“A synodal Church needs its priests.” This is the leitmotif of Pope Francis in a letter addressed to parish priests around the world and given to the 300 priests who participated in a meeting near Rome, from April 29 to May 2, 2024, in order to prepare the assembly of the Synod on the the future of the Church planned for next October. The lack of participation of priests in this major reflection project opened in 2021, supposed to make the Church more participatory and less clerical, had been noted.
In their summary document, the participants in the synodal session of October 2023 asked to “more actively involve deacons, priests and bishops” and to “understand the reasons for resistance to synodality on the part of certain of them”. In response, the Synod Secretariat organized three days of reflection dedicated exclusively to their issues.
“The Church could not move forward without your commitment and your service,” assures Pope Francis in a letter he gave to the priests who came to meet him at the Vatican, at the end of their seminar. For the pontiff, the investment of priests is in fact decisive for the involvement of parish communities. “If the parishes are not synodal and missionary, the Church will not be either,” he warns.
An “authentic fatherhood”
In this message, the Bishop of Rome asks priests to adapt their ministry to this new “synodal” style which wants to dust off the Church and its hierarchical system. He invites them to experience “an authentic fatherhood which does not dominate but which brings out many precious potentialities in others, men and women”.
The Pope formulates three orientations in particular, insisting on the valorization of the “charisms” of the lay faithful: “I invite you to live your specific ministerial charism more and more in the service of the multiform gifts spread by the Spirit in the People of God. Indeed, it is urgent to discover, encourage and value ‘in faith the charisms of the laity in all their forms, from the most modest to the most eminent.’
The pope then urged priests to practice the art of discernment: “I wholeheartedly suggest that you learn and practice the art of community discernment, using for this the method of “conversation in the Spirit.” , who helped us so much in the synodal journey and in the conduct of the Assembly itself.”
> The letter to the priests <
Finally, the pope insisted on the unity of priests among themselves and with their bishop: “I would like to recommend that you put at the basis of all sharing and fraternity between you and with your bishops. This request came out forcefully during the International Congress for the Continuing Formation of Priests, on the theme ‘Revive the gift of God that is in you’.”
“We need to continue to listen to you,” insists Francis, strongly hoping for the participation of priests in the second Roman session of the Synod, scheduled for October 2024. The results of the work of the 300 priests, which took place behind closed doors, will be used to the writing of theInstrumentum laboris, the working document of this session, which could be made public at the beginning of July. (cath.ch/imedia/ak/bh)
© Catholic Media Center Cath-Info, 05/02/2024
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