Revisions of procedures for ad limina visits by diocesan bishops to Rome and including consecrated men and women in decision-making processes have been proposed by study groups from the Synod on Synodality. Source: Vatican News.
The second part of the Final Report of Study Group No. 7 on certain aspects of the figure and ministry of the bishop from a synodal and missionary perspective was released by the General Secretariat of the Synod on Tuesday. The first part was released in May.
The report’s proposals situate the ad limina visit that bishops make periodically within the “framework of the ordinary dialogue between the local churches and the Apostolic See, and concern its preparation, conduct and follow-up”.
It is envisaged that the visits become “an instrument at the service of the missionary conversion of ordinary pastoral life” and not be limited to matters of administration.
The report favoured the involvement of the people of a diocese in the preparation of the preliminary report before the visit. The document also considered it desirable that a diocesan delegation accompany the bishop during the ad limina visit.
Each diocesan bishop, together with any faithful who accompanied him to Rome, would give an account of its outcomes to the local church, the report envisaged.
In Rome, priority should be given to care for the spiritual dimension. The report recommended that the bishops be divided into smaller groups and that sufficient time be allowed for the visit.
The dialogue during the visit, understood as an “exchange of gifts” and conducted in a collegial spirit, should be frank, cordial and not one-directional, enabling both the riches and the needs of the local churches to emerge and fostering the circulation of good practices.
The final report of Study Group No. 6 on “The revision, in a synodal and missionary perspective, of the documents touching on the relationship between bishops, consecrated life and ecclesial communities” was also published on Tuesday, EWTN News reports.
This report offers proposals in three areas: “relations between bishops and consecrated life”; “collaboration between episcopal conferences and conferences of major superiors”; and “relations between associations and local churches”.
One of the report’s main conclusions is that the Church should move toward broader participation by consecrated men and women in discernment and decision-making processes.
It calls on Church leaders to “strengthen the relationship between the conferences of major superiors and the episcopal conferences to include consecrated persons in decision-making processes.”
FULL STORY
Synod group calls for gender-equality mechanisms in Church workplaces (By Victoria Cardiel, EWTN News)
Synod: Reports published on relations between bishops, consecrated life, and ad limina visits (Vatican News)
Synod study groups suggest changes for ad limina visits (CathNews NZ)
