Saint Augustine was the reluctant missionary sent to the Kingdom of Kent by Pope Gregory the Great. He arrived here in 597 and began by holding services in the ancient church of Saint Martin’s until he could establish his Cathedral on land given by King Ethelbert. There were also two monasteries that soon became centres of learning, the Cathedral’s Christ Church Priory and what became St Augustine’s Abbey. Saint Augustine’s feast day is 23rd May, next Thursday.
Starting at St Martin’s Church at 17:00, we shall process to St Augustine’s Abbey for the main service, then to the Cathedral Chapter House. This service is powerful, as it is the only time in the year that the altar in the ruined crypt of the abbey is still used. This service will replace the usual 17:30 evening service at the Cathedral. All are welcome. Organized by Canterbury Christ Church University.
The start of the pilgrim journey from Canterbury to Rome; the disciples’ starting point was the upper room, where Jesus appeared the evening after showing himself to the two disciples at Emmaus.
In this post Canon Anthony Charlton of Saint Thomas’ Canterbury reflects on Pope Francis’s Message to us all, each one a missionary disciple. Help! Help is at hand.
Pope Francis’s theme for Mission Sunday last October was “Hearts on fire, feet on the move,” which he said was inspired by the story of Jesus and the disciples on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection. We are all familiar with this incident at the end of Luke’s Gospel.
After the crucifixion of Jesus, two of the disciples of Jesus had turned their backs on Jerusalem and were full of sadness and disappointment because they had such high hopes for Jesus. They did not recognise the stranger that joined them as Jesus and they told him the reason they were sad; “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.”
They are full of disappointment. Yet their meeting with Christ in the Word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them the enthusiastic desire to set out once again and go back to Jerusalem and proclaim that the Lord had truly risen.
The Pope points out that, in this Gospel account, we perceive this change in the disciples through a few revealing images: their hearts burned within them as they heard the Scriptures explained by Jesus, their eyes were opened as they recognised him and, ultimately, their feet set out on the way.
It is easy for us to get disheartened when we hear that we are called to be missionary disciples. We are not sure what is expected of us. We are sometimes more comfortable with quoting the saying attributed to St Francis of Assisi, “Preach the gospel with your lives, only use words if necessary”. Yet Jesus is calling us to go forth. This is what the two disciples did. Renewed and encouraged by the encounter with Jesus at Emmaus they returned to Jerusalem.
An evangelist, Roy Fish, made an interesting observation saying that there is a difference between “come and hear” and “go and tell.” The “come and hear model” is when we say to others come and hear the Gospel proclaimed in our church we hope to be yet Jesus is inviting us to “go and tell.” We are like those two disciples, we need to be refreshed by the Word of God, nourished by the Eucharist and so share with others the joy of meeting the Lord.
So, let us set out once more, illumined by our encounter with the risen Lord and prompted by his Spirit. Let us set out again with burning hearts, with our eyes open and our feet in motion.
Let us set out to make other hearts burn with the Word of God, to open the eyes of others to Jesus in the Eucharist, and to invite everyone to walk together on the path of peace and salvation that God, in Christ, has bestowed upon all humanity. Our Lady of the Way, Mother of Christ’s missionary disciples and Queen of Missions, pray for us!”
(Pope Francis’s message for World Mission Sunday 2023.)
Philosophy should always know that indifference is a militant thing. It batters down the walls of cities, and murders the women and children amid flames and the purloining of altar vessels. When it goes away it leaves smoking ruins, where lie citizens bayoneted through the throat. It is not a children’s pastime like mere highway robbery.
Last Words by Stephen Crane.
Stephen Crane’s opening statement appears at first sight to be plain wrong, until we reflect a little.
It is because someone is indifferent to the humanity of others that he can destroy, rob and murder.
Indifference to other human beings allows war, injustice, slavery, fraud and all manner of sins.
Indifference to other human beings leads to indifference to the common good, which should be the basis of society.
