I was very pleased to accept the invitation to this conversation because it gives me the opportunity to offer my public thanks for this unexpected – and so even more greatly appreciated - gift of taking part at close hand in the recent Synod of Bishops for the Middle East which was held in the Vatican from 10th to 24th October last. This evening, we have divided the subject: I will speak about the Synod in general and how it went, whilst the Custos Father and Father Frédéric Manns will talk more about its contents.
As everybody knows, the Bishops’ Synod is a consultative “body” that is collegial in nature in which the hierarchical constitution of the Church is expressed. It is above all the sign and instrument of the collegiality of the Bishops in the Catholic Church. The CIC mentions it after having dealt with the Roman Pontiff, i.e. the Pope and the College of Bishops as a whole; its definition is given and its tasks, functions and other aspects are described in 7 Canons (342-348). Regarding the Synod which has just been celebrated, it was a “Special Assembly for the Middle East” – therefore it was not an “Ordinary Assembly” (as was, for example, the one held two years ago on the Word of God) and it brought together the Bishops of the Middle East to reflect on the topic: The Catholic Church in the Middle East: communion and witness. The motto was taken from the inspiring Biblical text that echoed continuously in the Synodal Hall: “Now the company of those who believed were of one heart and soul” (Acts 4,32).
The Synod had a twofold purpose: to confirm and reinforce Christians in their identity, thanks to the Word of God and the Sacraments; to renew and promote ecclesiastical communion between the different Churches in the Middle East, so that they offer an authentic and effective testimony of life, which also includes the ecumenical dimension, inter-religious dialogue and the missionary aspect. The term “Middle East” includes, in addition to Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories, sixteen countries, in alphabetical order: Bahrain, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen. It is a very large geographical area with 356,174,000 inhabitants, of whom only 5,707,000 are Catholics, forming 1.60% of the population. The General Secretary of the Synod, Mons. Nikola Eterovic, described the Synod as the Assembly of the Bishops of the Bible’s geography, in reference to their countries of origin and ministry and the Bishops of the Biblical communion in reference to the representatives from all five continents present in the Room. There were 185 Synodal Fathers, a highly representative mosaic of the universality of the cultures and people forming the Catholic Church in the Middle East. There were quite a few (87) religious amongst the Bishops, as well as 4 Superiors General. The Franciscan Order was represented by the General Minister of the Friars Minor and of the Capuchins and by a Conventual for the Middle East; the Bishops included 4 Friars Minor and 3 Capuchins. Thirteen fraternal delegates also attended the Synod and, each representing non-Catholic Churches and ecclesiastical communities, they brought their greetings and good wishes.
During the works of the Synod, a rabbi and two representatives of Sunni and Shiite Islam also spoke, underlining the importance of the Christian presence amongst Jews and Muslims and pointing out that if the Christians were to disappear from the Middle East, it would be a common misfortune. Thirty-four people, men and women, ecclesiastics, religious and laity, were present as auditors, and they enriched the Synodal reflection with their testimony and experience in educational, pastoral and charity work gained mainly in the Middle East. There were 36 experts and we mainly came from the Middle East. Our task was to help the General and Special Secretary of the Synod with the transmission of summaries and observations and to take part in the discussion in the “minor circles” to draw up the “Propositions” to be voted on in the Hall and presented to the Holy Father.
The Holy Land, for both the banks of the Jordan, was well represented both in the ranks of the Synodal Fathers and in the experts and auditors and also by the fraternal delegates. It is impossible to give an account of an ecclesiastical event which, for the first time in history, saw gathered around the Bishop of Rome and the Universal Pastor the Bishops from the Middle East and all the great work that was done in only two weeks. It is a pity that many mass media were interested only in marginal controversies relative to speeches and to texts taken out of context.
