Pope: A Synod is not a survey. It
is the presence of the Holy Spirit
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| Pope Francis receives bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in the Vatican (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis meets with bishops of the Ukrainian
Greek-Catholic Church and speaks about the role of the Holy Spirit in
synodality.
By Vatican News
Meeting with bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church,
who are here in Rome for their Synod, Pope Francis referred to an article
published this past weekend in “l’Osservatore Romano”. The Pope said he was not
trying to “make publicity” for the Vatican newspaper, but that he liked the
article which dealt with “the presence of the Holy Spirit in the synodal
journey”.
What a Synod is not
Pope Francis said that today we are in danger of believing
that “to make a synodal journey, or to have an attitude of synodality,” means
taking a survey of opinions and then coming to some sort of agreement. “A synod
is not a Parliament”, he said, “you must say things, discuss them as you
normally do, but it is not a Parliament”.
Unlike politics, the Pope continued, a synod is not a series
of agreements: “I give you this, you give me that”. It is not a question of
conducting “sociological investigations” regarding what needs to change, and
how to go about changing it.
What a Synod is
A Synod is only a Synod, said Pope Francis, if the Holy
Spirit is present. “If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is no synodality”,
he added. “Indeed, if there is no Church, there is no identity of the Church”,
the Pope continued. “And what is the identity of the Church? Saint Pope Paul VI
said it clearly: the vocation of the Church is to evangelize. Its identity is
to evangelize”.
Pope Francis concluded by inviting the bishops of the
Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to enter their Synod together with the Holy
Spirit, even if it means “fighting among yourselves!”. In the end, however, it
must be the Spirit that leads them. “This, he said, “is the way to proceed”.
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