You may have heard or read that Pope Francis has called a Synod of Bishops; it opens in the Vatican on 9 October and in all of the (arch)dioceses around the world on 17 October.   Archbishop Pérez will celebrate an Opening Mass for the Diocesan Phase of the Synod that evening at 6:30pm at our Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul.

The Synod of Bishops is a permanent council that acts as an advisory body for the pope.  A pope convokes a synod to assist him in his ministry of leading the universal Church or particular geographical area.  With ancient roots in the early Church, the notion of a synod was reintroduced by Pope Paul VI as a way to continue the collegial experience of the Second Vatican Council.  This will be the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops since that Council.  Depending on the topic of the synod, bishops are ordinarily directed to elicit information from a particular constituency in their dioceses in preparation for their meeting in the Vatican.  For example, Saint Pope John Paul II called a synod in 1988 to advise him on the situation of the laity around the world.  I was the director of the archdiocesan Family Life Office at that time so I was asked to provide information to Cardinal Bevilacqua as he prepared to join in the Synod meeting.

This Synod is different from all of the others, however, since all of the laity will be invited to participate.  The preparatory document that the Vatican will provide to all dioceses will include a questionnaire and a proposal for carrying out a diocesan-wide consultation.  This will be coordinated by Msgr. Brian Hennessey, the Vicar for Clergy, in our archdiocese in the upcoming months.

Entitled For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission, it is, according to Pope Francis, “precisely the path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.”  As the Preparatory Document for the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops states so well:

This journey, which follows in the wake of the Church’s “renewal” proposes by the Second Vatican Council, is both a gift and a task: by journeying together and reflecting together on the journey that has been made, the Church will be able to learn through Her experience which processes can help Her to live communion, to achieve participation, to open Herself to mission.  Our “journeying together” is, in fact, what most effectively enacts and manifests the nature of the Church as the pilgrim and missionary People of God. (§ 1)

Synods have benefitted the Church greatly over the past fifty years.  They have provided the foundation for some very important documents, such as the updated Catechism of the Catholic Church, as well as the apostolic constitutions Familiaris consortio (The Role of the Christian Family in the Modern World, 1981), Reconcilatio et paenitentia (Penance and Reconciliation, 1984), Christifideles laici (The Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People, 1988), Pastores dabo vobis (I Will Give You Shepherds, 1992) and Sacramentum caritas (The Sacrament of Charity, 2007).  I am confident that this Synod will benefit us for years to come.

I encourage you to join in either the Holy Hour, beginning at 5:00pm, or the Opening Mass, beginning at 6:30pm at our Cathedral on Sunday, 17 October.  And, I invite you to join in praying for the success of this Synod, using the prayer Pope Francis has written for this occasion:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, in you we contemplate the splendor of true love, to you we turn with trust. Holy Family of Nazareth, grant that our families, too, may be places of communion and prayer, authentic schools of the Gospel, and small domestic churches. Holy Family of Nazareth, may families never again experience violence, rejection, and division; may all who have been hurt or scandalized find ready comfort and healing. Holy Family of Nazareth, may the approaching Synod of Bishops make us once more mindful of the sacredness and inviolability of the family and its beauty in God’s plan. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, graciously hear our prayer. Amen.