Pope Francis and the Rohingya

 Pope Francis and the Rohingya

In the book Let Us Dream (Simon & Schuster, 2020), based on interviews with Pope Francis, the pope says, “I think often of persecuted peoples…I have a particular affection for the Rohingya people. The Rohingya are the most persecuted group on earth right now; insofar as I can, I try to be close to them” (p. 12).

I was not aware of these people nor of the persecution they face. Pope Francis made me aware and Wikepedia helped clarify the situation. They are a people without a country even though they are indigenous to western Myanmar (Burma) but the government of Myanmar does not recognize them and has in fact driven most of them into neighboring Bangladesh. By 2017 an estimated 625,000 of them from Rakhine State in Myanmar sought safety in Bangladesh.

Pope Francis notes that he is especially moved by the generosity of the Bangladesh people toward these exiles and refugees. He says, “It’s a poor, densely populated nation; yet they opened their doors to 600,000 people Their prime minister at the time told me how the Bangladeshis give up a meal each day so the Rohingya can eat. When last year, in Abu Dhabi, I was given an award –it was a significant sum—I had it sent straight to the Rohingya: a recognition of Muslims by other Muslims” (ibid, p. 12).

An assessment in 2015  by the Yale Law School concluded that Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya could be classified genocide under international law. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees described the expulsion of the Rohingya as “ethnic cleansing.” Some who have looked into the treatment afforded the Rohingya have concluded that they are “one of the world’s least wanted minorities.”

The US House of Representatives in 2014 passed a resolution that called on the government of Myanmar to end the persecution and discrimination against the Rohingya, but clearly that resolution had no effect.

Pope Francis urges us to go to the periphery, to come to the aid of the poor and the persecuted. The Rohingya obviously qualify: poor, persecuted, and people on the periphery. When we look for the poor, the persecuted, the periphery we do not have to go far from home. Pope Francis is asking us to develop a servant mentality, which most of us can exercise and refine right here at home.

Synodality and the Holy Spirit

SYNODALITY AND THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

Pope Francis’ initiative  “A Synod on Synodality”  is a consequence of his conviction that the Church is the People of God, and that the People share in the gifts and guidance of the Holy Spirit.  He takes seriously the insight of the Second Vatican Council that “All disciples of Christ are obliged to spread the faith to the best of their ability” (Lumen Gentium, 17).)

   All the People of God are called to be actively engaged in the saving mission of the Church. All the People by virtue of the gifts of the Holy Spirit granted to them in baptism and confirmation  are “endowed with diverse gifts and charisms for the renewal and building up of the Church, as members of the Body of Christ” (Vademecum For the Synod on Synodality, Synod Bishops, 1.3).

   The term synod comes from the Greek word odos, which means path, way, road, and  “indicates the path along which the People of God walk together. Equally, it refers to the Lord Jesus, who presents himself as ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (Jn 14:6), and to the fact that Christians, His followers, were originally called ‘followers of the Way’ (cf. Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4;; 24:14,22.)” (Vademecum, 1.2).

   It is Pope Francis’ hope and intention that the People of God worldwide would develop the mentality of walking together in this world and toward the Kingdom by following the Way of the Lord. A synod is not an occasion for griping and complaining about the Church or its hierarchy. It is rather the difficult exercise of listening for the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit and thereby determining the path that God wants us to follow.

   It may be that all the preparatory documents and directions for a synod on synodality have not emphasized enough the need for those who participate through their talking and listening that the guidance of the Holy Spirit is a necessary, essential element in the process of developing for the Church in our time the mentality implied in a truly synodal Church.

   For many Catholics their prayers of adoration, praise, petition, and apology are directed to God the Father and God the Son but God the Holy Spirit is neglected. The success of this synodal endeavor requires a sensitivity on the part of the People to the inspiration of that Spirit. That sensitivity is difficult to acquire because it means listening; it means being quiet, silent; it means putting aside our own agenda and being open to direction from the Divine One. Such a practice requires patience, self-emptying, and openness to change and to something new .

   Synodality is not forcing our convictions, theologies, and devotions on the People of God; on the contrary, forming a synodal Church in its purest state is implementation of our daily prayer: “Thy will be done!” Jesus’ invitation is “Come, follow me!” We must re-learn the lesson from the old bromide “God created human beings in the divine image and human beings have been returning the favor ever since.”

   The Synod of Bishops reminds us that “In the end, this Synodal Process seeks to move toward a Church that is more fruitfully at the service of the kingdom of heaven.” And let me emphasize again that this process requires paying attention to the voice of the Holy Spirit.