Synod, October 14: abuse of nuns, need for women in seminary formation discussed

October 15, 2024

On October 14, participants in the second and final session of the synod on synodality gathered in Paul VI Audience Hall for their final full day devoted to the session’s third module, “Pathways” (synod agenda).

“Pathways” is the title of the second part of the session’s instrumentum laboris, or working document (pp. 23-34). It has four sections:

• An integral and shared formation
• Ecclesial discernment for mission
• Decision-making processes
• Transparency, accountability, and evaluation

L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, reported that the day began with an appeal by Cardinal Mario Grech for prayer for peace in the Middle East; a prayer by Archbishop Timothy Costelloe of Perth, Australia; songs in Italian and English; a reading from St. Luke’s Gospel by Grace Wrakia of Papua New Guinea; a prayer recited by Manuel Beazley of New Zealand; and a performance by Czech violinist Alžbeta Stračinová.

With the exception of the texts of the spiritual assistants and leading synod officials, the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, led by Cardinal Mario Grech, has imposed tight secrecy on synod participants (Regulations, Article 24), binding them to confidentiality, even with respect to their own contributions, and even after the session concludes. The regulations stand in marked contrast to the relative transparency of the Synod of Bishops under St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, during which the Vatican routinely published the synod fathers’ interventions (speeches). The daily press briefing thus offers an impressionistic, if filtered, view of the synod proceedings.

Press briefing

The presenters on October 14 (video), the Holy See Press Office noted, were

• Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and chair of the synod’s Commission for Information
• Sheila Leocádia Pires, communications officer of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference and secretary of the synod’s Commission for Information
• Archbishop Zbigņevs Stankevičs of Riga, Latvia
• Bishop Edouard Sinayobye of Cyangugu, Rwanda
• Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, ODN, identified by the press office as a “witness of the synodal process.” Even more importantly, she is president of the Latin American Confederation of Religious.

Pires, according to L’Osservatore Romano, said that the following topics were raised in the synod’s discussions on the afternoon of October 11, during the day on October 12, and during the morning of October 14:

• “the experiences on these issues [discussed in “Pathways”] from China, the Arabian Peninsula, the Amazon, the Seychelles and the Sahel”
• “the difficulty in finding harmony between Christian traditions and local rites or with local civil regulations on marriage”
• “the Church in the past has neglected the diversity and complementarity among cultures”
• “ideas and suggestions were offered based on existing realities, such as the Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon, which gives voice to different realities within it, or the experiences of the African Church, which shows great vitality”
• “there was much talk about the importance of involving children in the life of the Church”
• “the empowerment of catechists”
• the importance “of listening to young people because, at times, themes and topics are decided when they [the young people] are interested in something else”
• “there was also talk of including Catholic schools in the process of evangelization and formation, since they represent an important resource for the Church. In some parts of the world, however the State has taken over these schools, and agendas are imposed that are contrary to the teaching of the Church.”
• “a speech on the violence suffered by religious women, even in formation, was much applauded: not only sexual abuse but also abuse of power, conscience and spirituality”
• “it was said that there are religious women who work hard especially to reach the most vulnerable, but the same women when they are confronted with issues related to sexual or other types of abuse are unable to express their concern,” and “due to a patriarchal attitude of society they remain silent.” The proposal was made “to introduce procedures and systems in dioceses and episcopal conferences to address these problems.”
• “another proposal is to review contractual policies, to guarantee dignity to consecrated women, but also to lay people in general”
• “in most seminaries there is a lack of a female presence of consecrated women or lay people in the formation of priests, just as there is a lack of expert lay people”
• the participation of women in seminary formation is “foundational because they can see things that others do not see, they guarantee a balanced formation, they enrich the general program for future priests”

Ruffini said that the following items were also raised:

