Vatican News 

First plenary session

October 2, 2024

OPENING ADDRESS OF CARDINAL JEAN-CLAUDE HOLLERICH
General Relator of the Synod of Bishops

Dear brothers and sisters, Good morning! First of all, I would like to extend a warm welcome to those of you who – although not many – participated in the second session but were not present at the first. I hope you have felt welcome. But I would also like to warmly welcome back all those who are here once again. It is wonderful to see each other again, it is a sign that our familiarity and friendship have truly grown, and the past year has not erased that.

So here we are again: the faces of the people around each of us are familiar, the hall is the same, and the tables and chairs are the same. For me, even the seating arrangements are the same as last year. Although some tables have been moved, I believe that I am not the only one in this situation. This helps us feel at home, but perhaps also makes us forget something very important. The second session is not a repetition or a simple continuation of the first, but we are called to go a step further. This is precisely what the People of God expect from this Synodal Assembly.

So I think it would be useful at this point to reflect on the differences between the First and Second Sessions, in order to better adjust to our new mandate.

Objectives of the Second Session

The first and most important difference is the purpose of the two sessions, which also determines the nature of our presence and exchange. The aim of the first session was to enable us to know each other better, but above all to help each one of us to have a clearer view of the Churches from which the other comes, of their situation, of how they live their mission, of the priorities of their activity, as well as of the concerns and questions of synodality that the Council has. Using an illustration, we could say that in the first session we were called to see each other through the lens of the other. It was a fascinating journey, at times arduous, but one that shed light on the diversity that the Church embraces – languages, cultures, traditions, genders, and situations – and led us to recognize it as a richness and a gift from God.

As  the Instrumentum laboris  of the second session affirmed, «The experience of cultural diversity and the richness of encounter and dialogue between them are a condition of the Church’s survival, not a threat to her catholicity» (IL2, n. 81).

From this experience and with wonder and gratitude for the riches that the Spirit bestows on the Church, in this second Assembly we are called to focus our gaze, or rather to discern together where to turn, to point out potential paths of development to invite the Churches to follow. The goal is that these riches are not locked up in a chest, but enter into an exchange of gifts, nourishing the communion of the whole Church. The guiding question for the second Assembly invites us to this: «How can we become a missionary synodal Church?», a question on which all the Churches of the world have been consulted.

The Instrumentum laboris  for the Second Session, which will be the basis for our work in the coming weeks, brings us the “quintessence” of what the Church has learned over the past three years. The significance of the document lies in the fact that its title repeats the guiding question of the second session – “How can we become a missionary synodal Church?” – but without the question mark. This is precisely the step forward that we must take together as a Congress.

Instrumentum laboris  for the Second Session

This leads to the second important difference. When you received  the Instrumentum laboris  of the Second Session, you must have noticed at first sight that it was quite different from the document prepared for the first session. The working tools are different because our tasks are different.

The Instrumentum laboris  of the first session is a collection of questions, especially in the working documents. It invites us to question ourselves and above all to tell a story: the answers to those questions are essentially the story of the experience of our Churches. This is quite different from  the Instrumentum laboris  of the second session, in which the question mark appears only about a dozen times, compared to more than 300 times in the previous document – ​​I took the trouble to count them. I see this as a good indicator of the step forward that the second session is called to take and a clear invitation to focus all our attention in one direction.

I thank the experts who participated in the preparation of this document, because they started from the Synod Report of the First Session and the results of the second consultation with the local Churches. They also considered previous documents and the results of the international meeting of “Parish Priests towards the Synod”, together with the documents of the five working groups established by the General Secretariat of the Synod.

Working method

The difference in the Instrumenta laboris documents   of the two sessions corresponds to the difference in working methods that we will follow.

Of course, we will always have time for group work (small groups) and time for plenary sessions (plenary sessions), but compared to last year, both of these will have changed dynamics. You have probably seen this in the methodological information (the document entitled “How we will work together”) that we have received in recent weeks, or in the regulations.

