Gestures of Pope Francis in CanadaThe Assembly for a Synodal Church has not yet concluded. In addition to the work of 12 groups, mandated by the Holy Father to be completed by June 2025, there is now the task of implementing the results at the level of dioceses, bishops' conferences and throughout the Church.
On October 24, Bishop Alain Faubert of Valleyfield (Quebec) was elected by the recent Synod as a member of the Ordinary Council of the Synod Secretariat, which is in charge of these assemblies. Omnes attended a conference Faubert gave to Canadian priests on December 5, organized by the Cercle Sacerdotal de Montréal.
Listening process
Bishop Faubert, who was participating in his first synod in October, was deeply impressed both by the process of listening to the People of God and by the conclusions reached. The Pope immediately endorsed them, integrating them into the ordinary magisterium; however, as is well known, Francis will not issue a post-synodal apostolic exhortation.
In the synod's final document, Bishop Faubert acknowledged the ideas, opinions and conclusions of his round table, as well as those of other conversations in the synodal hall. "It was a synod of bishops," he commented, "since most of us were bishops, but we were there to listen." This principle should always be applied in the Church, even in every parish. He stressed the importance of all participants around those round tables, intentionally designed to foster dialogue, having equal opportunity and equal time to speak.
"I have just been installed in my new diocese" (west of Montreal; previously an auxiliary bishop in the city since 2016). "When someone asks me what my plan is for the Diocese of Valleyfield, my answer is: first I want to listen."
In his lecture, Faubert suggested that, indeed, the Holy Spirit guided this universal synodal process that extended over three years. He recalled that St. Paul VI desired that all the people of God participate in the synods. In his closing address on October 26, Pope Francis stressed that the final text of the synod would lose much of its value if the witness of the lived experiences of the participants were not considered.
Father Raymond Lafontaine, who was present at the conference, corroborated Bishop Faubert's words, as he was the facilitator of one of the 36 round tables, each composed of 12 members.
The two-day retreat prior to the start of the Synod established the spiritual context necessary to be attentive to what the Spirit would inspire. The conversations that took place there were Spirit-led conversations. Faubert explained the synodal process in detail, stressing that, despite human imperfections, we must believe that the Spirit is at work. He added that "Our leadership as priests must be synodal. If we do not act in this way, if we are not willing to listen, pastoral ministry is blocked. Things do not work. We have a Pope who invites us to say what we think, with parresia, that is, with audacity in charity."
Faubert emphasized that in canon law it is necessary to concretely propose issues such as diocesan councils, plenary and particular councils; it is necessary to "give feet and hands" to the synodal proposals, focusing on their practical implementation. "It is fundamental to close the circle." "The fraternity we experienced at the Synod is not an anecdotal detail, it must be reproduced here, adapting it to our context."
Highlights
According to the Bishop of Valleyfield, it is evident that synodality is a fundamental and constitutive element of the Church. Founded on baptism, it is the Church's way of living and acting, as expressed in "the Church's way of life".Lumen Gentium" (numbers 31-32). This is something we must take very seriously: we all have the same dignity! It is necessary to know what the people of God think, what my brothers and sisters think, including those who do not practice or who are far from the Church (we must recognize their cries).
He then suggested that we must create concrete processes of discernment, decision-making and accountability, and encourage more events such as diocesan synods.
Citing number 47 of the Final Document, Faubert highlighted the prophetic dimension of ecclesial synodality in a world marked by so many divisions and polarizations, in societies where dialogue is often lacking.
However, the synodal Church is not a social club; it has a mission that will be fruitful only if it is truly synodal. "Throwing newspapers in front of closed doors does no good. Jesus went to Zacchaeus' house before he was converted; Zacchaeus is also a son of Abraham. He gave half of his goods to the poor; we too will encounter many positive surprises among non-believers."
Dialogue with other cultures
Faubert stressed the importance of dialogue with other religions and cultures, with less emphasis on being right or convincing, and more on witnessing to love, humbly serving, especially the excluded. It is necessary to build a Church that is less patriarchal, paternalistic and clerical, that walks in the path of the Second Vatican Council, seeking unity and reconciliation.
Many media outlets claimed that the synod was about the future of the Church, but in reality, it was a synod about the future of the world. How can the Church, by recovering a fundamental aspect of her being, offer the world the future of happiness that God desires for it? How can the Church best serve this world?
Conversion, Faubert emphasized, runs through the entire Final Document, since it is the DNA of the Church. He invited to read carefully certain numbers of the document, related to conversion, decision making and responsibility (84, 93, 106), as well as others that deal with topics such as liturgy (27), participation of women (77), and consultation of the laity (91).
Faubert also acknowledged the wisdom, thoughtfulness and determination of the women participants in the synod, who did not take a vindictive stance, and praised many theologians, canonists and fraternal (non-Catholic) delegates, whose experience in synodality of their own spiritual traditions proved valuable. "I remember an Anglican bishop asking us not to forget Our Lady." And he added: the great protagonist was the Pope.
At the conclusion of his impassioned lecture, Bishop Faubert made a plea not to leave synodality behind as if a chapter had been closed. As a member of the Ordinary Council that advises the Synod Secretariat and, therefore, the Pope, Faubert is convinced that before thinking about the next synod, we must implement the conclusions of Assembly XVI. On December 17, this international Council held its first meeting by Zoom. It is composed of 12 bishops elected by the XVI Assembly and 5 other members appointed by the Pope, two of whom are women.
