Synodality is the means for translating the Second Vatican Council into daily life claims Cardinal Grech in new interview

Cardinal Grech: Francis wants to grow the Church of the Second Vatican Council

Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, explains in an interview with Vatican News on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis' pontificate why Synodality, but also fraternity and mission, are at the heart of the Sovereign's magisterium pontiff.

The tenth anniversary of the pontificate of Francis takes place in the context of the synodal journey which involves the whole Catholic Church in view of the two assemblies of October 2023 and October 2024 in the Vatican. Synodality, according to Cardinal Mario Grech, is what brings together the entire magisterium of the Pope, at the centre of which are Communion and universal fraternity. 

Your Eminence, after ten years of pontificate for Pope Francis, he is recognized by believers and non-believers alike as the voice or at least one of the most important voices at the international level, even if it is too little listened to. What gestures and words of Francis would you like to highlight on the occasion of this anniversary?

A phrase which struck me and which often makes me reflect comes from the encyclical Fratelli tutti, where the Holy Father says that today “no one saves himself alone” (no. 32). This affirmation is not only valid in the Church but must also be applied in daily life. Indeed, I believe that in a fragmented world, in a world of conflict and individualism, the Holy Father - inspired of course by Jesus and his Gospel - is trying to create more Communion between the men and women of our time : and this, I repeat, both in the secular world and in the Church. This is the challenge, which is certainly not easy to meet, which the Pope has taken up in recent years.

Pope Francis helps the Church to take steps, small steps, in this direction, precisely to help the ecclesial community and the international community to unite to face the challenges of humanity today.

Speaking of challenges: the poor, migrants, the injustices of the current economic system, inequalities, concern for creation, peace, these are some of the recurring aspects of the pontificate of Pope Francis. They outline a Church which has much to say to the world and which wants to achieve, as you said, a more fraternal humanity. We see it in particular in the two encyclicals Laudato sì and Fratelli tutti...

What you underline confirms the will of the Holy Father to walk with people. Pope Francis constantly invites us to reflect on Synodality. But Synodality is not only a challenge for the Church, it is also a challenge for all humanity. By this I mean that the Holy Father invites us to walk together and listen to everyone, without excluding anyone, including people who are experiencing these difficulties. Perhaps we can also say that the Holy Father gives a voice to those who are poor, to those who suffer from injustice, to those who feel marginalized. Another phrase that comes to mind is actually the teaching of Pope Francis when he talks about the periphery. (…) Pope Francis often reminds us that the changes in history did not start from the center, but from the periphery, because those on the periphery can see reality much more objectively than those on the periphery. center. So the Pope actually recognizes the dignity and worth of every person and especially those “categories” of people you have highlighted. Here, moreover, I believe that Francis also sends a message to those who hold power in the world (…). By his actions, by his choices, by his actions, the Pope says: put these people also at the center because no one should be forgotten, especially not those who suffer. Faced with this challenge, the Holy Father tells us not to forget anyone, because everyone, even the smallest, has something to contribute for the good of the world.

We have looked outside, now looking inside the Church, here too the calls for conversion and change are strong, against machismo and clericalism, against abuses, against the temptation of power and worldliness, for unity in diversity, for a return to a life more consistent with the Gospel...

It is the ultimate conversion, which the Holy Father declines into several categories: spiritual conversion, ecological conversion, pastoral conversion and synodal conversion. The Christian is in this dynamic of conversion, and woe to us if we do not remember that we are in this process of conversion. And the Holy Father, as is his duty, tries to remind us of this, because if we do not enter into this process of conversion, we cannot take a step forward in our call also to holiness. Conversion to holiness involves all aspects of ecclesial and human life.

Cardinal Grech, you are the general secretary of the Synod, whose theme is synodality. In your opinion, is the idea of a Church where one lives the synodal style a "novelty" or an idea that Pope Francis has matured for a long time? And what is your impression of the Synodal Path taken by the Church at the stage we are at?

I was at the Continental Synodal Assembly of the Eastern Churches and one day a bishop said to me: “This synodal path is a path of penance”. To tell the truth, these words struck me a little. Why penitential? He answered me: “Because Synodality is a jewel that the Church had in the first millennium, but we lost it, we neglected it”. It is therefore a penitential journey, because it is also a request for forgiveness from the Lord for having neglected, forgotten this synodal dimension of the Church, which is not a new dimension that Pope Francis wants to add to the Church, but which is part of its nature. What Pope Francis is doing is helping us rediscover the beauty of the Church as the people of God. And this is the discourse of the Second Vatican Council. Therefore, if today, at the invitation of the Holy Father, we reflect - and I hope that we will also take decisions - to make the Church more synodal, it is because the Holy Father wants to translate into daily life the teaching of the Second Vatican Council, in particular the teaching on the Church, the ecclesiology of Vatican II.

You also ask me how this process takes place. At this point, we conclude the second stage of the process, namely the continental meetings. I participated in four of these seven assemblies and I must admit that each time, we were surprised by the enthusiasm we found. The enthusiasm of all: bishops, priests, consecrated persons and lay people. And yes, I can say that it is an indescribable experience to see with what passion the people of God speak about Jesus, about the Gospel, about the Church and about the presence of the Church in the world.

Unfortunately, it doesn't make the headlines, but it is the reality. I am not saying that everyone is convinced, that there are no difficulties, that there are no doubts, but it is a process: a process that has begun! The Holy Father often reminds us that the synod is not an event, but a process. So we can expect that over time, the grace of the Lord will work wonders.

Which continental assemblies have you attended?

I was in Prague, then I attended the European assembly. Then I went to Beirut for the Assembly of Oriental Churches. In Bangkok for the Assembly of Asia and finally in Addis Ababa for the Synodal Assembly of the African continent.

So you saw very different realities...

It is true that there is this diversity, but there is also unity; there is communion because the foundation is the same for all the Assemblies, naturally with nuances that also reflect the history, the culture, the ecclesial, spiritual and pastoral experience of each continent. The important thing is that the Church is always inserted in the local context - admittedly different - but it is there that the Church must learn to walk with the people and also to find answers to the questions that the inhabitants of this continent pose.

Recently, during the general audience, Pope Francis gave a series of catecheses on the theme of discernment, which is an essential element of the synodal style. Can you tell us what the Pope's hopes and expectations are with regard to this event in the life of the Church, which can truly transform it and give it new impetus?

I would say that the theme of the Synod for a Synodal Church is centered on communion, participation and mission. If these concepts are well understood, they say it all. The Holy Father wants a synodal Church where there is communion, therefore where no one feels excluded; where there is participation of all, respecting charisms and ministries; and then for a mission, because all this is not a self-referential discourse, that is to say, it is not an introspection, but we reflect on the Church in order to be able to communicate the Gospel also today' today, to help the encounter between the risen Lord and the man of today.

And discernment is fundamental: in his teaching over these ten years, the Holy Father has taught us what the Synod is and what a Synodal Church is, that is, a Church whose protagonist is the Holy Spirit. A synodal assembly, a synodal Church that does not create space for the Spirit, is not the Church of Jesus and we cannot go forward; on the contrary, it would be self-destructive, whereas if we open ourselves to the Spirit, then yes, here is the future. But to know how to read the presence of the Holy Spirit, to know how to discern the will of God, we need discernment, invoking the Holy Spirit, precisely to assure ourselves that the steps we take in the deepening of the will of the Lord will be done in the right direction.

Source