This is one of those areas where we can take an initiative and make a difference. Could we be indifferent to Jesus? Let’s hope not; we would be up the wrong path altogether. But other people! Some we like, some irritate us, some are on the margins of our lives; people we pass day by day in the street, sit near at work or on the bus. A smile won’t hurt them.
Let’s pray for an openness to our fellow human beings. Each one of them created in love by God, put on this earth with a personal mission; may we not get in the way by being indifferent and uncaring. And let’s pray for those who come along after the destructive indifferent ones have laid waste to people and property. Let us support them also with our giving.
We pray for the dignity and worth of women to be recognised in every culture, and for an end to the discrimination they face in various parts of the world.
This pot is part of our Easter Garden at Saint Mildred’s in Canterbury. It represents Mary Magdalene who had walked with Jesus through the Holy Land, who had supported him with her own money, who had stood by the Cross as he died, who came to anoint his body on Easter morning, who met him risen in the garden.
Mary Magdalene helped to make Jesus’ mission possible, and brought her practical skills to the fellowship of the disciples. Today, let us discern and recognise the many ways in which women build up the Church and give thanks for them. Let us celebrate their gifts and graces. Let us enable and encourage them to take on roles new to women in the Church.
A Question for today: Do we believe that Easter is real? Put it another way: what does it mean? Eberhard Arnold, founder of the Bruderhof Communities, explored this:
One thing is clear to us: as the church, we must hold to Jesus. Everything depends on this, that we place the Jesus of the four Gospels, the son of Mary, the man who was executed under Pontius Pilate, in the center of our faith and our life, and keep to him. This Jesus has become unknown. His words have been distorted and disfigured, his work weakened. All the more, we must rediscover this Jesus and hold him up before all the world.
Our life together in the church must be oriented by nothing else but by Jesus’ life, his word, and his working. Our commission is to bear the love of Christ, which is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. This love, free of the unclarity of human thinking and feeling, was manifested perfectly and unmistakably in the life Jesus lived. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, his life was sealed as the revelation of God’s heart (John 6:27). The Holy Spirit, when it descended on the first church in Jerusalem, made this sealing of Jesus’ life known to the church so that it might follow Jesus and carry his life back into the world.
Perhaps the angel is free from the unclarity of human thinking! Let us make room for the Holy Spirit who found his way into the Church when they were gathered together in fellowship and prayer, seven weeks on from the events of Easter.
Arnold, Eberhard, The Jesus of the Four Gospels, 2019, Bruderhof Historical Archive, Walden, NY, USA
Let us be neither dogs that do not bark nor silent onlookers nor paid servants who run away before the wolf. Instead let us be careful shepherds watching over Christ’s flock. Let us preach the whole of God’s plan to the powerful and to the humble, to rich and to poor, to men of every rank and age, as far as God gives us the strength, in season and out of season, as Saint Gregory writes in his book of Pastoral Instruction.
Saint Boniface, who is writing here, was a Devonian from Crediton, active in the eighth century as a missionary bishop in what is now Germany, the Low Countries and Northern France. He preached to the powerful and the humble, to men – and women – of every age and condition. Although he organised dioceses and made many converts among the invading tribes he had enemies among the pagan warrior tribes.
He is often pictured with a book impaled upon a sword, showing how he died. He was at his tent door, reading from the Bible when his camp was invaded. As Boniface instinctively raised the book to protect himself, his attacker cut through the book then stabbed Boniface to death.
Boniface is the chief patron of the diocese of Plymouth, which covers the county of Devon.
Let us pray for the grace to and strength to witness to the Gospel in season and out of season.
St Boniface extract from the Office of Readings feast for his feast, 5 June,
Shepherd and sheepdogs bringing flock to a mountain enclosure for a health check, September 1969.
