Synod: for Card Ouédraogo, no "gridlock" between conservatives and progressives, only common will
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – At the daily press briefing for the Synod on the Family, Holy See Press Office director Fr Federico Lombardi, SJ, was joined by Cardinals Vincent Nichols of Britain, Phillippe Ouédraogo from Burkina Faso and Rubén Salazar Gomez from Colombia.
In response to reporters’ questions, Card Ouédraogo said, “I do not see this gridlock you mention. I do not see it in the assembly or in the groups. Some might like to juxtapose progressive vs conservatives, but everyone wants to move forward on complex issues." His fellow cardinals made similar remarks.
Card Nichols said that the letter signed by the 13 cardinals did “not have any effect on the Synod.” In view of this, Fr Lombardi said, “I urge you to move on, beyond the issue of the fateful letter, which I think has already had more resonance than it deserves."
During the press conference, a reporter asked Father Lombardi to elaborate on Pope Francis’ request for "forgiveness" during the general audience. "If the Pope uses a broad and general expression, that his intention,” Fr Lombardi said. “It is not my job to restrict or broaden it more than the pope did."
"The pope listened to the Gospel reading that mentioned scandals and thus introduced the general audience," Father Lombardi explained. “If the pope mentioned media and newspaper reports with regards to life in the city of Rome, he did not speak about the mayor, because that would be a political issue."
"The pope knows that there are ordinary people who can sometimes be upset or hurt by news they read,” Fr Lombardi added. “As far as the responsibility of the Church or men of the Church is concerned, the pope asks for forgiveness if beside many positive examples there are negative examples or things that bother."
Speaking about the Synod, Card Nichols said that "there are differences of opinion, like in any family, but we should not give in to a hermeneutics of conflict, as the pope said on the second day of the Synod."
For Card Salazar, "To understand the nature of the Synod, we should not juxtapose theologies or ideologies. We must [instead] try to understand the richness of God's mercy, each one starting from one’s own situation. This is why the synod, which includes many different components, has a single soul, namely the presence of the Risen Lord. "
Following the same line, Card Ouédraogo said, "I do not see this gridlock between conservatives and progressives.”
"The group I belong is not only developing ties of fellowship but also friendship,” Card Nichols said. “I was very much struck by the important creativity in the groups."
Working on the Instrumentum Laboris (IL) might have "complicated the process,” he added, “because we had to combine two sources into a single document, enriching the final report of the previous synod, with a stream of ideas and contributions that came in afterwards.”
The British archbishop also said that today he heard "many groups say that the IL, the second part in particular, needs restructuring, a sprint, a strong theological theme to guide everyone. To that effect, some proposals and suggestions were made this morning on the theological framework, all of them very important and very rich.
“So far,” the cardinal said, “although referred to, the issue of 'ideological colonisation' was not been as strong in this Synod as it was in the previous synod."
"This morning I mentioned ideological colonisation and groupthink against the poor,” said Card Ouédraogo. “The poor,” he explained, “are very weak. For example, certain steps are required to have funds for developing countries. We are trying to respect others’ vision, but you journalists must teach respect for poor countries, to ensure that the fundamental rights of the poor are also respected."
As for the work of the Synod, its aim is to look to the future respond to "all the doubts and all the hopes" of today. A great effort is being undertaken to listen to ordinary families and people, especially those who "are going through hard times" and therefore need special help.
The beauty of the doctrine of the Catholic Church on marriage and family is driving the meetings for it is a "permanent source" for every answer. Holding assemblies in each continent in preparation for synods was proposed.
Speaking about today’s session, Father Lombardi said participants listened to the presentation of the work group reports, adding that 15 Fathers spoke about the IL’s third part. He ended noting "We are only half way the Synod”.
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