Synod of Bishops at work

Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri

From 7 to 8 May 2018, the fourth meeting of the XIV Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops took place, presided over by the Holy Father, Pope Francis.

The work began with a presentation by the Secretary General of the Synod, His Eminence, Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri.  In his greetings, His Eminence thanked His Holiness for his presence and retraced the journey that has been undertaken in preparation for the XV Ordinary General Assembly.  In particular, the Secretary General focused on the preparation of the draft copy of the Instrumentum laboris, which was developed in collaboration with a group of experts who gathered material which was offered from five sources: responses to the Questionnaire at the end of the Preparatory Document by those Organizations who had the right to submit their answers; responses to the Questionnaire which were received online from youth; the proceedings from the International Seminar on the situation of young people held in September 2017; the observations that were freely submitted by individuals and groups; and the final Document from the Pre-synodal Meeting which was held from 19 to 24 March 2018.  Cardinal Baldisseri referred to this event, pointing out the lively participation of the young people who had come from many parts of the world to represent various ecclesial and extra-ecclesial realities.

Following the Secretary General's remarks, the draft of the Instrumentum laboris was presented; this was the main focus of the meeting.  The text generated an interesting exchange of opinions in the form of suggestions and observations which were incorporated in the document, in order to furnish the Synod Fathers with a more adequate instrument for their discussions in the Synod Hall.  The amended text was approved by all the participants.

The members of the Ordinary Council discussed some organizational matters and criteria for the Synod of Bishops and for the upcoming Ordinary General Assembly.  A presentation on these matters, which was made by His Excellency, Fabio Fabene, Under-secretary of the Synod of Bishops was followed by a fruitful exchange of opinions.

Finally, the Holy Father thanked the members of the Council and the participants for their contributions and for the spirit of fraternal communion in which the meeting had taken place.