Pope: The Synod must begin from the bottom up, let people speak

“The Synod is nothing more than making explicit what Lumen Gentium says: The totality of God's people, everything from the bishop down, is ‘infallibile in credendo’ (infallible in belief), i.e. cannot be wrong. There is harmony in such unity, but such faith must be made explicit.”

Rome (AsiaNews) – Pope Francis spoke this afternoon at the opening session of the 74th General Assembly of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Italy, currently underway in Rome until 27 May.

In his address, the pontiff said that the Synod “must start from the bottom up”, that is “from small communities, small parishes”. This will “require from us to be patient, work, and let people speak” so that the “wisdom of God’s people can come out”.

“The Synod is nothing more than making explicit what Lumen Gentium says: The totality of God's people, everything from the bishop down, is ‘infallibile in credendo’ (infallible in belief), i.e. cannot be wrong. There is harmony in such unity, but such faith must be made explicit.”

The Pope spoke the day after the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops announced the new ways of holding the synodal assembly, which will open in the Vatican and each diocese on 9-10 October 2021, with the Pope’s address. It will likewise open on Sunday 17 October in the dioceses.

This will start the diocesan phase, which will last until April 2022 with the aim of “consulting God’s people, so that the synodal process may listen to all the baptised, subject of the sensus fidei infallibile in credendo.”

This will begin a process that includes a diocesan meeting from which each diocese will send its own contributions to the Bishops’ Conference. This will lead to “a period of discernment by the pastors gathered in assembly” who will elaborate a summary to be sent to the Secretariat of the Synod.

Other contributions will come from the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, universities, faculties of theology, the Union of Superiors-Superior Generals (USG/UISG), other unions and federations of consecrated life, as well as international lay movements.

The General Secretariat of the Synod will draw up the first Instrumentum laboris. As in previous synods, work will proceed from that point on.

• vatican
• pope francis
• catholic bishops’ conference of italy
• synod
• general assembly
• sensus fidei
• infallibile in credendo
• instrumentum laboris
• god’s people