At an event marking the 50th anniversary of the institution of the synod by Blessed Paul VI, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna described the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15) as the “model for the method of synod”. He said the first synod was marked by “dramatic conflict”. He added that similarly, bishops need to speak clearly and boldly and listen to one another attentively at synods but should not be afraid of “animated discussions”.
The cardinal said that while theological debate is important, the conflict at the Council of Jerusalem was solved when St Peter made a decision. The others accepted Peter’s decision in silent humility, and then some of the apostles spoke of the works of God they had witnessed. The Church then received the decision of the council with joy.
He said synods ought to assist the Church’s missionary dynamism, be places in which bishops speak of what they have witnessed, and be a place of “common discernment of God’s will”, rather than a “consultative or deliberative vote”.
Synodality: the path of the Church
Speaking at the same event, Pope Francis said: “The path of synodality is the path God expects from the Church in the third millennium. …Synodality, as a constitutive dimension of the Church, offers us the best interpretative framework for understanding her hierarchical ministry… in which no one may be ‘higher’ than others. On the contrary, in the Church it is necessary to put oneself in service to one’s brothers.
“Jesus constituted the Church, placing at the summit the apostolic college, in which the apostle Peter is the ‘rock’, he who must ‘confirm’ his brothers in the faith. But in this Church, as in an upturned pyramid, the summit is below the base. Therefore, those who exercise authority are called ‘ministers in accordance with the original meaning of the word, they are the least of all.”
The Eucharist is not a prize but medicine
Speaking during the synod, Cardinal Reinhard Marx said: “With a view to divorced and remarried Catholics who take an active part in parish life, many faithful ask why the Church, without exception, refuses to let them partake of Communion. They cannot understand how one can belong to the full community of the Church and yet be excluded from the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist. The reason given is that divorced and remarried people are in an objectively adulterous situation and therefore contradict what the Eucharist symbolically represents, namely Christ’s loyalty to His Church.
“But does this explanation do justice to the situation of those concerned? And is it mandatory from the sacramental-theological point of view? Can people who are seen to be in a state of grave sin really have the feeling of fully belonging to us?” Marx queried.
“The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness.”
Cupich on conscience
US Archbishop Blase Cupich of Chicago said the Church has to respect decisions divorced and remarried people make about their spiritual lives after they examine what their conscience is telling them.
“Our job within the Church is to help them respect that,” he said. “The conscience is inviolable. We have to respect that when they make decisions. I’ve always done that.”
(Compiled by Fr Joe Borg)