3.4 How can we give structure to instances of synodality and collegiality that involve groupings of local churches?
The first phase of the synodal process highlighted the role played by synodal and collegial bodies that brought together various local Churches: Eastern Hierarchical Structures and, in the Latin Church, the Episcopal Conferences (cf. PE I,7). The Documents drawn up during the various stages emphasise how the consultation of the People of God in the local Churches and the subsequent stages of discernment were a true experience of listening to the Spirit through listening to one another. From this rich experience we can draw insights to help build an increasingly synodal Church:
a) the synodal process can become “a dynamism of communion that inspires all ecclesial decisions” because it truly involves all subjects—the People of God, the College of Bishops, the Bishop of Rome—each according to their own function. The orderly unfolding of this synod’s stages dispelled the fear that the consultation of the People of God would lead to a weakening of the Pastors’ ministry. On the contrary, the consultation was possible because it was initiated by each Bishop, as the “visible principle and foundation of unity” (LG 23) in his Church. Subsequently, in the Eastern Hierarchical Structures and in the Episcopal Conferences, the Pastors carried out an act of collegial discernment weighing the contributions coming from the local Churches. Thus, the synodal process has promoted a real exercise of episcopal collegiality in a fully synodal Church;
b) the issue of exercising synodality and collegiality in instances involving groups of local Churches that share spiritual, liturgical and disciplinary traditions, geographical contiguity and cultural proximity, starting with the Episcopal Conferences, demands renewed theological and canonical reflection. Though these bodies, “the communio Episcoporum has found expression in service to the communio Ecclesiae grounded in the communio fidelium” (PE I,7).
c) one reason for facing this challenge emerges in Evangelii gaudium: “It is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of local Bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound ‘decentralization’” (no. 16). On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, the Holy Father specified that synodality is not only exercised at the level of the local Churches and at the level of the universal Church, but also at the level of groupings of Churches, such as Provinces and Ecclesiastical Regions, Particular Councils and especially Episcopal Conferences: “We need to reflect on how better to bring about, through these bodies, intermediary instances of collegiality, perhaps by integrating and updating certain aspects of the ancient ecclesiastical organization”.
Question for Discernment
In light of the synodal experience so far, how can synodality find better expression in and through institutions involving groups of local Churches, such as the Synods of Bishops and the Councils of Hierarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Episcopal Conferences and Continental Assemblies, so that they are seen as “subjects of specific attributions, including genuine doctrinal authority” (EG 32) in a missionary perspective?
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection
1) The synodal dynamic of listening to the Spirit through listening to one another is the most practical and compelling way to translate episcopal collegiality into action in a fully synodal Church. Building on the experience of the synodal process:
a) how can we make listening to the People of God the ordinary and habitual way of conducting decision-making processes in the Church at all levels of its life?
b) How can we implement listening to the People of God in the local Churches? In particular, how can participatory bodies be enhanced so that they are effective places of listening and ecclesial discernment?
c) How can we re-think decision-making processes at the level of the Episcopal bodies of the Eastern Catholic Churches and Episcopal Conferences based on listening to the People of God in the local Churches?
d) How can engagement at the continental level be integrated into Canon Law?
2) Since consulting the local Churches is an effective way to listen to the People of God, the Pastors’ discernment takes on the character of a collegial act that can authoritatively confirm what the Spirit has spoken to the Church through the People of God’s sense of faith:
a) What degree of doctrinal authority can be attributed to the discernment of Episcopal Conferences? How do the Eastern Catholic Churches regulate their episcopal bodies?
b) What degree of doctrinal authority can be attributed to the discernment of a Continental Assembly? Or of the bodies that bring together Episcopal Conferences on a continental or otherwise international scale?
c) Which role does the Bishop of Rome fulfil in regards of these processes involving groupings of Churches? In which ways can he exercise it?
3) What elements of the ancient ecclesiastical order should be integrated and updated to make the Eastern Hierarchical Structures, Episcopal Conferences and Continental Assemblies effective instances of synodality and collegiality?
