The final document of the Second Synodal Assembly of the Churches in Italy will be voted on 25 October, on the occasion of the Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies. The conclusions will be followed by a period of reception. These are the terms of the motion voted on and approved by approximately one thousand participants who attended the Assembly in recent days to analyse fifty Propositions that formed the backbone of the proceedings. During last night’s meeting of the Standing Council of Bishops, it was also unanimously decided to postpone the Assembly of the Italian Bishops (CEI), originally scheduled for May, until November. “This Assembly, recognising the value of mutual sharing”, reads the motion, “has decided to entrust the Presidency of the National Committee for the Synodal Journey with the finalisation of the text of the Propositions entitled ‘That Joy May Be Full’, incorporating the amendments, priorities and contributions submitted, with the support of the Committee and the facilitators of the study groups.”
Summary of the proceedings.
“These days of the Assembly have been marked by an attentive and responsible focus on the important issues, experiences, critical points and resources that characterise the life and vitality of the Churches in Italy,” said Mons. Erio Castellucci, President of the National Committee for the Synodal Journey: “The Assembly session on Tuesday morning and the many proposals for amendments presented by the 28 groups call for a comprehensive review of the text and not just the adjustment of some of its passages”, Castellucci explained: “In these two half days, the groups have read the text very thoroughly, thoughtfully and creatively, in some cases discovering hidden gems that didn’t appear in the first reading, while at the same time integrating and revising the text, which nevertheless has not yet reached its final form. “While some have described it as a rebellious Assembly, it was in fact a vibrant Assembly: critically aware, faithful and passionate about the Church and her mission,” the bishop said, noting that the synodal process “represents something new for the Churches in our country.”
The message to the Pope and the briefing.
In a message sent to Pope Francis, the thousand or so participants in the Assembly described the four-day event in Rome as “a workshop in synodality that has taught us a modus operandi to be continued in the future”. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Archbishop of Bologna and President of the Italian Bishops’ Conference, said during the final briefing with journalists that the event was “a beautiful testimony of communion”: “We are a living Church that is full of life.” “The Assembly was marked by an overflowing vitality, by great freedom combined with a strong ecclesial spirit,” said Zuppi: “Respecting stages that do not correspond to the life, history and needs of our communities would have been historically incorrect and contrary to communion. Having reviewed the Propositions, the Assembly considered it advisable to leave an opportune time for reflection, hence the unanimous decision of the Standing Council. There are high expectations regarding the text, expected to provide guidance in the choices and decisions that concern the future of the Church,” he said. “More time is needed, especially to allow for a deeper analysis of certain issues”, agreed Monsignor Valentino Bulgarelli, Secretary of the Committee. According to Zuppi, “among the participants there was a widespread desire for creativity, for being guided by reality and not by preconceived ideas”. “We all agreed that it would have been best to keep to the agenda we had established” – he continued – “but setting a calendar and a more or less detailed programme is not enough, given the priority that must be given to a truly synodal process.” “We have learned a lesson,” added Msgr. Castellucci, “and it left me filled with the joy of having seen an Assembly that almost unanimously expects to advance further in the light of the Gospel.”
The priorities.
Pierpaolo Triani, member of the Presidency of the National Committee of the Synodal Journey, informed journalists during the briefing that among the 50 topics of the Propositions, the ones considered priorities and the most amended include the role of women in the shared responsibility of the mission and in the leadership of ecclesial communities. This theme, he explained, is included in the third part of the document, which contains 16 Propositions, examined by 10 working groups. Among the four priorities to be addressed, nine out of ten groups included the question of “the ecclesial and pastoral responsibility of women.” Other priorities identified by the working groups in this section were: the mandatory formation of Pastoral Councils (8 out of 10 groups) and the reconfiguration of the territory with a view to shared pastoral care, with the possibility of having a “synodal guide” for the communities (7 out of 10). In the first section of the Propositions examined by the Assembly, the rapporteur explained that 25 Propositions concern the “synodal and missionary renewal of pastoral vision and practice.” Among the four priorities, 8 out of 10 working groups identified Proposition no. 5, concerning the accompaniment of persons “in a particular affective state,” and Proposition no. 6, on local Churches and educational environments. Seven out of ten groups highlighted the personal accompaniment of young people as a priority, while six out of ten focused on the care of vulnerable persons in local Churches. In the second section of the Propositions, 8 out of 8 groups pointed to the need to “cultivate a mature faith through the Word of God” and to establish a “renewed national programme of Christian initiation”, while 6 out of 8 groups identified the integral formation of educators as a priority theme.
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