«The time has come to favor the future and to go out to meet it by listening to the Spirit of the Risen Lord… It is therefore time for an ecclesial synthesis that allows us to look at the future” together “with renewed courage; indeed with a renewed enthusiasm ».
In these two sentences pronounced by the bishop of Padua, Claudio Cipolla, on the afternoon of May 16, 2021, in the cathedral, the date of the diocesan synod, there are some fundamental features of the synodal journey undertaken by the Venetian diocese, in the line indicated by Pope Francis for the Italian Church.
It is a question – continues the bishop – of returning to the source, of rediscovering the roots, knowing that “the Synod is first of all the work of the Spirit, not ours”, even if it requires “that we get together, we discuss, that we study, that we listen to “. Therefore, the bishop’s appeal becomes insistent in “remaining united in hope” and in helping “one another to remain united by making us operators of peace, of reconciliation”.
With the celebration of May 16, 2021, a year began in which the Christian communities of the Paduan diocese were involved in a demanding journey to make their voices heard and to establish which themes to bring to the attention of the members of the Synod.
Preparatory year
Each parish pastoral council has chosen “facilitators”, figures who have fostered, in the “spaces of dialogue”, a sincere discussion on their personal life and on the community life of the parishes. A “vital” and “punctual” reading of about 2,100 believers who are committed to giving a voice to everyone and offering an exhaustive picture of a diocese that intends to “bear witness to the Gospel with words and gestures suited to today’s culture” (Bishop Claudius) .
The fruit of these “spaces for dialogue”, from October 2021 to January 2022 – about 3,000 pages – was analyzed by the Preparatory Commission, made up of about 60 members who, according to their skills and listening to the Spirit, highlighted some emerging and priority themes (“breaking elements” and “sprouting elements”). All coordinated by an efficient Secretariat, which coordinated the steps of this “preparatory year”, especially taking care of the training of the “facilitators”.
The same Preparatory Commission, coming from the different territories of the diocese and with different competences, has begun a journey of formation, measuring itself on some decisive thematic nuclei: today’s cultural and social context, the beauty of the Gospel and the relevance of its message, the pastoral choices of the diocese in recent decades, the decision-making processes, the future of the parishes, language and communication.
The work was carried out in stages: progressive reading, sharing by triples, reading in the secretariat with the aid of a verification of the metric and scientific lexicon, identification of emerging elements, text processing, sharing in plenary, where the 14 were defined themes of the Synod later merged into the Working tool delivered to the bishop.
These issues will be the subject of a new hearing in Synodal Discernment Groups in the autumn of 2022. In the meantime, about 400 synodal members have been chosen who will be divided from September into study commissions to deepen the 14 themes of the Working tooldivided into three areas:
– the “transversal dimensions” (evangelization and culture, the Church and spheres of life, the need for spirituality, the liturgy),
– the “subjects” (families, young people and new generations, the identity and tasks of the lay faithful, the identity and tasks of priests)
– the “construction sites” (the face of the parishes, the parishes and the evangelical style, the pastoral priorities, the communication of the faith, the parish and territorial organization, the structures and economic sustainability).
These issues are entrusted to the work of Synodal Discernment Groups and of the Synodal Assembly: they will deepen them in order to identify the ecclesial perspectives, the objectives and the proposals for change for the Church of Padua.
THE Synodal Discernment Groups they will be composed of 7-12 people who, accompanied by a moderator, will work on the themes of the Synod, through a “guideline” prepared at the diocesan level. Their style will be characterized by the transversality that allows to broaden the listening by enhancing the multiple belonging of the Christian communities, and by the informality, so that the groups can take on a familiar face and be a warm and fraternal place of sharing.
The three basic perspectives
The three fundamental perspectives or convictions that the diocese of Padua has made its own and shared with the universal Church are:
- the conversion of all pastoral care into a missionary key. We are in a period of transition: it will be important to remain within this process of change, investing firmly in a missionary style. The aim is not the preservation of what exists, but the promotion of the conditions that allow the Gospel to be proclaimed today, to make it generative for the women and men of our time;
- the face and the fraternal style of the parishes to make the gospel accessible to people. In fact, the communication of the Gospel can only take place within reliable and continuous relationships. Without affection – that is, without a bond that deeply involves people – there is no faith. Parishes can put the evangelical quality of their relationships at the center: good, passionate and gratuitous;
- the inculturation of the Gospel in a context that is no longer visibly Christian in which the value references to the message and to the person of Jesus have become unstable. Indeed, the encounter with Christianity no longer occurs by osmosis and faith is no longer felt by many as necessary for a good life.
Opening of the Synod
With the celebration of Pentecost, in the cathedral, last June 5, the bishop Claudius officially opened the diocesan synod, entrusting 400 people, including lay people, priests and religious, to collect the path of discernment that will take place in the parishes and in the various environments of life. .
The liturgical icon that the bishop proposed is “that of the epiclesis, of the invocation of the Spirit through the laying on of hands”, to make the Christian community the place of listening.
the evangelical icon chosen to accompany the synodal process is that of the wedding at Cana, in particular the phrase that Mary addresses to the servants: “Whatever he tells you, do it”.
In this dimension of discipleship – continued the bishop in his homily last June 5 – “we expect the rediscovery of humility and poverty as a style, charity in truth as an attitude of encounter and relationship, freedom awaits us as a style. condition of the moral choices and life of Christians and of our communities: a new language and true listening ”. This is the hope for the Synod of a Church, that of Padua, which intends to “preserve” on its territory a precious heritage of spirituality, tradition and culture inspired by the Gospel. The bishop reiterated that “the Synod is an opportunity for spiritual reflection that allows us to look ahead, to be prophetic, to understand in prayer which Church we want to build”.
