The news must have had a strong impact on the 201th Apartment of Santa Marta Casa in the Vatican, where the Papa Francisco He recovers from his ailments with an absolute rest of two months that have prescribed his doctors. It is that the great flag of Jorge Bergoglio to reform and modernize the church, the synodality (“walk together” in Greek), has suffered a blow.
The thousand delegates of the Italian Assembly have decided to suspend the final vote in the Vatican where they deliberated this week.
Divided into 28 groups, 1008 delegates to the Italian Synodal Assembly, summoned to launch the new church government style, the synodality, ended up verifying the Impossibility of agreeing on fundamental issues and they disposed to postpone a new assembly to the end of October that adopt the decisions.
The delegates are distributed among 108 bishops (seven cardinals among them), 252 priests, 17 deacons and 530 lay people, 253 men and 277 women. The Synod Assembly extends the participation of governing the Church to the priests and also to the laity. All to “walk together.”
The Pope gave masterly character, that is, of ecclesiastical teaching, to the decisions of the international synod that had to end in 2024, extending it to 2028, when he was admitted to the Gemelli hospital, for his pneumonia.
The question of synodality agitates especially to the fierce opposition of conservatives and traditionalists That a conclave is seen to choose a new Pope but above all the novelty of a pontiff who can carry out the Government of the Church diminished by his illness. This situation is reflected in a significant increase in “in crescendo” campaigns against Jorge Bergoglio and the entire area of the church reformers.
The meeting of the Italian Sinodality Assembly was attended by an important character: Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, archbishop of Bologna and president of the Italian Episcopal Conference, which speculations include as one of the main progressive candidates in an eventual conclave, heir to Bergoglio’s thought and action.
Zuppi coincided with those who after many discussions considered that “we need to think globally” to the situation in the Synod Assembly. It was voted to do and the result was overwhelming: 835 delegates voted to avoid the final vote and go to a new match at the end of October.
Many delegates explained that the text proposed to the Assembly was ambiguous, weak, even evasive, on important issues. For example in EThe role of women inside the Church. Also, homosexuality, sexual abuse, transparency, Diaconate, accompaniment of people in particular emotional situations and more.
Cardinal Zuppi said there was “a certain disappointment”, but that in the assembly “a great sense of ecclesial freedom and sense was imposed.” As a synthesis, he said that “this is the beauty of a church that is alive. He walks”
The Pope said the synod is not a parliament, but the assembly postponed at the end of October shows that it is taking shape An unprecedented democratic movement.
Several delegates highlighted that after four years of discussions, there was a rich, lived text, but “washing”, which avoided the concrete and detailed definitions of the most important issues.
For example, in the case of women it was avoided to point out the possibilities of new female ministries, for example the diaconate.
In an intervention, the Italian bishops affirmed that the Synodal Assembly was “a synodality gym” that offered the opportunity of an “open discussion.” “The opportunity was offered to learn a dialogue style that should be maintained in the future.” In summary: the experience has been valid and the stumble that the Pope has also felt must be overcome.