Since 1998, when Pope John Paul II invited the lay movements and communities to come to Rome to celebrate Pentecost with him, there have been many signs that, at the highest levels of the Church, there is a new respect for what the lay movements and communities, including CCR, have to offer the Church. Early last year, as ICCRS president I was appointed by Pope Benedict to the Pontifical Council of the Laity, and as a result of this I was also invited to be an auditor at the XII Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops which was looking at the Word of God in the life and the Mission of the Church.

It is not every day that you get a letter from the Pope, so I was surprised and somewhat perplexed when I received the initial communication requesting me to be an auditor at the Synod. It was, of course, a great honour to be asked and as a friend of mine pointed out when the Holy Father asks you to do something you can hardly say no. However, I was concerned to know exactly what would be expected of me and also conscious that it would mean three weeks working full time in Rome. Fortunately the time coincided with some sabbatical time that my husband Peter was about to take so he was able to be with me in Rome.

Synod keeping alive the experience of Vatican II

Although I have always been an avid reader of the various texts that come from Rome, I must confess to being fairly ignorant of the process involved in producing them! The Synod of Bishops is a permanent institution established by Pope Paul VI as a means to keep alive the positive spirit engendered by the Conciliar experience of Vatican II. The themes of the Synods are arrived at through consultation with the various Episcopal conferences. This Synod theme flowed very naturally from the previous General Synod Sacramentum Caritatis, which was on the Eucharist. An elected Synod Council prepares an initial consultation document known as the Lineamenta. This is sent out to all the Bishop’s Conferences for discussion and then from the feedback a working document Instrumentum Laboris is produced. This was the text that formed the basis of the interventions from the Synod Fathers during the first week of the Synod.

There were 253 Synod Fathers from every continent (8 Patriarchs, 52 Cardinals, 81 Arch Bishops, and 130 Bishops). These were joined by 41 ‘experts’ comprising academics and Biblical scholars from 21 countries. The role of the experts was to help with the collation and summarising of the various discussion points. There were 37 auditors from 26 countries and I was privileged to be part of the small number of ‘lay’ women. The role of the auditors was to observe the proceedings and then from our particular pastoral perspectives to share our experiences.

Official language of the Synod was Latin

The official language of the Synod was Latin, however, Synod interventions could be in any of the six working languages, which could be followed via headphone translation. The working day, 9.00am-7.00pm began with the prayer of the Church in Latin and then short periods of prayer permeated the whole day. The Holy Father was present during the majority of the sessions. He listened with interest to the various interventions occasionally making notes. Needless to say, he followed the proceedings with ease and without the aid of translation.

Week one of the Synod was comprised of eleven ‘general congregations’. For these Synod Fathers were invited to submit written texts of their interventions which were based on reflections arising out of the 82 page Instrumentum Laboris. They then had five minutes to speak to the whole assembly. This was very strictly monitored. After four minutes a warning buzzer sounded and after five the microphone was turned off!

Input from the New Movements and Communities

During the second week we worked in smaller language groups. From all the discussion we now had to formulate a series of suggested propositions. This was also the time for the auditors to submit intervention papers. To my delight and terror, my text was chosen to be delivered. It focussed on the essential relationship that exists between the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. I had 4 minutes to address the Holy Father and Synod Fathers. It was interesting to note that the initial interventions came from the New Movements/Communities. St Egidio, Focolare and then me! You can’t imagine what it is like to deliver something like this in the midst of all the Cardinals, Bishops and the Holy Father. All the interventions are done seated from your place. Each chair has a microphone, and then as you speak your picture appears on video screens at the front of the Hall. As I was reading my text I looked up briefly and noticed that the Holy Father was looking at me really intently. Later in the week when I had the privilege to personally meet the Holy Father he told me that he remembered my intervention! The third week was taken up agreeing and amending the propositions with the final sessions dedicated to voting. As there were 55 propositions even with the advent of electronic voting, the system was still quite complex and time consuming. In keeping with tradition, at the end of the Synod a register was called with each of the names of the Synod Fathers. When they registered their presence their ballot book recording all their votes was collected and placed in a large Papal Chest and solemnly locked up. Then we all had dinner together as guests of the Holy Father.

The initial discussion document Instrumentum Laboris had three main parts. The first section was essentially theological in nature focussing upon the ‘mystery of the God who speaks to us’. However it was made clear that the Synod was not to be a theological forum alone and the Synod Fathers were asked to comment on everything from a strong pastoral perspective. The discussion was very broad but some recurrent themes centred on the importance of the preached word and homily; the important link between Tradition, Scripture and the Magisterium, and the liturgy as a primary place of encounter with the Scriptures.

Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.

The second part of Instrumentum Laboris centres on the Word of God in the Life of the Church. Here the discussion included questions about how the Scriptures can be more accessible to people, the need for more Bible translations into local languages, and for cheaper Bibles to be produced for the poor. There were frequent references to the dangers of fundamentalism and Pentecostal Sects who have an over simplistic approach to Scripture. There was a strong emphasis on Lectio Divina as a good way to listen, reflect and pray the word. The final part of the text focused on the Word of God in the Mission of the Church. Here there was encouragement to be a people who proclaim the word. There was stress upon the importance of evangelisation and catechesis, showing how all those in ministry have specific contributions to make to the overall Mission. There was also discussion around ecumenism and interreligious dialogue. The latter was a strong concern for several of the Bishops who were ministering in Muslim countries.

New light

Generally I would say that there were no big surprises to come out of the Synod which is not surprising with such a topic as the Word of God. Taking part in a Synod of the Universal Church made me realise how Eurocentric I am. It was truly fascinating to hear the very different perspectives from Bishops in poor countries, those in places where there is persecution, and those who belong to the Eastern and Oriental rites. I began to see the treasure of the Universal Church in a new light. Clearly, we can be so diverse, and at the same time so united. I am sure that in due course the Holy Father will publish a Post Synodal Apostolic Exhortation. I hope this will serve as an encouragement to each of us to keep being led ‘from the letter to the spirit and from the words to the Word of God’.

Michelle Moran, who is a member of the Sion community, is the chairperson of the NSC in England and President of ICCRS.