Vatican City, 2 October 2015 (VIS) –
This morning in the Holy See Press Office Cardinal Lorenzo
Baldisseri, general secretary of the Synod of Bishops, gave a
presentation of the phases and methods of the Ordinary General
Assembly of the Synod of Bishops on “The vocation and mission of
the family in the Church and the contemporary world”, which will
commence on Sunday 4 October.
“Tomorrow evening, in St. Peter's
Square, in the presence of the Holy Father, a prayer vigil will be
held in preparation for the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of
Bishops, to be attended by the Synod Fathers, the participants in the
Synod and all the faithful of the world, on an initiative of the
Italian Episcopal Conference, which has invited families, movements
and ecclesial associations. At nightfall the beauty of the family
will shine through lighted torches. The trustful invocation of the
Holy Spirit by the People of God is the prelude to the work of the
Synod; indeed, we recall the important tone given to the last
Extraordinary General Assembly by the Holy Father, with the powerful
homily he gave during the Vigil.
The Mass on Sunday morning, presided by
the Holy Father, will signal the opening of the Ordinary General
Assembly of the Synod on 'The vocation and mission of the family in
the Church and the contemporary world', allowing all the faithful of
the world to join the common path of the pastors cum Petro et sub
Petro.
This Assembly is the culmination of the
synodal journey undertaken two years ago, with the distribution of
the first questionnaire to all the particular Churches, enabling the
profile of the family in the world, its riches and its challenges, to
be outlined. The Extraordinary General Assembly then prepared a Final
Report (Relatio Synodi) which raised further questions; the answers
have been incorporated in today's Instrumentum Laboris. With this
text in hand, composed of the Relatio Synodi and by the contributions
of the particular Churches, the Fathers are preparing to listen to
the challenges faced by the family, to discern its vocation, and to
announce its mission.
Composition of the Ordinary General
Assembly
In accordance with the Ordo Synodi
Episcoporum (Art. 5 § 1), the Ordinary General Assembly will be
attended by the Heads of the sui iuris Oriental Catholic Churches,
the bishops elected by the Synod of Bishops and the Councils of the
Hierarchy of the Oriental Catholic Churches, the bishops elected by
the Episcopal Conferences, ten religious elected by the Union of
Superiors General and the heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia. In
addition, the Holy Father also appoints some Members, in accordance
with the same Synod regulations (Art. 5 § 4).
A total of 270 Synod Fathers will
participate in this Assembly. They are divided into the following
three categories: 42 ex officio, 183 ex electione and 45 ex
nominatione pontificia. The Fathers originate from the five
continents, as follows: 54 from Africa, 64 from America, 36 from
Asia, 107 from Europe and 9 from Oceania.
The Members ex officio comprise the
heads of the 15 Synods of Bishops of the sui iuris Oriental Catholic
Churches; 25 heads of dicasteries of the Roman Curia; the general
secretary and the under Secretary.
The 270 Synod Fathers include: 74
cardinals (including one cardinal Patriarch and 2 major archbishops),
six Patriarchs, one major archbishop, 72 archbishops (including three
titular), 102 bishops (including six auxiliaries, three apostolic
vicars and one emeritus), two parish priests and 13 religious. In
addition, other invitees from different cultures and nations will
take part in this Synod Assembly (cf. Art. 7 Ordo Synodi): 24 experts
and collaborators of the Special Secretary, 51 auditors and 14
fraternal delegates. Noteworthy is the fact that, since this is an
Assembly dedicated to the family, particular importance is given to
spouses, parents and family heads, of whom a total of 18 are present
(17 auditors and one among the experts). Finally, we are pleased to
welcome the fraternal delegates who, as representatives of other
Churches and ecclesial communities, certainly share with the Catholic
Church a concern for evangelisation and the pastoral care of families
in today's world.
Synod methodology
Starting from the experience gained
during the Third Extraordinary General Assembly last October and
taking into account various suggestions have come from many sides,
especially by the Synod Fathers, the General Secretariat of the Synod
has developed a new methodology to apply the Ordinary General
Assembly, approved by the Holy Father at the meeting of the Ordinary
Council of the Secretariat on 25-26 May 2015.
Given the methodology of the previous
synods, the majority of the Fathers suggested that the General
Assembly is made more dynamic and participatory through the
distribution of interventions among the individual members at
different times, enabling more attention to be devoted each
contribution. In addition, the Fathers requested the enhancement of
the work in the Circuli Minores, where there is more active
participation in the discussion, more direct and immediate connection
between the Fathers in their own language, and in which the auditors
and fraternal delegates can intervene.
The result of the first Synod phase,
devloped during the last Extraordinary General Assembly, was the
Relatio Synodi, which became, together with an attached series of
questions, the Lineamenta of the Ordinary General Assembly presented
to the particular Churches and to all other entitled persons. The
Instrumentum Laboris, resulting from the composition of the Relatio
Synodi and the answers related to it, it is the foundational document
of this Synod Assembly.
In the opening session, the President
Delegate will greet the Holy Father, who will open the meeting. This
will be followed by reports from the General Secretary and the
General Rapporteur. The General Rapporteur will then present the
themes of the First Part (“Listening to the challenges to the
family”; cf. Instrumentum Laboris Nos. 6-36). After the testimony
of a married couple (auditors), the interventions of the Synod
Fathers in the General Congregations, will begin. Their contribution
constitutes a development of the basic text.
