This morning's General Audience began at 10:00am in Saint Peter's Square where the Holy Father, Pope Francis met with groups of pilgrims and the faithful who had come from various parts of Italy and all corners of the world.
In his speech, the Holy Father began a new cycle of catechesis on the family, focusing today on the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which was celebrated this past October. Following the summaries of His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to the various groups of pilgrims who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imposition of the Apostolic Blessing.
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
We have concluded the cycle of catecheses on the Church. We thank the Lord who has guided our journey to rediscover the beauty and the responsibility that is ours, we who belong to the Church, we who are the Church.
Now, we begin a new step, a new cycle, and the theme will be the family: a theme that fits well in this time between two Synodal Assemblies dedicated to this very important reality. So, before entering upon the various aspects of family life, today I wish to begin with the Synodal Assembly which took place last October, which had as its theme: The pastoral challenges on the family in the context of the new evangelization. It is important to remember what took place and what was produced, how it went and what results came about.
During the Synod, the media did their job - they had to spend lots of time waiting, but they were very attentive - and I thank them they did their work in great abundance. So much news, so much! This was only possible thanks to the Press Office, which every day provided a briefing. Often, the vision of the media was a little according to the style of sporting events or politics: they often spoke of two teams, for and against, conservatives and progressives, et cetera. Today, I want to tell you about the Synod.
First of all, I asked the Synod Fathers to speak frankly and with courage, to listen with humility, to speak courageously everything that was on their hearts. In the Synod, there was no sensorship, but everyone could - or should - say what was in his heart, everything that he was thinking, sincerely. But this will bring about discussion. That's true, we felt like the Apostles must have felt. The text says: a lively discussion ensued. The Apostles rebuked each other, for they were seeking the will of God about the pagans, whether they could enter the Church or not. This was something new. Always, when we seek the will of God, in a synodal assembly, there are various points of view and there is discussion and this is never a bad thing. This must always be done with humility and with a spirit of service to the assembly of brothers. It would have been bad if there were bad sensorship. No, no, everyone had to say what he was thinking. After the initial Relation by Cardinal Erdő, there was a first moment, in which all the Fathers could speak, and everyone listened. This attitude of listening, which the Fathers kept, was very good. It was a moment of great freedom in which everyone could share his thoughts with bravery and with trust. Guiding all the interventions, there was the working document, the fruit of previous consultation with the entire Church. For this, we must thank the Secretariat of the Synod for the work they did both before and during the Assembly. Truly, they were wonderful.
None of the interventions questioned the fundamental truth of the Sacrament of Matrimony, that is: the indissolubility, the unity, the faithfulness and the openness to life (cf Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudium et spes, 48; Code of Canon Law, 1055-1056). This was not touched.
All the interventions were collected, and so it was that we arrived at the second moment, known as a Draft Report after the discussion. This Relation too was developed by Cardinal Erdő, and focused on three elements: listening to the context and the challenges facing the family; a gaze fixed on the cross and the gospel of the family; and the comparison of various pastoral perspectives.
On this first proposal, syntheses were developed through group discussion, which was the third moment. Groups, as they always are, were divided by languages, since it is easier this way, we communicate better: in Italian, English, Spanish and French. When they had finished their work, each group presented a report, and all the group reports were published immediately. Everything was provided for the sake of transparency, so that we all knew what was happening.
At that point - the fourth moment - a commission examined all the suggestions which came from the linguistic groups and created a final report, which maintained the previous schema - listening to the reality, looking toward the gospel and pastoral commitment - but which sought to describe the fruit of the group discussions. As always, a final message was approved by the Synod, shorter and more informative than the report itself.
These were the developments which took place at the synodal Assembly. Some of you may ask me: Did the Fathers argue? I don't know whether they argued, but they spoke strongly, yes, they truly did. This is freedom, this is the true freedom that exists in the Church. All of this took place cum Petro et sub Petro, that is, in the presence of the Pope, who is the guarantee for all of freedom and of trust, the guarantee of orthodoxy. In the end, through my personal intervention, I gave a synthesis of the synodal experience.
