As the Synod Fathers began their deliberations today, the President delegate, His Eminence, André Cardinal Vingt-Trois, Archbishop of Paris (France) shared his opening remarks.
Holy Father,
On behalf of the Presidents delegate and the participants at this Extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops, I am happy to express our gratitude.
Our gratitude first for having convoked this extraordinary session one year before the ordinary session. Your intention to develop the practice of collegiality between bishops, the Episcopal Conferences and the Holy See (or, as you have persistently said, with the Bishop of Rome), this wish finds a good practical example in these two synodal sessions. Not only are you augmenting the times and the methods of sharing, but also the choice of one common subject which opens before us the possibility of progressive work between the two sessions. We are not surprised by the urgency of resolving these serious problems within two weeks' time. Instead, we are invited to deepen the results of this first session by sharing them with our episcopal conferences.
We also wish to thank you for your choice of the theme for these two synodal sessions. The family is one of the constitutive elements of the New Evangelization in which our Church sees the renewal of her mission. The fact that the questionnaire was welcomed so warmly and the amplitude of responses received shows how much the future of families is central to the minds of our collaborators and our people. How do we assure solidarity between the various generations? How do we put into practice the best conditions for welcoming and educating children who are our future? How do we help a man and a woman who commit themselves to each other to become artisans of peace and goodwill for each other?
There are never any easy answers to these questions and many facets of our life in the XXI century constitute obstacles to finding these answers, rather than furnishing assistance. The Church has taught much on these matters through the Magesterium, most notably in the writings and teachings of Saint John-Paul II. She also expresses her advice through the sign of thousands of stable and happy families who live the sacrament of Marriage throughout the world. She expresses her truth too in her warm presence in the lives of families who experience failure.
The pastoral mission of the Church, as you have constantly reminded us, is not to make life more difficult for the children of God, but to help them to discover truth in their lives. You call us to enter into the loving gaze that Christ has for those who are without a shepherd, you call us to bear witness to the mercy of God. You invite us to not despair, but to count on the power of love and to work with perseverance so that every man and every woman in our world might hear the call to conversion and dare to commit his or her life to following in Christ's footsteps.
We hope that the work of this session which begins today may be led by the Holy Spirit and that it may allow the Church to progress in her mission. May our participation meet your expectations and the expectations of all men and women.
Greetings of His Eminence, André Vingt-Trois
President delegate
for the opening of the Synod deliberations
Holy Father,
On behalf of the Presidents delegate and the participants at this Extraordinary session of the Synod of Bishops, I am happy to express our gratitude.
Our gratitude first for having convoked this extraordinary session one year before the ordinary session. Your intention to develop the practice of collegiality between bishops, the Episcopal Conferences and the Holy See (or, as you have persistently said, with the Bishop of Rome), this wish finds a good practical example in these two synodal sessions. Not only are you augmenting the times and the methods of sharing, but also the choice of one common subject which opens before us the possibility of progressive work between the two sessions. We are not surprised by the urgency of resolving these serious problems within two weeks' time. Instead, we are invited to deepen the results of this first session by sharing them with our episcopal conferences.
We also wish to thank you for your choice of the theme for these two synodal sessions. The family is one of the constitutive elements of the New Evangelization in which our Church sees the renewal of her mission. The fact that the questionnaire was welcomed so warmly and the amplitude of responses received shows how much the future of families is central to the minds of our collaborators and our people. How do we assure solidarity between the various generations? How do we put into practice the best conditions for welcoming and educating children who are our future? How do we help a man and a woman who commit themselves to each other to become artisans of peace and goodwill for each other?
There are never any easy answers to these questions and many facets of our life in the XXI century constitute obstacles to finding these answers, rather than furnishing assistance. The Church has taught much on these matters through the Magesterium, most notably in the writings and teachings of Saint John-Paul II. She also expresses her advice through the sign of thousands of stable and happy families who live the sacrament of Marriage throughout the world. She expresses her truth too in her warm presence in the lives of families who experience failure.
The pastoral mission of the Church, as you have constantly reminded us, is not to make life more difficult for the children of God, but to help them to discover truth in their lives. You call us to enter into the loving gaze that Christ has for those who are without a shepherd, you call us to bear witness to the mercy of God. You invite us to not despair, but to count on the power of love and to work with perseverance so that every man and every woman in our world might hear the call to conversion and dare to commit his or her life to following in Christ's footsteps.
We hope that the work of this session which begins today may be led by the Holy Spirit and that it may allow the Church to progress in her mission. May our participation meet your expectations and the expectations of all men and women.
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