At least this is what I feel regarding the case of the Message of the Synod which the Synodal Fathers rejected on the first reading but which the press disclosed as though it were an official text. However, it is to be rejoiced that many newspapers, radios, televisions, not to mention the electronic meteor, saw in the event of the Synod a sign of the sincere and politically disinterested love of the Catholic Church for the tormented region of the Middle East and its population, especially the Christians. Another positive element were the countless meetings, exhibitions and initiatives aimed at publicizing the ecclesiastical event that was held within the walls of the Vatican, but the echo of which went well beyond these. Now for a few personal impressions! Being physically and spiritually present at an event that gathered around the Pope the whole Church in prayer – the Synod opened and closed with a solemn Eucharist in St. Peter’s – and in reflection was extremely moving. I will mention only three things about the Pope. His first words in the Homily of 10th October were “thanks to the Lord of history, because he has allowed, despite the often difficult and tormented events, the Middle East to see, from the time of Jesus all the way up to today, a continuity in the presence of Christians.” I was also impressed by his disconsolate and insistent recommendation expressed in the opening and closing Homily of the Synod: “Without communion there can be no witness: the life of communion is truly the great witness … .
This communion is the same life of God which is communicated in the Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ. It is thus a gift, not something that we must build through our own efforts.” His simple and discreet presence as father and pastor: the Pope prayed and listened more than he spoke and he found the time to have lunch with the whole of the Synodal Assembly and a minute for everyone, greeting each participant personally.
Another beautiful moment spent with the Pope was at the concert offered to him on the evening of Saturday 16th October with Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem Mass. The Synod was also a manifestation of the diversity and unity of the single Church of Christ which in the Middle East is expressed in the variety of liturgical, spiritual, cultural and organizational Traditions of the six ancient and venerable Oriental Catholic Churches – Coptic, Greek-Melkite, Syriac, Maronite, Chaldean and Armenian – as in the Latin Tradition.
A liturgical “epiphany” was seen in the celebrations around the Pope and in the prayer of the Middle Hour with which the work began every day, but also an honest and sincere exchange of analyses, opinions and evaluations in the speeches and discussions of the Synodal Fathers, the fraternal delegates and the auditors. From the disconsolate appeals of the Bishops of Iraq to the concerns over the emigration of Christians from the Middle East, from the denunciation of situations of conflict and injustice especially in the Holy Land which cause suffering for all, to the invitations for Christians to be treated as equal citizens in Muslim countries, from the pastoral concern for the Diaspora of Oriental Christians to the request for aid for educational and religious assistance for the very many Christian immigrants in the Middle East for reasons of employment.
The Synod concluded its works (14 General Congregations; 6 sessions in Minor Circles) with two documents: a message addressed to the people of God and all people of goodwill and 44 Propositions presented to the Pope who, with the help of the Special Council for the Middle East of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops will write – if he deems opportune – a post-Synodal Exhortation. The message – and I invite you to reread it – is cordial and serene: it is a salute and an encouragement for hope and the commitment of all for justice, reconciliation and peace. As for the Propositions, it suffices to browse through the short list of titles to get an idea of their importance and richness. The following topics appear in the introduction: the Word of God and Biblical pastoral.
In the section on the Christian presence in the Middle East: the identity of the Catholic Churches in the Orient and sharing the cross, the land and the management of property, pilgrimages, peace, consolidating the presence of Christians, the pastoral of emigration and immigration. Two aspects are dealt with in the part dedicated to ecclesiastical communion: communion in the heart of the Catholic Church (the new ecclesiastical movements, the jurisdiction of the Patriarchs and the situation of the Catholics in the Gulf countries, the vocational pastoral, the Arabic language, the communion between the bishops-clergy-faithful and the practical aspects involved, married priests, the formation of seminarians and consecrated life) and the communion with non-Catholic Churches and ecclesiastical communities (ecumenism and establishment of a common feast-day of martyrs).
In the section dedicated to witness, the subjects covered are Christian formation, pastoral operators, schools and educational institutions, media, mission, family, young people, new evangelization, the social doctrine of the Church, liturgy, inter-religious dialogue, Judaism, Islam, and the Virgin Mary “blessed daughter” of the Middle East to whose protection the Synodal Fathers wish to entrust all the children of the Church. Jerusalem – St. Saviour, 1st November 2010 (Vespers of All Saints)
G. Claudio Bottini OFM Studium Biblicum Franciscanum