The working groups will continue to follow the method of dialogue in the Spirit, but with some adjustments to fit the specific goals of this session. We will receive more details about these new things tomorrow morning. Our coordinators have attended three days of training to best accompany us. We thank them for this.

We will also receive further information on the plenary work. I would just like to highlight here the choice to focus more on our exchanges. For this reason, in each of the four modules that we will be familiar with from tomorrow, the first task of the Congress is to adopt the order in which the topics will be dealt with during the hours (with three modules, there will be nine hours) of plenary session available, based on a list that will be drawn up by the group. We have asked the Chairs to take an active role in helping us not to deviate from the priorities that we ourselves will adopt, and for this reason they have also been trained. But their task will be easier if each of them helps them by being a little self-disciplined. However, each module will reserve time for interventions on topics that the Congress has not yet identified as priorities.

Dialogue with Research Groups

There is one final difference that I would like to emphasize. Last year, our Congress was the only body, at the level of the universal Church, that carried out reflection on synodality by practicing the synodal method. This year, that is no longer the case. We have companions on this path, the ten Study Groups established by the Holy Father in February.

These Groups are first of all the concrete fruit of our work. In the words of the Holy Father, “The Synodal Report of the First Congregation […] lists many important theological questions, all of which are to varying degrees relevant to the synodal renewal of the Church and are not without juridical and pastoral implications. These questions, by their very nature, require careful study. Since it will not be possible to carry out this study during the time of the Second Congregation (2-27 October 2024), I ask that they be assigned to specific Study Groups so that an appropriate examination can be carried out” (1). In other words, with the establishment of these groups, the reception and implementation of the directives of our Assembly has begun.

This also applies – and I would like to emphasize this in particular – to the working method of these groups. When the groups were established, the Holy Father also asked them to “work according to an authentically synodal method” (ibid.), entrusting the General Secretariat of the Synod with ensuring that this is actually done. This explains, for example, the composition of these groups, with the presence of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia competent for the various topics, together with pastors and experts from different geographical origins, from different conditions (men and women, priests, religious, lay people), and with different professional expertise. The General Secretariat of the Synod was actively involved in launching these groups and continues to follow their work, ensuring coordination with the synodal process. These are truly synodal working-learning groups, where you will also learn through evaluation.

In this sense, these ten groups are also our dialogue partners, and we will spend the rest of this afternoon in dialogue with them, inviting representatives from each group to update us on the programme they have undertaken for themselves. We will do this within the framework of a brief review of the contents of the four parts of the Instrumentum laboris, which clearly correspond to the themes of the first four modules of this Congress. We will see how closely our work and that of these ten groups are intertwined. In the spirit of synergy, I will not be the only one speaking during the Report of the General Relator. This dialogue can continue in the coming weeks, when you will see many members of these ten groups participating in the work of the Second Session on various occasions.

Overview of our work

The Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session opens with the vision of the Messianic banquet of the prophet Isaiah (Is 25:6-8). It thus reminds us that the Risen Lord entrusts to his disciples “the task of going forth to all peoples, to serve them a banquet of food that brings fullness of life and joy” (IL2, Introduction). Mission is the horizon of the synodal Church.

The Instrumentum laboris is divided into four parts. In the first four parts of the work we will focus on each part, as will be explained in more detail tomorrow. This evening I would just like to highlight the connection with the ten Study Groups.

The first part is entitled “Foundations”: it sets out the vision for the elaboration of the responses to the guiding questions, and explains the theological points of reference that have been gradually consolidated in recent years. In this context, the **Instrumentum laboris** refers to the work of Study Group 10, “The reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in the People of God” (RdS 7). The moderator, Bishop Paul Rouhana, Auxiliary Bishop of the Maronite Catholic Diocese of Joubbé, Sarba and Jounieh, will be responsible for this content. I would like to remind all those who will speak that they will have a maximum of three to four minutes after the short introductory video.