4) The Second Vatican Council states that the whole Church and all its parts benefit from the mutual sharing of their respective gifts (cf. LG 13):
a) What value can the deliberations of a Plenary Council, a Particular Council, a Diocesan Synod have for other Churches?
b) What insights can the Latin Church draw from the rich synodal experience of the Eastern Catholic Churches?
c) To what extent might the convergence of several groups of local Churches (Particular Councils, Episcopal Conferences, etc.) on the same issue commit the Bishop of Rome to address it at the level of the universal Church?
d) How is the service of unity entrusted to the Bishop of Rome to be exercised when local institutions may adopt different approaches? What room is there for a variety of approaches between different regions?
5) What can we learn from the experience of other Churches and ecclesial Communities concerning the groupings of local Churches for the exercise of collegiality and synodality?
B 3.3. What structures can be developed to strengthen a missionary synodal Church?
The Continental Assemblies express a strong desire that the synodal way of proceeding, experienced in the current journey, should penetrate into the daily life of the Church at all levels, either by the renewal of existing structures—such as diocesan and Parish Pastoral Councils, Economic Affairs Councils, diocesan or eparchial Synods—or by the establishment of new ones. While not meaning to diminish the importance of renewed relationships within the People of God, work on structures is indispensable to strengthen changes over time. In particular:
a) in order not to remain merely a paper exercise or to be wholly dependent on the goodwill of individuals, co-responsibility in the mission deriving from Baptism must take on concrete structural forms. Adequate institutional frameworks are therefore necessary, along with spaces in which community discernment can be practised on a regular basis. This should not be read as a demand for a redistribution of power, but the need for the effective exercise of co-responsibility that flows from Baptism. This latter confers rights and duties on each person, which each one must be able to exercise according to his or her charisms and ministries;
b) this requires that structures and institutions function with adequate procedures that are transparent, mission-focused and open to participation; procedures that make room for women, young people, minorities, the poor and marginalised. This is true for the participatory bodies already mentioned, the role of each of which must be reaffirmed and strengthened. It is also true for: decision-making bodies of associations, movements and new communities; governing bodies of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (in a manner appropriate to the particular charism of each); the many and diverse institutions, often also subject to civil law, through which missionary action and the service of the Christian community is realized, such as schools, hospitals, universities, mass media, reception and social action centres, cultural centres, foundations, etc;
c) The call to reform structures, institutions and functioning mechanisms with a view to transparency is particularly strong in those contexts most marked by the abuse crisis (sexual, economic, spiritual, psychological, institutional, conscience, power, jurisdiction). Inadequate handling of abuse cases is often part of the problem, calling into question the mechanisms, procedures and overall functioning of ecclesial structures and institutions, as well as the mindset of people working within them. The search for transparency and co-responsibility also raises fears and resistance; this is why it is necessary to deepen dialogue, creating opportunities for sharing and dialogue at all levels;
d) the method of conversation in the Spirit has proven to be particularly valuable for rebuilding trust in those contexts where, for various reasons, a climate of mistrust has developed between the various members of the People of God. A journey of conversion and reform, which listens to the voice of the Spirit, demands structures and institutions capable of accompanying and supporting this journey. At the same time, however, the Continental Assemblies strongly expressed the conviction that structures alone are not enough, but that a change of mindset is also needed, hence the need to invest in formation;
e) Moreover, it also seems advisable to take action in the area of canon law by: rebalancing the relationship between the principle of authority, which is strongly affirmed in the current legislation, and the principle of participation; strengthening the synodal orientation of already existing institutions; creating new institutions, where this appears necessary for the needs of community life; supervising the effective application of current legislation.
Question for discernment
A synodal Church needs to live co-responsibility and transparency: how can this awareness form the basis for the reform of institutions, structures and procedures, so as to strengthen change over time?
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection
1) How should canonical structures and pastoral procedures change to foster co-responsibility and transparency? Are the structures we have adequate to ensure participation or do we need new ones?
