirit". Grech announced a novelty at the end of the retreat: a penitential vigil that "will take place on the evening of Tuesday, October 1, in St. Peter's Basilica and will be presided over by the Holy Father".
The event, organized jointly by the General Secretariat of the Synod and the Diocese of Rome, in collaboration with the Union of Superiors General and the International Union of Superiors General, will be open to the participation of everyone, especially young people, who always remind us to what extent the proclamation of the Gospel must be accompanied by a credible witness, which in the first place they wish to offer to the world together with us.
Some of the sins that cause the most pain and shame will be called by name, invoking God's mercy. In particular, in the Vatican Basilica we will hear three testimonies of people who have suffered for some of these sins.
It will not be a matter of denouncing the sin of others, but of recognizing oneself as part of those who, by action or at least by omission, become the cause of the suffering endured by the innocent and defenseless.
At the end of this confession of sins, the Holy Father will address, in the name of all Christians, a request for forgiveness to God and to the sisters and brothers of all humanity," Grech added. The victims' testimonies refer to the sins of sexual abuse, war and indifference to the growing phenomenon of migration.
On the afternoon of Friday, October 11, "we will repeat the experience of an ecumenical prayer, together with the Holy Father, the Fraternal Delegates present in the Synod Hall and various other representatives of Churches and Ecclesial Communities present in Rome". The date was chosen to commemorate October 11, 62 years ago, when the Second Vatican Council was solemnly inaugurated.
A new day of retreat is planned for Monday, October 21: "It will be a kind of pit-stop, to implore the gifts of the Lord in view of the discernment of the draft of the Final Document," continued Grech, who concluded his speech by recalling how people all over the world pray for the Synod: "How beautiful it would be if at least on Sundays, in every parish, all over the world, we prayed together to invoke the Lord on the work of the Synod, saying: Give us Lord, hearts and feet burning on the way."
Methodological innovations
One of the special secretaries of the Synod, Father Giacomo Costa, explained some methodological innovations of the assembly. "The question of method cannot be considered only as an operative mode, but as the way in which the Church takes shape and how listening to the Spirit leads to shared actions.
The methodology is at the service of the entire synodal process. Starting from the Instrumentum laborisIt will be necessary to identify what deserves to be accepted in the final document and what needs to be deepened and amended, in order to provide the Holy Father with the tools that will enable him to identify the steps to be taken. An agenda voted by the assembly itself will be followed, in order to better focus on the topics to be deepened".
The resulting document will be presented on the day of the retreat and then examined for the drafting of the final document to be offered to the Pope.
A final important novelty will be the four theological-pastoral forums, open to the public, which will be held on October 9 and 16, simultaneously at the Jesuit Curia and the Augustinanum.
The other special secretary, Msgr. Riccardo Battocchio, said: "There will be the presence of theologians, canonists, bishops and the opportunity to dialogue with those present. The topics foreseen: on October 9, the People of God as the subject of the mission and the role and authority of the bishop in a synodal Church; on October 16, the mutual relations between the local and universal Church and the exercise of the primacy and the synod of bishops. In each forum, the discussion will be preceded by the intervention of 4 or 5 experts who will present the main issues, focusing on the different perspectives from which each topic can be considered".
-Rome