Therefore, there are three official documents of the Synod: the final message, the final report and the Pope's final speech. There are no others.
The final report, which was the culmination of all the reflections that had taken place in dioceses up to that point, was published yesterday and will now be sent to the Episcopal Conferences, who will discuss it in view of the upcoming Assembly, the Ordinary Assembly which will take place in October 2015. I said that it was published yesterday - it had already been published - but yesterday, it was published along with the questions which are addressed to the Episcopal Conferences and therefore, it will become the Lineamenta of the upcoming Synod.
You should know that the Synod is not a parliament, it is a representation of the Church, of this Church, of this Church .... No, it's not like that. It is a representation, yes, but the structure is not parliamentary, it is totally different. The Synod is a protected space within which the Holy Spirit can work: there is no clash between factions, like there may be in a parliament where such things are permitted, but a confrontation between bishops, which takes place following long hours of preparatory work, which now results in another form, for the good of the family, of the Church and of society. This is a process, it is the normal synodal way. Now, this report returns to the particular Churches and the work of prayer, reflection and fraternal discussion continues in preparation for the next Assembly. This is the work of the Synod of Bishops. We entrust it to the protection of the Virgin, our Mother. May she help us to seek out and follow the will of God, making pastoral decisions that will help families in the best way possible. I ask you to accompany us in this synodal process until the next Synodal assembly takes place. Help us with your prayer. May the Lord enlighten us, draw us toward the maturity of that which, as a Synod, we must say to all the Churches. This is why your prayers are important.
Following the above catechesis, the Holy Father's reflection was summarized in various languages, and His Holiness offered greetings to the various groups of pilgrims who were present. To English-speaking pilgrims, He said:
greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the groups from Denmark, Nigeria, Australia and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!
In his speech, the Holy Father began a new cycle of catechesis on the family, focusing today on the Extraordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which was celebrated this past October. Following the summaries of His catechesis in various languages, the Holy Father offered particular greetings to the various groups of pilgrims who were present.
The General Audience concluded with the chanting of the Pater Noster and the imposition of the Apostolic Blessing.
Catechesis of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
for the General Audience
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning.
We have concluded the cycle of catecheses on the Church. We thank the Lord who has guided our journey to rediscover the beauty and the responsibility that is ours, we who belong to the Church, we who are the Church.
Now, we begin a new step, a new cycle, and the theme will be the family: a theme that fits well in this time between two Synodal Assemblies dedicated to this very important reality. So, before entering upon the various aspects of family life, today I wish to begin with the Synodal Assembly which took place last October, which had as its theme: The pastoral challenges on the family in the context of the new evangelization. It is important to remember what took place and what was produced, how it went and what results came about.
During the Synod, the media did their job - they had to spend lots of time waiting, but they were very attentive - and I thank them they did their work in great abundance. So much news, so much! This was only possible thanks to the Press Office, which every day provided a briefing. Often, the vision of the media was a little according to the style of sporting events or politics: they often spoke of two teams, for and against, conservatives and progressives, et cetera. Today, I want to tell you about the Synod.
First of all, I asked the Synod Fathers to speak frankly and with courage, to listen with humility, to speak courageously everything that was on their hearts. In the Synod, there was no sensorship, but everyone could - or should - say what was in his heart, everything that he was thinking, sincerely. But this will bring about discussion. That's true, we felt like the Apostles must have felt. The text says: a lively discussion ensued. The Apostles rebuked each other, for they were seeking the will of God about the pagans, whether they could enter the Church or not. This was something new. Always, when we seek the will of God, in a synodal assembly, there are various points of view and there is discussion and this is never a bad thing. This must always be done with humility and with a spirit of service to the assembly of brothers. It would have been bad if there were bad sensorship. No, no, everyone had to say what he was thinking. After the initial Relation by Cardinal Erdő, there was a first moment, in which all the Fathers could speak, and everyone listened. This attitude of listening, which the Fathers kept, was very good. It was a moment of great freedom in which everyone could share his thoughts with bravery and with trust. Guiding all the interventions, there was the working document, the fruit of previous consultation with the entire Church. For this, we must thank the Secretariat of the Synod for the work they did both before and during the Assembly. Truly, they were wonderful.
