The Continental Document: Synodal Life taking Shape, and the Role of Liturgy

 

The Continental Document: Synodal Life taking Shape, and the Role of Liturgy

 It’s good to remember that we are in the second of three stages of a process. The document we are reflecting on (The Working Document for the Continental Stage) is a summary of hundreds of diocesan listening session reports. God bless those who have been going through all this material trying to catch all the emerging concerns and dreams…! The final section, “Next Steps” we will consider next month. This month we take a look at some final emerging concerns and the  question, “What has all this to do with how we pray?” (Sections 60-97)

 Are you surprised? There are six whole sections (60-65) on the role of women for the future church. Yes, from all over the world came this huge concern. The call is for women to participate fully in the entire life of the Church, coming from all continents. There is concern that women in some cultures are not understood, and their charisms and contributions not valued. From Israel comes the voice that major decisions continue to be made by men, and women are often relegated to the “prophetic edge,” where they observe what happens in the life of the Church. Yet they represent the majority of practicing members and are the most active member of the Church. The Korean Church raises the same concern.

 In every area of their lives women call on the Church to be at their side while they suffer violence, impoverishment and diminishment. They call on the Church to become for women a place of flourishing, active participation, and belonging. The New Zealand respondents called this lack of equality a stumbling block for the entire Church in the modern world. This concern includes both women religious and lay women, and is reflected in wages and the undervaluing of religious life without the habit. There is no united solution offered, however. There is a call for ongoing discernment regarding the active role of women in governance, preaching, and the female diaconate. There is much diversity on the question of women’s ordination. A key recognition is present that women religious can be teachers of synodality within the Church.

 Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Mexico raise the reality of a laity uneducated in co-responsibility, and thus they do not feel a full identification with the Church. They continue in a view of the Church centered in ordained ministry. Many reports refer to the recognition and promotion of lay ministries, but admit that the “margins for maneuver” are unclear. The charisms of the Holy Spirit given to the baptized are not separate from the hierarchical gifts linked to the sacrament of Orders. Clarification on how they are both to be celebrated is one of the major tasks of the Synod.

 These and other tensions surfacing in the synod process need to articulated and addressed, particularly those of governance and Canon Law. The new vision will need to be supported by a spirituality of synodality. This will keep us from reducing our reality to mere technical-organizational issues. This continental stage has revealed that in general the Church lacks established synodal practices at the continental level. This conclusion is not a ploy, but a challenge that corresponds to the incarnation at work in the Gospel itself. The Gospel takes root in specific communities. It produces ecclesial communities with particular features linked to each culture. Each is a privileged sphere for the sharing of gifts and the creation of new pastoral options. The Roman Curia and Episcopal Conferences too, face this same challenge. How are all decisions to be made through communal discernment rather than on the majority principle used in democratic regimes? This is going to require Synodal Formation on every level of Church life and seminary formation.

The Eucharist is key to this incarnational openness to diversity. It must not be used as a source of division within the Church, a reason for confrontation, ideology, rift, or as a weapon for denial of access. We need sincere celebrations that offer inspiration and help to live the faith in personal, family, and professional life. The document’s conclusion at this Continental Stage is very clear. We have just begun.