2) How can Canon Law contribute to the renewal of structures and institutions? What changes seem necessary or opportune?
3) What obstacles (mental, theological, practical, organisational, financial, cultural) stand in the way of transforming the participatory bodies currently provided for in canon law into bodies of effective community discernment? What reforms are needed so that they can effectively, creatively and vibrantly support the mission? How can they be made more open to the presence and contribution of women, young people, the poor, migrants, members of minorities and those who for various reasons find themselves on the margins of community life?
4) How does the perspective of a synodal Church challenge the structures and procedures of consecrated life, the different forms of lay association, and the functioning of Church-related institutions?
5) In which areas of institutional life is there a greater need for transparency (economic and financial reporting, selection of candidates for positions of responsibility, appointments, etc.)? What tools can we use to achieve this?
6) The prospect of transparency and openness to joint consultation and discernment processes also raises fears. How do they manifest themselves? What are those who express concerns afraid of? How can these fears be addressed and overcome?
7) To what extent is it possible to distinguish between the members of an institution and the institution itself? Is the responsibility for mishandling cases of abuse individual or systemic? How can a synodal perspective contribute to creating a culture which prevents abuse of all kinds?
8) What can we learn from the way in which public institutions and public and civil law strive to respond to the need for transparency and accountability in society (separation of powers, independent supervisory bodies, obligations to make public certain procedures, limits on the duration of appointments, etc.)?
9) What can we learn from the experience of other Churches and ecclesial Communities regarding the functioning of structures and institutions in a synodal style?
B 3.1 How can we renew the service of authority and the exercise of responsibility in a missionary synodal Church? A synodal Church is called to uphold both the right of all to participate in the life and mission of the Church by virtue of Baptism, and the service of authority and exercise of responsibility that is entrusted to some. The synodal journey is an opportunity to discern the ways in which this can be done that are appropriate to our times. The first phase made it possible to gather some ideas to aid this reflection: a) authority, responsibility and governance roles—sometimes succinctly referred to by the English term leadership—take a variety of forms within the Church. Authority in consecrated life, in movements and associations, in Church-related institutions (such as universities, foundations, schools, etc.) is different from that which derives from the Sacrament of Orders; spiritual authority linked to a charism is different from that linked to ministerial service. The differences between these forms must be safeguarded, without forgetting that they all have in common the fact that they are a service in the Church; b) in particular, they all share the call to be configured to the example of the Master, who said of himself: “I am among you as one who serves” (Lk 22:27). “For the disciples of Jesus, yesterday, today and always, the only authority is the authority of service.”* These are the fundamental coordinate by which grow in the exercise of authority and responsibility, in all their forms and at all levels of Church life. It is the perspective of that missionary conversion which “aims to renew her [the Church] as a mirror of Christ’s own mission of love” (PE I, 2). c) in this line, the documents of the first phase express some characteristics of the exercise of authority and responsibility in a missionary synodal Church: an attitude of service and not of power or control; transparency, encouragement and the flourishing of the person; a capacity for and competence of vision, discernment, inclusion, collaboration and delegation. Above all, the ability and willingness to listen is emphasised. This is why there is an insistence on the need for special formation specifically in these skills and competences for those in positions of responsibility and authority, as well as on more participatory selection procedures, especially with regard to the selection of Bishops. d) a transparent and accountable approach is fundamental to an authentically evangelical exercise of authority and responsibility. However, it also arouses fears and resistance. That is why it is important to address, with an attitude of discernment, the most recent findings of management and leadership sciences. Moreover, conversation in the Spirit is identified as a way of managing decision-making and consensus-building that builds trust and fosters an exercise of authority appropriate to a synodal Church. e) the Continental Assemblies also point to experiences in which power and decision-making processes have been appropriated by some in positions of authority and responsibility. They link these experiences to the culture of clericalism and the different forms of abuse (sexual, financial, spiritual and of power), which erode the credibility of the Church and compromise the effectiveness of its mission, particularly in those cultures where respect for authority is an important value.
