What’s next? Let it be done

By Fr Donald Chambers

On Sunday, October 29, Pope Francis celebrated the closing Mass of the Synod Assembly in St Peter’s Basilica. Three hundred and sixty-five participants, laity, priests, bishops, and the Pope lived and experienced synodality for four weeks. As the Pope said in his homily,

“…we have experienced the loving presence of the Lord and discovered the beauty of fraternity. We have listened to one another. . . and above all, we have listened to the Holy Spirit.”

These delegates have returned to their respective dioceses, exhausted yet inspired to continue the synod journey.

With the completion of the Assembly, what’s next?

The clue to this question rests inconspicuously in the preposition “for” in the synod theme – “For a synodal Church…” The preposition ‘for’ means “intended to reach”, and a preposition is a word expressing a relationship to another term or clause.

This proposition, then, is like a bridge connecting where the Church is today and the Church’s dream. The Church’s dream is depicted in the words, “. .  a synodal Church – communion, participation, and mission”.

The dream is to form a Church whose way of living, vivendi operandi, and way of governing, modus operandi, reflect the analogy of “walking together” to listen and discern the voice of the Holy Spirit for the mission of the Church in the 21st century.

Hence, Pope Francis preached, “Today we do not see the full fruit of this process, but with farsightedness we look to the horizon opening up before us. The Lord will guide us and help us to be a more synodal and missionary Church . . .”.

The preposition ‘for’ therefore indicates that the synodal journey continues in the respective dioceses where, in the spirit of listening and discerning, the fruits of the final document of the Assembly 2023 is to be read and reflected on.

Practically speaking, here are some recommendations for consideration. There needs to be increased awareness of the reality for many Catholics towards the synodal journey.

First, a minimal paradigm shift exists, from synod as a decision-making exercise to a discerning exercise. Second, many dioceses reported a small percentage of participation in the listening phase of the synodal journey. Third, fear and scepticism abound about the process. As the synod synthesis states, “. . . some people are afraid that they will be forced to change; others fear that nothing at all will change or that there will be too little courage to move at the pace of the living Tradition.”

Fourth, many parish priests are not entirely on board with the process. Fifth, given the Caribbean region’s friendly ties with the American media network, we are exposed and vulnerable to a lot of misinformation and disinformation, as with the Covid-19 pandemic.

Given these realities, how do we move forward on the synodal journey? First, I propose that the Assembly participants, especially the bishops, find innovative and creative means to participate in an open and honest conversation with fellow bishops and priests to listen deeply to their concerns about the synodal journey.

In the Letter to the People of God, it says, “ . . . the Church particularly needs to gather even more the words and experiences of the ordained ministers. . .” This allows the bishops to accompany them on the journey empathetically. Similarly, the Bishop can testify to his personal experience of the Assembly and invite them to join the universal Church on this journey.

Second, the Bishop can share his experience of fraternal bonding, conversion during the Assembly, how it inspired his dream for the Church, and then solicit the dreams of the other bishops and priests. It is recommended that this conversation is conducted in the context of prayer, not lecturing.

While the task in this phase is to reflect and respond to the synthesis of the Assembly, care must be taken that the People of God “experienced the loving presence of the Lord and discover the beauty of fraternity” (Pope Francis).

Third, in this phase, dioceses must formulate suitable strategies for responding (listening and discerning) to the “matters for consideration, convergences and proposal” in the Assembly synthesis. These strategies achieve a double objective: a lived fraternal experience, and a concrete response to the synthesis.

Fourth, parishes, vicariates, religious communities, and ecclesial communities must be schooled in the method of conversation in the Spirit used during the Assembly.

This is the spiritual tool of listening to and discernment of the synthesis. This method allows us to listen and be aware of what is churning within us as we share and listen.

How am I being called to conversion? As the letter to the People of God states, “. . . the Church. . . has the duty to listen, in a spirit of conversion. . .”

As the Church continues the synodal journey towards the next Assembly in October 2024, there is an invitation for all to participate, notwithstanding our fears and concerns.

The journey requires the Church to echo Mary’s fiat: Let it be done.

Fr Donald Chambers of the Archdiocese of Kingston, Jamaica is the General Secretary of the Antilles Episcopal Conference.