None of the interventions questioned the fundamental truth of the Sacrament of Matrimony, that is: the indissolubility, the unity, the faithfulness and the openness to life (cf Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudium et spes, 48; Code of Canon Law, 1055-1056). This was not touched.
All the interventions were collected, and so it was that we arrived at the second moment, known as a Draft Report after the discussion. This Relation too was developed by Cardinal Erdő, and focused on three elements: listening to the context and the challenges facing the family; a gaze fixed on the cross and the gospel of the family; and the comparison of various pastoral perspectives.
On this first proposal, syntheses were developed through group discussion, which was the third moment. Groups, as they always are, were divided by languages, since it is easier this way, we communicate better: in Italian, English, Spanish and French. When they had finished their work, each group presented a report, and all the group reports were published immediately. Everything was provided for the sake of transparency, so that we all knew what was happening.
At that point - the fourth moment - a commission examined all the suggestions which came from the linguistic groups and created a final report, which maintained the previous schema - listening to the reality, looking toward the gospel and pastoral commitment - but which sought to describe the fruit of the group discussions. As always, a final message was approved by the Synod, shorter and more informative than the report itself.
These were the developments which took place at the synodal Assembly. Some of you may ask me: Did the Fathers argue? I don't know whether they argued, but they spoke strongly, yes, they truly did. This is freedom, this is the true freedom that exists in the Church. All of this took place cum Petro et sub Petro, that is, in the presence of the Pope, who is the guarantee for all of freedom and of trust, the guarantee of orthodoxy. In the end, through my personal intervention, I gave a synthesis of the synodal experience.
Therefore, there are three official documents of the Synod: the final message, the final report and the Pope's final speech. There are no others.
The final report, which was the culmination of all the reflections that had taken place in dioceses up to that point, was published yesterday and will now be sent to the Episcopal Conferences, who will discuss it in view of the upcoming Assembly, the Ordinary Assembly which will take place in October 2015. I said that it was published yesterday - it had already been published - but yesterday, it was published along with the questions which are addressed to the Episcopal Conferences and therefore, it will become the Lineamenta of the upcoming Synod.
You should know that the Synod is not a parliament, it is a representation of the Church, of this Church, of this Church .... No, it's not like that. It is a representation, yes, but the structure is not parliamentary, it is totally different. The Synod is a protected space within which the Holy Spirit can work: there is no clash between factions, like there may be in a parliament where such things are permitted, but a confrontation between bishops, which takes place following long hours of preparatory work, which now results in another form, for the good of the family, of the Church and of society. This is a process, it is the normal synodal way. Now, this report returns to the particular Churches and the work of prayer, reflection and fraternal discussion continues in preparation for the next Assembly. This is the work of the Synod of Bishops. We entrust it to the protection of the Virgin, our Mother. May she help us to seek out and follow the will of God, making pastoral decisions that will help families in the best way possible. I ask you to accompany us in this synodal process until the next Synodal assembly takes place. Help us with your prayer. May the Lord enlighten us, draw us toward the maturity of that which, as a Synod, we must say to all the Churches. This is why your prayers are important.
Following the above catechesis, the Holy Father's reflection was summarized in various languages, and His Holiness offered greetings to the various groups of pilgrims who were present. To English-speaking pilgrims, He said:
greet the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today’s Audience, including the groups from Denmark, Nigeria, Australia and the United States of America. Upon all of you, and your families, I invoke joy and peace in the Lord Jesus. God bless you all!
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