Sunday, November 28, 2021

Public Opinion Inside The Church

 Decades ago Pope Pius XII in an address to the international congress of Catholic Press meeting in Rome (see Osservatore Romano, French edition, 2/18/1950) spoke about the need for the free expression of opinion both inside and outside the Church. 

This papal statement and recognition that repressing the expression of opinion is an attack on human rights is to be remembered and honored in the light of Pope Francis' call for a world-wide synod on synodality,.  

For  Pope Francis, synodality is an expression of what the Church is called to be. Synod means "walking together" The term "synod" may be foreign to many but it has a time-honored place in the history of the Church. The Greek  word synodos is often translated into Latin as concilium, or in English as "council."

It is the gathering of people who are commissioned to reflect upon and discuss what the Lord is asking of us as the People of God, the Church. A synod is an occasion to focus on what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church. 

This effort to bring to consideration what God wants the Church to be requires reflection and listening as well as expression of opinion. It is not a time for griping or complaining, but it is an occasion for the People of God to gather and exercise discernment, letting go of prejudices and stereotypes, but accepting the reality that some things in our concept of Church may be open to change for the good of the Church's mission.

In his address more than 70 years ago, Pope Pius XII said:

"The free expression of one's opinion is the prerogative of every human society where people, responsible for their personal and social conduct, are intimately committed to the community to which they belong. . .In the eyes of Christians, repressing the expression of opinion or forcing it into silence is an attack upon the natural rights of persons, a violation of the world order that God has established. . .

"We want to add another word concerning public opinion inside the Church itself (naturally with respect to matters open to discussion). This may astonish those who do not really know the church or who only think they know it. The church is a living body, and it would lack an element of its life if the free expression of opinion was lacking --a lack for which both pastors and faithful would be blamed."

The first phase of the synod's free expression of opinion is to be conducted on the diocesan level and in Bishops' Conferences worldwide between October 2021 and April 2022. (The Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops has extended the deadline to August 15, 2022.) The results of these synodal sessions are then to be considered by the Assembly of Bishops in Synod in October of 2023.

This Synod of Bishops has prepared an official handbook for listening and discernment in dioceses. It is expected that the bishops of dioceses will hold synodal consultation meetings., Parish pastors are encouraged to promote synodal experiences in their parishes. Individuals can also contribute their consultation feedback directly to the diocese.