Question for Discernment How can authority and responsibility be understood and exercised such that it serves the participation of the whole People of God? What renewal of vision, and forms of concrete exercise of authority, responsibility and governance, are needed in order to grow as a missionary synodal Church?
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection 1) Is the teaching of the Second Vatican Council concerning the participation of all in the life and mission of the Church effectively incorporated into the consciousness and practice of the local Churches, particularly by Pastors and those who exercise functions of responsibility? What can foster a more profound awareness and appreciation of this teaching in the fulfilment of the Church’s mission? 2) In the Church there are roles of authority and responsibility not linked to the Sacrament of Orders, which are exercised at the service of communion and mission in Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, in associations and lay movements, in ecclesial movements and new communities, etc. How can these forms of authority be appropriately promoted and how can they be exercised in relationship with the ministerial authority of the Pastors within a synodal Church? 3) What elements are necessary in forming Church leaders for the exercise of authority? How can formation in the method of authentic and insightful conversation in the Spirit be encouraged? 4) How can seminaries and houses of formation be reformed so that they form candidates for ordained Ministry who will develop a manner of exercising authority that is appropriate to a synodal Church? How should the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis and its related documents be rethought at the national level? How should curricula in theology schools be reoriented? 5) What forms of clericalism persist in the Christian community? A perception of distance between the lay Faithful and their Pastors persists: what can help to overcome it? What forms of exercising authority and responsibility should be superseded as they are not appropriate for a properly constituted synodal Church? 6) To what extent does the shortage of Priests in some regions provide an incentive to question the relationship between ordained Ministry, governance and the assumption of responsibilities in the Christian community? 7) What can we learn about the exercise of authority and responsibility from other Churches? 8) In every age, the exercise of authority and responsibility within the Church is influenced by the prevailing management models and imagery of power in society. How can we become aware of this and exercise an evangelical discernment of the prevailing practices of exercising authority, in the Church and in society?
* FRANCIS, Address at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, 17th October, 2015.
2.5 How can we renew and promote the Bishop’s ministry from a missionary synodal perspective? The ministry of the Bishop is rooted in Scripture and has developed in Tradition in faithfulness to the will of Christ. Faithful to this tradition, the Second Vatican Council proposed a rich teaching on the episcopacy “The Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, who along with the successor of Peter, the vicar of Christ and visible head of the whole Church, govern the house of the living God” (LG 18). The chapter of Lumen gentium on the hierarchical constitution of the Church affirms the sacramentality of the episcopate. On this basis it develops the theme of collegiality (LG 22/23) and of episcopal ministry as the exercise of the three offices (tria munera, LG 24-27). The Synod of Bishops was subsequently established as a body that would enable the Bishops to participate with the Bishop of Rome in care for the whole Church. The invitation to live the synodal dimension with greater intensity calls for a renewed deepening of the episcopal ministry in order to place it more solidly in a synodal framework. In particular: a) the College of Bishops, together with the Roman Pontiff who is its head and never without him, is the subject of “supreme and full power over the universal Church” (LG 22). This College participates in the synodal process when each Bishop initiates, guides and concludes the consultation of the People of God entrusted to him and when assembled Bishops exercise the charism of discernment in various assemblies: Synods or Councils of Hierarchs of the Eastern Catholic Churches, Episcopal Conferences, in continental Assemblies, and especially in the Synodal Assembly; b) To the Bishops, successors of the Apostles, who have undertaken “the service of the community, presiding in the place of God over the flock whose shepherds they are” (LG 20), the Continental Assemblies ask for a synodal conversion. If Vatican II recalls that the “duty which the Lord committed to the shepherds of his people is a true service” (LG 24), the synodal process asks them to live a radical trust in the action of the Spirit in the life of their communities, without fear that the participation of everyone need be a threat to their ministry