On Tuesday, the second day of reflection before the start of the deliberations, he said: "We must dare to trust that Divine Providence will richly bless this Synod. (...). We are not here to eat a meagre meal, but to savour the haute cuisine of the Kingdom of God," said the religious.
He described the inclusion of all cultures as the greatest challenge. This is even more important than overcoming the "poisonous opposition between traditionalists and progressives" and a polarisation that is alien to Catholicism.
Alluding to a story in the Bible, Radcliffe asked: "How can we catch the net with its fish from all the cultures of the world? How can the net not be torn?"
The long-serving Master General of the worldwide Dominican Order continued: "We live in a multipolar world in which many people from the global South see the West as decadent and doomed. We live in a post-Western world."
"Many felt betrayed"
Radcliffe also addressed the controversy in the Church over the blessing of homosexuals. When the Vatican authorised this last year with the document "Fiducia supplicans", many members of the synod felt betrayed.
But the Church can only become a community of trust if everyone "takes the risk of trusting each other, even if we have been hurt", emphasised the clergyman and continued: "We trust that this synod will bear fruit with the grace of God, even if we cannot foresee what that will be and it may not be what we want."
Radcliffe spoke at length about the duty of clergy to be accountable to the grassroots. He explained: "A failure of transparency and accountability corrupts the core of priestly identity. The transparency of Peter the sinner is the foundation of his authority. There can be no cover-up. We are not expected to confess all our sins openly, but at least we must not be hypocrites. The people of God are quick to forgive everything except hypocrisy."