Cardinal Tobin: The opportunities and risks of our synodal journey
When he formally inaugurated the synod process, Pope Francis identified three risks and three opportunities.
The first risk is that the synod process will be a mere formality. Will we really commit ourselves to reaching out and listening to everyone?
The second risk is that the synod’s ambitious goal will remain an abstract idea that never becomes real.
And the final risk is what the pope calls “complacency,” the attitude that “we’ve always done it this way” and the refusal to try new approaches to the ministry of our Church.
These risks, which are serious, are counterbalanced by three opportunities.
First, we have a chance to move toward what the pope calls “a synodal Church, where all can feel at home and participate.”
The second opportunity is to become a listening Church, to break out of our routine in order to stop and listen, firstly to the Spirit in adoration and prayer, and then to our brothers and sisters, their hopes, the crises of faith around the world, the need for renewed pastoral life.
The third opportunity is to become a Church of closeness—by her very presence, a Church that weaves greater bonds of friendship with society and the world.
This is an excerpt from the Oct. 22, 2021 edition of Cardinal Tobin’s Rejoice in the Lord Newsletter. Continue reading in English or Spanish here.
