Pope: A Synod is not a parliament

Dove of the Holy Spirit window, St Peter's

Source: Vatican Media, Holy Spirit, Synod

Pope Francis met with bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church who were in Rome for their Synod, over the weekend.

During their meeting, he referred to an article published in l'Osservatore Romano. The Pope said he was not trying to "make publicity" for the Vatican newspaper, but that he liked an article which dealt with "the presence of the Holy Spirit in the synodal journey."

He said today we are in danger of believing that "to make a synodal journey, or to have an attitude of synodality," means taking a survey of opinions and then coming to some sort of agreement.

"A synod is not a Parliament", he said, "you must say things, discuss them as you normally do, but it is not a Parliament."

Unlike politics, the Pope continued, a synod is not a series of agreements: "I give you this, you give me that." It is not a question of conducting "sociological investigations" regarding what needs to change, and how to go about changing it.

A Synod is only a Synod, said Pope Francis, if the Holy Spirit is present. "If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is no synodality", he added. "Indeed, if there is no Church, there is no identity of the Church... And what is the identity of the Church? Saint Pope Paul VI said it clearly: the vocation of the Church is to evangelise. Its identity is to evangelise".

Pope Francis concluded by inviting the bishops of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church to enter their Synod together with the Holy Spirit, even if it means "fighting among yourselves!" In the end, however, it must be the Spirit that leads them. "This, he said, "is the way to proceed."