The Synod on Synodality is not geared to “resolve particular problems” in the Church, but to explore ways for the Church to discuss and address such issues, a cardinal said at the weekend. Source: OSV News.
“There are a lot of people who believe that this Synod will bring solutions to all problems,” Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa, Congo, said during a news conference at the Vatican on Saturday. “But the Synod will define the new way of ‘doing’ Church, the new way of approaching problems, what the problem is but also how in the spirit of synodality we will approach that problem.”
The cardinal said before he left home for the Synod, many people from across Africa asked him to bring solutions back with him for the problems that affect the continent, namely poverty and conflicts. Yet “these are exaggerated expectations”, he said.
Asked about the acceptance of blessings for same-sex unions in the Church, Cardinal Ambongo said, “We are here for a Synod on Synodality.”
“Synodality does not mean expressing personal opinions, but walking together,” he added. “On the LGBT question, the Lord himself will show us the way through collective discernment.”
The cardinal said he was confident the Synod will “bear good fruits” for the whole of the Church and said he was struck by the joy, trust, enthusiasm and hope present among the Synod participants.
The cardinal, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, spoke with reporters after the fourth day of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops. Assembly participants finished conversations on Friday on the first module of the Synod’s agenda dedicated to reflecting on the characteristics of a synodal Church. The 35 working groups of 10-12 people each submitted reports summarising their small-group conversations to the Synod general secretariat on Saturday.
After a break yesterday, Synod participants will resume their work today.
FULL STORY
Cardinal addresses ‘exaggerated expectations’ over synod (By Justin McLellan, CNS via OSV News)
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