In their letter, Cardinals Grech and Hollerich warned that “those who claim to impose any one theme on the synod forget the logic that governs the synod process.”
“We are called to chart a ‘common course,’ beginning with the contribution of all,” the cardinals said.
The letter also stated that the Working Document for the Continental Stage, or DCS, which summarized the concerns brought up during the diocesan phase, does “not constitute the agenda of the next assembly of the Synod of Bishops.”
Instead, the document provides a much-needed “glimpse of the face of a church that is learning to listen to the Spirit through listening to one another.”
“It will be the task of the continental assemblies, based on the common concerns elicited in each particular church through its reading of the DCS, to identify the priorities, recurring themes and calls to action that can be shared with other local churches around the world and discussed during the first session of the Synodal Assembly in October 2023,” the cardinals said.
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Shortly after the letter was published, Cardinal Grech told Vatican News that it was important to remind bishops of their role since theirs is “a fundamental ministry for the church.”
“There is no synod without a bishop because bishops have been entrusted not by the church, but by the Lord to guide, to shepherd their flock,” Cardinal Grech said. “And so the bishops, in communion among themselves — so collegiality — and in communion with Peter, are those who can really guarantee that the discernment carried out by the People of God is correct.”
This article originally appeared here.