This will be followed by the sessions
of the Circuli minori, in which the Fathers reflect on the basic text
supplemented by the contributions made in the assembly hall, in order
to develop the “ways” in which the text continues to mature. At
the end of the sessions, the rapporteur from each Circulo presents a
brief report of their work and indicates the supplements to be
inserted in the base text. The reports of the Working Groups will be
made public.
The same process is repeated for the
Second Part (“The discernment of the vocation of the family”; cf.
Instrumentum Laboris Nos. 37-68) and the Third Party (“The mission
of the family today”; cf. Instrumentum Laboris Nos. 69 -147),
during the following two weeks.
The Commission for the Elaboration of
the Final Report, appointed by the Holy Father, in which all five
continents are represented, consists of: Cardinal Peter Erdo,
archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest (Hungary), Rapporteur General; the
General Secretary; Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto (Italy);
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Bombay (India); Cardinal
Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington (United States of America);
Cardinal John Atcherley Dew, archbishop of Wellington (New Zealand);
Archbishop Victor Manuel Fernandez, rector of the Pontifical Catholic
University of Argentina (Argentina); Bishop Mathieu Madega
Lebouakehan of Mouila (Gabon); Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano
(Italy); Father Adolfo Nicolas Pachon, superior general of the
Society of Jesus, representing the Union of Superiors General.
The Commission has the duty of
following each stage of the project; therefore, it meets at the end
of the work on each part and in drafting the final document. At the
end of the three stages of work, the Commission oversees preparation
of the draft of the Final Report, to be presented in plenary session.
Bearing in mind that this project is the composition of three texts
that have already been received in the Circuli minores – whose
reports were read in plenary and published – further interventions
must be advanced with regard to the collective work conducted so far.
Subsequently, the above Commission
oversees the preparation of the final text of the Relatio finalis, to
be presented on the morning of Saturday 24 October in plenary session
and submitted for approval to the Assembly in the afternoon.
In accordance with the nature of the
Synod, this document, the result of the collective work of the
Fathers (cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 343), will be consigned to the
Holy Father (cf. Ordo Synodi Episcoporum, Art. 23 § 4), who is
responsible for decisions.
4) Given the large number of those
entitled to speak (318 Fathers, the fraternal delegates and auditors)
and the extra space reserved for Circuli minores (13 sessions), each
speaker has the right to speak in the House for three minutes and to
intervene extensively in the Circuli. As in the past, the General
Congregations are granted one hour each, dedicated to free
interventions by the Fathers. In addition, it is always possible to
submit other written texts to the General Secretariat, in addition to
the texts in paper and electronic formats presented in the Assembly
Hall.
5) Considering that media communication
and information during the last Extraordinary General Assembly was
abundant and comprehensive, the same methods will also be used in
relation to this General Assembly. In this regard, it is essential to
bear in mind the basic criterion mentioned by the Holy Father on a
number of occasions: the Synod must be a safe space so that the Holy
Spirit can act and so that the Fathers have the freedom to express
themselves with parresia.
During the three weeks, the briefing
will be maintained as the basis for providing information; it will
however be expanded, with a greater presence of the Synod Fathers,
and using all available means of communication. The Fathers are free
to communicate with the media at their own discretion and
responsibility. The various stages in the development of the basic
document remain confidential, since during the synodal process, the
texts are subject to continuous developments right up to the final
draft. However, the reports of the Circuli minori on the three
aspects of the work of the Synod will be published. A special
Commission, together with the Holy See Press Office, will as usual be
responsible for providing information on the Synod.
Further information
On Saturday 17 October from 9:00 am to
12:30 pm, the Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Synod of
Bishops will take place in the Paul VI Hall. The event is open to all
who wish to participate, as well as those attending the Synod. In the
mind of Blessed Paul VI, who instituted it on 15 September 1965, the
Synod was intended to perpetuate the spirit of Vatican Council II in
the Church, so that even after its conclusion, it would continue to
receive that 'great abundance of benefits that we have been so happy
to see flow to the Christian people during the time of the Council as
a result of Our close collaboration with the bishops'.
After the introduction by the General
Secretary, the commemorative report will be entrusted to Cardinal
Christoph Schonborn, archbishop of Vienna and president of the
Episcopal Conference of Austria. There will then be communications
from five prelates representing all continents (Cardinal Gerald
Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster and president of the
Episcopal Conference of England and Wales, for Europe; Archbishop
Francisco Chimoio of Maputo, for Africa; Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati
Andrello, archbishop of Santiago del Chile and president of the
Episcopal Conference of Chile, for the Americas; His Beatitude
Raphael I Louis Sako, Patriarch of Babylon of the Chaldeans, and Head
of the Synod of the Chaldean Church, for Asia; and Cardinal Soane
Patita Paini Mafi, bishop of Tonga and president of the Episcopal
Conference of the Pacific, for Oceania). Lastly, the Holy Father will
give the concluding address.
On Sunday 18 October at 10:30 am in the
Vatican Basilica, there will be a Mass for the canonisation of, among
others, the Blessed spouses Louis Martin and Marie-Azelie Guérin,
parents of St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
In the Basilica of St. Mary Major in
Rome, the People of God are invited to accompany with prayer the work
of the Synod, invoking the protection of the Salus Populi Romani and
the Blessed Martin couple, whose relics are exhibited there. Every
day the Holy Rosary will be recited at 5 p.m. and Mass will be
celebrated at 6. In the first week we will pray for children, in the
second for parents, and for grandparents in the third.
Near the Synod Hall there will be, as
usual, a chapel for prayer for the participants in the Synod, where
the relics of St. Therese of the Child Jesus, her parents and the
Beltrame Quattrocchi spouses will be displayed”.