Thank you all so much for a job well done. Thank you.

It is in the “Foundations” section that the Instrumentum laboris refers to Study Group No. 2, “Listening to the cry of the poor” (RdS 4 and 16). Ms. Sandie Cornish, an Australian, coordinator of the group, will speak on this issue. Thank you, Ms. Cornish.

In the Instrumentum laboris, three parts are closely linked, shedding light from different angles on the Church’s missionary synodal life (IL2, Introduction). The first angle is “The relationships – with God, between brothers and sisters, and between the Churches – which sustain the Church’s life more deeply than her structures” (ibid.). Among the themes of this part is the exchange of gifts between the Churches. Study Group 1 reflects on “Some aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church” (RdS 6). We will listen to a presentation on this work from Cardinal Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches. Thank you, Cardinal.

Another important point in the “Relationships” section is the question of ministries in the Church and the relationship between charisms and ministries. In this context, Study Group No. 5 will speak, and Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, will speak. Thank you, Cardinal, for your speech.

A large part of the section “Relationships” is devoted to the service of ordained ministers (bishops, priests and deacons) and the building of relationships between them and each other and with the rest of the People of God. This theme concerns the work of Study Group No. 7, which will be introduced by video by its coordinator, Bishop Felix Genn, Bishop of Münster (Germany). We thank Bishop Genn.

In this context, Study Group 6 will address a specific aspect. We will receive an update on this topic from its coordinator, Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, Archbishop of Newark (USA). Thank you very much, Cardinal.

We continue with the second angle, which is “Paths that support and nurture the concreteness of the dynamics of relationships” (IL2, Introduction). In this section, attention immediately turns to the theme of formation in synodality, which Study Group No. 4 is working on. We will receive an update on this theme via video from the group’s coordinator, Cardinal José Cobo Cano, Archbishop of Madrid (Spain). Thank you from afar.

A second important theme in this section is ecclesial discernment processes and their modes of development. This concerns the work of Study Group 9, “Theological criteria and synodal methods for discerning controversial doctrinal, pastoral and moral issues” (RdS 15). Fr. Carlo Casalone, SI, Secretary of the group, will reflect on this issue.

We then move on to the third perspective, that of “On Places, which, against the temptation of abstract universalism, speaks of the concreteness of the contexts where relationships are realized, with their diversity, multidimensionality and interconnectedness, and with their roots in the fundamental source of the confession of faith” (IL2, Introduction). Among the cultures that need to embody the Gospel message today is also the digital environment, a theme that Study Group No. 3 is working on, with a presentation by Professor Kim Daniels from the United States. Thank you, Professor Daniels.

We are entering a conception of Place that is no longer defined solely by geographical or spatial criteria, but must be understood as a network of relationships.

This section also covers topics of great significance, such as the relationship between the local Churches within universal communion, the role of ecclesial associations, the function of the Synodal Institution, and the service of unity that the Bishop of Rome must undertake. The reflection of Study Group No. 8 on Apostolic Nuncios is set within this context. The group’s coordinator, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Bombay (India), will report to us via video.

Although he spoke to us via video, we were still able to thank Cardinal Gracias in person, as he is a member of the Permanent Council of the Synod and also a member of our Assembly.

After the section on Places, the Instrumentum laboris ends with a brief conclusion, bringing us back to the vision of our journey as a synodal Church, but also as a synodal Congress. I think that the final paragraph of the Instrumentum laboris, no. 112, can help us today to carry out our task with the right preparations.

“The prophet Isaiah concludes his oracle with a song of praise to be repeated in chorus: ‘This is our God; in him we have hoped, and he will save us. This is the Lord in whom we have hoped; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation’ (Is 25:9). As the People of God – and now I would add, as a synodal assembly – let us raise this praise together, while, as pilgrims of hope, we continue on the Synodal path to those who still await the proclamation of the Good News of salvation!”