On October 17, the diocesan phase of the Synod of Bishops, which Pope Francis had initiated in Rome for the universal Church a week earlier, began. Readers already know that this is a unique convocation, conceived as a three-year process, which will go through several phases; and that, unlike previous Synods, it will not focus on the discussion or study of a particular theme. Its main intention is that each of the baptized may know that he or she is responsible for the Church to which he or she belongs, and that both he or she and the Church itself may embrace with enthusiasm its evangelizing mission.
Monsignor Luis Marin de San Martin, Undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, explains this in detail in an interview for this issue of Omnes. His statements make explicit the content of recent interventions of Pope Francis, specifically the address to the faithful of the Diocese of Rome in September; the speech inaugurating the synodal process on October 9, as well as the homily delivered at the opening Mass of the Synod on October 10.
In addition to the synodal journey just begun, we would like to highlight other topics in this issue of Omnes. One is the article in the At the roots of our TraditionThe book, centered on the apocryphal gospels, is a collection of writings that have attracted the attention of many in recent times. These are writings that have attracted the attention of many in recent times, and are certainly relevant testimonies of the life of the Church between the second and fifth centuries.
Continuing Omnes' attention to contemporary theology, in this issue we offer the article on Gustave Thils in the series conducted by Juan Luis Lorda; and we explain elsewhere the work of the Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI Vatican Foundation. This foundation awards its prizes each year to renowned theologians. In 2021 the winners were the Germans Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz and Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger, the former of whom will participate in an Omnes Forum next December. Already in the spring of this year, we held an Omnes Forum with Tracey Rowland, a 2020 award winner together with Jean-Luc Marion. All four will receive the award from the Pope on November 13.
The interview with MEP Jaime Mayor Oreja is very illustrative of the cultural moment of Catholics in Europe and the social context that they must help to shape. On the cultural horizon, pro-life initiatives are also moving, such as the annual marches that have spread in many cities. We now report on the first pro-life march that has taken place in Finland.
Finally, we highlight information on the Jubilee Year to mark the first 250 years since St. Junipero Serra founded Mission San Gabriel Arcangel, the first church in what is now the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and other celebrations related to those key milestones in the first proclamation of the Gospel in the lands of North America.
