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Exactly eleven years ago, on 17 October 2015, the late Pope Francis addressed the Bishops of the world who were gathered in Rome for the Synod on the Family. The occasion was the fiftieth anniversary of the Synod of Bishops and Pope Francis used the occasion to set out his vision of a Synodal Church.
I was blessed to be present that day to hear the Holy Father describe a Synodal Church as one that listens prayerfully and attentively for the voice of the Holy Spirit. In a Synodal Church WE JOURNEY TOGETHER as the baptised People of God: WE LISTEN TOGETHER as lay women and men of all ages, as priests and deacons, as sisters and brothers in consecrated life, as bishops and of course, we do all this in communion with the Bishop of Rome himself.
One of the most significant things Pope Francis said that day – and something he repeated many times in the years afterwards – is that “it is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.”
Friends, since that day, 17 October, 11 years ago, the universal Church has been on quite a journey, and we in the Catholic Church here in Ireland chose to be active participants in that journey. In fact, even before the Holy Father launched the universal Synodal process, we in the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference had already announced our intention to embark on a Synodal Pathway for the Catholic Church in Ireland, asking, “What does God want from the Church in Ireland at this time?”
We had been inspired by Pope Francis’ words when he met the bishops of Ireland after Mass in Phoenix Park at the World Meeting of Families in August 2018, when he encouraged us to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit he said, “who constantly breathes new life into our world, into our hearts, into our families, into our homes and parishes.”
Thank you, everyone, for being part of this journey. Our gathering today concludes a five year-long chapter in the Irish Synodal Pathway. I thank God for all those who have been walking with us: in parishes, prayer groups, religious communities and lay apostolates around the country; in our seminaries, clergy gatherings, and conferences; in homes, schools, community centres and parish halls; at bishops’ assemblies and meetings of many interested groups and lay organisations. I thank the various media outlets who have followed our Synodal pathway in print and on video, radio and television, and in discussions both online and offline.
Thanks to our the theologians and commentators who have written articles – both affirming and critical – thanks to those who have expressed distrust, some challenging the very existence of our Synodal pathway. The late Pope Francis always encouraged parrhesia – speaking the truth openly.
The Irish Bishops launched this Synodal Pathway because we believed the 2020’s would be a pivotal decade for the further of the Church on this island.
Over the past five years we have come to understand that synodality is not simply about events such as this one, or about new structures for the Church in Ireland. Instead it is about a way of BEING Church, centred on prayer and encounter with Christ, nourished by the Holy Mass and the sacraments; a Church of all the baptised, journeying and discerning together; a missionary Church, called to bring the message of salvation to this time and this place; a faithful Church which echoes the words of our Lord Jesus that, “the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Good News!”
The Bishops of Ireland remain committed to this journey which we started. We see the Synodal way is a call to pastoral conversion. Today’s Assembly is therefore not the end; it is simply an opportunity to take stock, and to set down some plans for the next phase of our journey together.
The proposals today represent a call for greater transparency, participation, co-responsibility and accountability in the Church. They point to the importance of renewal of faith within the domestic church of the family. They suggest ways of connecting with the energy and gifts of our young people, forming and enabling them to be the intentional missionary disciples of today and tomorrow.
Several of today’s proposals address the need for healing, restitution and reconciliation for victims and survivors of abuse, recognising the deep wounds of these awful sins and crimes on the whole Body of Christ. Other proposals ask us to honour the contribution of women, to hear their deep concerns, and formally recognise their unique roles in leadership and decision-making. And others again emphasise the need to reach out and hear the voices of those who seem to have left Church behind and in some cases feel ignored, excluded or forgotten.
With the help of the Holy Spirit we have made progress but there is still much to do. We have only skimmed the surface e.g. in implementing the challenging social encyclicals of Pope Francis and Pope Leo: like Laudato Si’, on caring for the earth, our common Home; Fratelli Tutti, on building bridges of peace and reconciliation; and, Magnifica Humanitas on protecting humanity itself in this era of rapidly developing artificial intelligence.
We might ask ourselves: are we doing enough as the Catholic Church in Ireland to show solidarity with the poor and the homeless, with those forgotten on the peripheries of Church and society? How can we better address the legacy of conflict in the north of Ireland which is sadly continuing to cause pain, distrust and division among Christians on this island? In what ways can we present to secular Ireland the message that human life is sacred and that the dignity of the human person should always be protected?
These are the challenges which we face together, daring to hope that in Christ we can make a difference. One thing is certain, however. We shall never make that difference if we are a divided Church, where we allow polarisation to destroy communion or cynicism to blind us to the gifts and charisms that the Holy Spirit is already bestowing among us.
I invite you then to enter into this day in a spirit of prayer, communion with Christ and with one another; with hopefulness, positivity and Wisdom. Help us discern today what might be the priorities – the next steps which we can take together so that Ireland can once more be a beacon of faith and mission for her own people, and for the rest of the world.
Today’s date, 17 October, is special for another reason. It marks the Feast of the early Church martyr, Saint Ignatius, who in one of his letters described the Church as being like a choir of different voices: people, priests and bishops, united like strings on a harp, and singing together a shared hymn of praise for, as Ignatius put it to the early Church: “In your concord and harmonious love, Jesus Christ is sung.”
Interestingly it was Ignatius who first used the word katholicos, or universal, to describe the Church.
“Wherever the bishop appears”, he wrote, “there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
So friends,in that spirit, I invite you to join me in singing together: “Christ be our light. Shine in our hearts, shine through the darkness. Christ be our light, shine in your Church gathered today.”