of community leadership. Rather, it urges them to truly be a principle of unity in their Church, calling all (Priests and Deacons, Consecrated men and women, Lay men and women) to walk together as the People of God and promoting a synodal style of Church; c) The consultation of the People of God has highlighted how becoming a more synodal Church also implies a broader involvement of all in discernment, which requires a rethinking of decision-making processes. Consequently, there is need for adequate governance structures which respond to the demand for greater transparency and accountability, which will impact the way the Bishop’s ministry is exercised. This has also brought to the fore resistance, fear and a sense of disorientation. In particular, while some call for greater involvement of all the Faithful and thus a “less exclusive” exercise of the Bishops’ role, others have expressed doubts and fear the risk of drift if left to the processes of political democracy; d) There is an equally strong awareness that all authority in the Church proceeds from Christ and is guided by the Holy Spirit. A diversity of charisms without authority becomes anarchy, just as the rigour of authority without the richness of charisms, ministries and vocations becomes dictatorship. The Church is, at the same time, synodal and hierarchical, which is why a synodal exercise of episcopal authority suggests one that accompanies and safeguards unity. Episcopal ministry is properly reconceived and realised through the practice of synodality, which brings into unity the diverse gifts, charisms, ministries and vocations to which the Spirit gives rise in the Church; e) To proceed with the renewal of the episcopal ministry within a more fully synodal Church requires cultural and structural changes, a lot of mutual trust and above all, trust in the Lord’s guidance. This is why the Continental Assemblies hope that the dynamic of conversation in the Spirit can enter into the daily life of the Church and animate meetings, councils, and decision-making bodies, favouring the building of a sense of mutual trust and the formation of an effective consensus; f) The ministry of the Bishop also includes belonging to the college of Bishops and consequently exercising co-responsibility for the whole Church. This exercise is also part of the perspective of the synodal Church, “in the spirit of a ‘healthy decentralization’”, with a view “to leave to the competence of Bishops the authority to resolve, in the exercise of ‘their proper task as teachers’ and Pastors, those issues with which they are familiar and that do not affect the Church’s unity of doctrine, discipline and communion, always acting with that spirit of co-responsibility which is the fruit and expression of the specific mysterium communion that is the Church” (PE II,2; cf. EG 16; DV 7).
Question for discernment How do we understand the vocation and mission of the Bishop in a synodal missionary perspective? What renewal of the vision and exercise of episcopal ministry is needed for a synodal Church characterised by co-responsibility?
Suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection 1) “[B]ishops in an eminent and visible way sustain the roles of Christ Himself as Teacher, Shepherd and High Priest” (LG 21). What relationship does this ministry have with that of the Presbyters, “consecrated to preach the Gospel and shepherd the faithful and to celebrate divine worship” (LG 28)? What relationship does this triple office of ordained Ministers have with the Church as a prophetic, priestly and royal People? 2) How does the exercise of the episcopal ministry solicit consultation, collaboration, and participation in the decision-making processes of the People of God? 3) On the basis of what criteria can a Bishop evaluate himself and be evaluated in the performance of his service in a synodal style? 4) When might a Bishop feel obliged to take a decision that differs from the considered advice offered by the consultative bodies? What would be the basis for such a decision? 5) What is the nature of the relationship between the “supernatural sense of the faith” (cf. LG 12) and the Bishop’s magisterial service? How can we better understand and articulate the relationship between the synodal Church and the Bishop’s ministry? Should Bishops discern together with or separately from the other members of the People of God? Do both options (together and separately) have a place in a synodal Church? 6) How can we ensure the care and balance of the three offices (sanctifying, teaching, governing) in the life and ministry of the Bishop? To what extent do current models of episcopal life and ministry enable the Bishop to be a person of prayer, a teacher of the faith, and a wise and effective administrator, and keep the three roles in creative and missionary tension? How can the profile of the Bishop and the discernment process be revised to identify candidates in a synodal perspective? 7) How should the role of the Bishop of Rome and the exercise of his primacy evolve in a synodal Church?
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