• “the theme of a greater presence of lay people and women”
• decision-making processes
• “the need to establish boards of lay people” to “avoid an overload of burdens for those who hold positions of responsibility”
• “the importance of establishing councils or in any case bodies that can be of assistance to bishops”
• “many of the wrong decisions in the past on cases of abuse of minors in the Church were taken by bishops who were probably isolated or under pressure. It has therefore been proposed to introduce in dioceses advisory committees that the bishop can use, not only to strengthen protection and prevention, but also in the event that it is necessary to reinstate or restore the credibility of priests accused but then found innocent ... With the help of a board composed of psychologists, parents of abused children, social workers, assistants, it would be easier to restore credibility and justice to an innocent priest.”
• “it was reiterated that transparency is a fundamental element in the synodal Church, especially in the areas of protection and finances. This transparency, it was underlined in other interventions, must always be balanced with confidentiality, respect for privacy and sensitive information”
• on the issue of accountability, participants asked, “To whom we must give an account: to the world, to public opinion, to journalists?”
• the need for accountability “first of all to God, to the community, so as not to fall into the trap” of giving an account that is not in accord with the Gospel
• the need for accountability “to the Church, and not to any human context, according to the principles of the Gospel. We are not a board of directors, but the Mystical Body of Christ, the holy People of God.”
• the need for accountability “to the poorest, weakest members of Christ, who judge us starting from how we live”
• enhancing the “synodal realities already existing in dioceses, parishes, Episcopal Conferences”
• learning from “the new churches, such as those in Africa, and not imposing on them the reality of Churches in the West, which are often in articulo mortis” [at the moment of death]
• making diocesan synods obligatory
• synodal consecrated life, following the example of the monks of Tibhirine, who “decided to remain in Algeria in a context of suffering, of violence and to offer their lives not only and not so much to obey the superior, but after each having completed an interior journey in a synodal manner”
• in the face of a possible revision to the Code of Canon Law, someone offered a defense of the Code as an “expression of the Catholic faith”: “respect for the law of the Church is the best way to combat clericalism, and the law is a shield that protects the weakest”
• Communion services led by catechists or other lay faithful in rural Africa
• “the appeal to avoid all forms of clericalism”: “the antidote ... is closeness between bishops, with priests, with God, with the people—dynamic and never static relationships, which include direct involvement in decision-making processes. On this point, in particular, it was said that even the word ‘consultative’ in the Church means the obligation to listen and to take into account”
• “in several interventions it was also reiterated that it is necessary, when making a decision, to explain the reasons why those in positions of responsibility have decided to act in a way that is contrary to the common opinion, underlining the strengths and weaknesses in the decision-making processes”

The aftermath of genocide, local discernment, and missionary practices

Bishop Sinayobe, L’Osservatore Romano and Vatican News reported, reflected on synodality in his nation three decades after the Rwandan genocide.

“Thirty years is a long time, but in reality it seems like it happened yesterday,” he said. “The consequences are many, and as a Church we try to heal people, whether they are victims or tormentors. We are learning to be brothers and sisters.”

“In this synodal process that the path of reconciliation and unity is found,” he added.

Sister Echeverri spoke of discernment at the local level, which “offers us the possibility of understanding what the Spirit asks ... The reality of the Church is varied.”

She also spoke of the importance of a culture of transparency permeating the Church.

Archbishop Stankevičs characterized synodality as ordered to mission and described the “sharing of good pastoral practices” in missionary work as “a source of inspiration.” He cited schools of evangelization and a Canadian apostolate, Divine Renovation.

Asked about a female diaconate, the Rwandan bishop said that there is no permanent diaconate in Africa and added that a female diaconate is a “question that is being studied very seriously, taking into account the Magisterium of the Church.” Pires, Sister Echeverri, and Archbishop Stankevičs all spoke of the importance of addressing the abuse of nuns.

Earlier coverage

• Synod retreat, day 1: ‘Stripping ourselves before the other and before God’ (CWN, 10/1)
• Synod retreat touches on homosexuality, ‘new ministries’; culminates in penitential vigil (CWN, 10/2)
• Opening Synod session, Pope stresses listening (CWN, 10/2)
• Synod, October 2: Pope defends inclusion of non-bishops; Cardinal Fernández: ‘no’ to women deacons (CWN, 10/3)
• Synod, October 3: Working groups discuss ‘Foundations’; ‘nothing new,’ says Cardinal Hollerich (CWN, 10/4)
• Cardinal Grech: Every Catholic is invited to weigh in on synod study groups’ deliberations (CWN, 10/4)
• Synod study group calls for ‘paradigm shift’ on controversial moral issues (CWN, 10/4)
• African bishops preparing document on polygamy (CWN, 10/4)
• Synod, October 4: leading African cardinal criticized for inadequate consultation in rejecting same-sex blessings (CWN, 10/5)
• Synod, October 5: work on ‘Foundations’ concludes; Lebanese, Haitian prelates recount suffering (CWN, 10/7)
• No synod meetings on Sunday, October 6
• Synod, October 7: Cardinal Hollerich calls for suggestions to make Church less ‘pyramidal’; women’s ministry discussion resurfaces (CWN, 10/8)
• Jesuits hold outsized influence at Synod on Synodality (CWN, 10/8)
• Synod, October 8: final document commission members chosen; leading Latin American prelate raises prospect of married priests (CWN, 10/9)
• Synod names commission to prepare final document (CWN, 10/9)
• Synod, October 9: Cardinal Fernández invites synod participants to weigh in on forthcoming document on women and ministry (CWN, 10//10)
• Synod, October 10: New synod guidelines announced, but not made public, as discussion of transparency begins (CWN, 10/11)
• Synod, October 11: opacity shrouds discussion of transparency, accountability in the Church (CWN, 10/14)
• Papal address: Christian unity is an unexpected gift, a journey, harmony, and for the sake of mission (CWN, 10/14)
• Synod, October 12: participants pray for migrants on synod’s least transparent day (CWN, 10/15)
• Cardinal-designate Radcliffe links African bishops’ opposition to homosexuality to pressure from evangelicals, Moscow, and Muslims (CWN, 10/15)

 

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