Cardinal Hollerich at Synod: We must become peacemakers in service of humanity

Cardinal Hollerich at Synod: We must become peacemakers in service of humanity


In his speech on the second module of the Synod’s Instrumentum Laboris devoted to “Relations”, the general rapporteur, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, returns to the moment of prayer in the Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Majeure on Sunday evening, saying “May prayer for peace help us to place our work today in the right perspective.”

By Vatican News

Recalling the Rosary for Peace prayed Sunday evening by the members of the Synod with Pope Francis in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Cardinal Hollerich, general rapporteur of the Synod, called on the assembly to continue to intercede today “ through the ancient and traditional practice of fasting. .”

His invitation comes as men and women of good will around the world respond to Pope Francis’ call for a Day of prayer and fasting for peace on Monday, October 7, marking the first anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

Thus, at the beginning of the sessions, the participants in the Synod reaffirmed this intention, as did Cardinal Hollerich, who presented Module II of the Work instrument, centered on the theme “Relationships”.

“The prayer for peace,” underlined Cardinal Hollerich, “helps us approach today’s work in the section devoted to Reports with the right concentration: May our desire for peace guide our reflections and discussions, and may the Lord show us the way to become peacemakers, in the service of all humanity.

The Archbishop of Luxembourg also took the opportunity to congratulate the next new members of the College of Cardinals, announced by Pope Francis during the Angelus, in particular those present in the Synod hall.

Synodal life of the Church

The Cardinal then delved into the details of the module that the synod fathers and mothers will examine, which differs from the previous session devoted to Foundations which “aimed to trace the frame of reference in which our reflections must take root and develop”. Three key areas of Work instrument are now on the table: Relationships, JourneyAnd Places— each illuminating from different angles the synodal and missionary life of the Church.

The “Relationships” section of Work instrument

THE Reports The section, in particular, explores the dynamics of relationships with God, between brothers and sisters, and between churches – relationships that “sustain the vitality of the Church more deeply than its structures.” This complex network of relationships, which provides individuals and communities with points of reference and guidance, is diverse and operates on many levels, explained Cardinal Hollerich. He then presented the four key paragraphs of the text, which address themes such as Christian initiation, charisms and ministries, the baptismal priesthood, the ministerial priesthood and the exchange of “gifts” between the different Churches within ‘one Church.

The expectations of God’s people

“The challenge,” noted the Cardinal, “for the coming days is to “put ourselves in phase with the movement that drives the Work instrument”, in order to connect with “the real life and practices of our communities”. It would be easy, he says, to stay on a general level and simply reaffirm the importance of relationships for the development of individuals and communities, but this risks producing something “unfruitful”, while the People of God expects us to provide “advice and suggestions” on how to make relationships within our Churches “more transparent and harmonious” and how to move from a hierarchical exercise of authority to a more synodal approach.

The last step

Cardinal Hollerich also stressed that the Work instrumentboth in this section and in the others, attempted to bring together a series of proposals from last year’s synodal synthesis report, where consensus was reached, but without a complete definition. These are presented again, “in an intentionally non-definitive form”, leaving the possibility for this Assembly to take the final step. “The work that we began a year ago now awaits its completion,” concluded the Cardinal, urging the assembly to avoid falling into “excessive abstraction” or “excessive pragmatism” and to “develop proposals concrete ideas that each local Church will then adapt to their unique circumstances.



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