Pope: "no clash between factions" at the Synod, but frank discussion "for the good of families, of the Church and of society".
Vatican City (Asia News) - During the recent Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family "there was no prior censorship", nor "clashes between factions", "no intervention put into discussion the fundamental truths of the Sacrament of Marriage: indissolubility, unity, faithfulness and openness to life" and it all took place "within the presence of the Pope, which in itself is a guarantee for all of freedom and trust, and a guarantee of orthodoxy".
The "synodal journey" from its first "stage" represented by the Extraordinary Synod to the current work of preparation for the Ordinary Assembly which is to take place next year, was the focus of the Pope's address to the 25 thousand pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square for the General Audience, the first of a series - the Pope said - dedicated to the family.
During his first talk on the theme of the family, the Pope explained the sense of the Synodal journey, indirectly responding at the same time, to some of the controversies that arose following the Synod in October. Starting from the principle that "the Synod is not a parliament, that its structure is not parliamentary, it is something completely different. It is a protected space within which the Holy Spirit can operate; there was no clash between opposing factions, but an open confrontation amongst the Bishops that came after a long work of preparation that will now continue in another effort, for the good of families, of the Church and of society". The Pope also took into consideration that during the Synod the media did their job - there were many expectations, much attention - and we thank them because they did their job unsparingly", but "often the vision of journalists was somewhat in the style of sports or political commentators: they often spoke of two teams, pro and against, conservatives and progressives, etc. etc."
In "illustrating what the Synod was", Francis said that "first of all I asked the Synod Fathers to speak with frankness and courage and to listen with humility, to say all they harbored in their hearts, with courage. There was no prior censorship in the Synod, none. Each person could say, was obliged to say, whatever he had in his heart, whatever he sincerely thought. 'But father: this will create arguments!' It is true; we heard how the apostles argued. The Book says: a strong argument took place. The apostles shouted amongst themselves, yes! Because they were searching for God's will for the pagans, whether they could enter a Church or not. It was something new. Always, when one searches for God's will, in a Synodal Assembly there are different points of view and there is discussion and that is not a bad thing! But it must always be done with humility and an attitude of service towards the fraternal assembly. Prior censorship would have been a bad thing. No, no, everyone had to say what he thought!"
"After the Introductory Report by Cardinal Erdo, there was a first, fundamental moment, in which all Fathers were able to speak and everyone listened. And that attitude of listening of the Fathers was edifying. A moment of great freedom, in which each person was able to express his thinking with serenity and trust. The "Instrumentum Laboris" (Working Instrument), fruit of a preceding Church-wide consultation, provided the basis for the interventions. For this we must thank the Synod Secretariat for the enormous amount of work it did both before and during the Assembly. It was truly fantastic".
"All of the interventions - the Pope continued - were collected and we reached the second moment of the proceedings, that is of a draft called a post-discussion Report. This Report was also drawn up by Cardinal Erdo, and articulated in three points: listening to the challenges and the contexts of the family; our gaze fixed on Christ and on the Gospel of the family; a debate on pastoral perspectives".
"Discussion amongst groups focused on a first proposal for a synthesis, this represented the third moment. The groups, as always, were divided according to language, because that is the best way, one communicates better: Italian, English, Spanish and French. At the end of its work each group presented a report, and all the reports of the various groups were published immediately. Everything was published; there was total transparency so that everyone knew what was happening".
"At that point -the fourth moment - a commission examined all the suggestions that had emerged from the language groups and the Final Report was drawn up, keeping to the previous guidelines - an ear for reality, our gaze on the Gospel and pastoral commitment - but aiming to outline the fruit of the group discussions. As always, a Final Synodal Message, which was briefer and more didactic than the Report, was approved and issued".
"This has been how the Synod took place. Some of you may ask me: 'Father, did the Synodal Fathers argue?' Well, I don't know whether they argued, but some spoke very loudly, yes! And this is freedom, freedom that exists in the Church. Everything took place "cum Petro et sub Petro", in the presence of the Pope which is a guarantee of freedom and trust for everybody, and a guarantee of orthodoxy. At the conclusion, with my intervention, I gave a synthetic reading of the Synodal experience".
"So, three official documents came out of the Synod: the Final Message, the Final Report and the Pope's Final Speech. There are no others. The Final Report, that represents the arrival point of the entire reflection of the dioceses until that moment, and now, yesterday it was published and is being sent to the Episcopal Conferences that will examine it and discuss it in view of the next Assembly, the Ordinary one, in October 2015. I say that it was published yesterday - it has already been published, but yesterday it was published complete with the questions that are put forward at the Bishops' Conferences, and so it becomes 'lineamenta' for the next Synod.
"We must bear in mind - the Pope concluded - that the Synod is not a parliament, the representative of this Church, of that Church, of the other Church that comes... No, it is not this. A representative does come, but the structure is not of a parliamentary kind. It is totally different. The Synod is a protected space within which the Holy Spirit can operate; there was no clash between opposing factions, as there is in a Parliament, that is legitimate in a Parliament, but an open confrontation between Bishops that came after a long work of preparation that will now continue in a new effort, for the good of families, of the Church and of society. It is a process, a normal Synodal journey. Now this Report will return to all the local Churches where it will continue in its work of prayer, reflection and fraternal discussion so it will be a tool to prepare for the next Assembly. This is the Synod of Bishops. I entrust it to the protection of Our Lady, may she help us follow God's will and take the pastoral decisions that best help the family. I ask you to accompany this synodal journey until the next Synod with prayer. May the Lord brighten our path, leading us towards the maturity with which we must speak to all Churches as Synod. Your prayer is important for this".
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