Editorial

A New Kairos for the Church

BY FR Rafael Armada | EDITOR

ST FRANCIS of Assisi, kneeling down in front of the crucifix in the little chapel of San Damiano, heard an interior voice saying: “Francis, go and rebuild my Church”. He first thought that the Lord was referring to fixing the building, but later on, he realized that his calling was, in fact, to reconstruct the Church of Christ which was in an appalling condition in the 13th century, plagued by scandals and malpractices.

Once again, when Pope St John XXIII announced the inauguration of the Second Vatican Council, opening the doors and windows of the Church, bringing fresh air inside and connecting her to the World, nobody would have imagined that such an old and peace-loving Pontiff could bring that kind of earthquake and novelty into our ecclesial community.

These are Kairos events or God’s moments when the Holy Spirit blows, bringing newness into the Church and, subsequently into the world. Similarly, the calling of Pope Francis, on 7 March 2020, for a Synod on Synodality, is another happening inspired by the Spirit. Starting on 10 October 2021 and concluding with an assembly of Bishops in October 2023, the Church has embarked on a process of listening, reflecting, praying and looking at understanding herself, and what it entails to become a synodal Church; a semper reformanda (always in need of reform) community of the People of God.

A synodal church never ceases to respond to new realities faced in the various moments of human history

A synodal Church never ceases to respond to new realities faced in the various moments of human history. Through participation, communion and mission (the three themes of this Synod on Synodality) all her members are welcome to engage in searching for the true identity and vocation of the Church of Christ in today’s world. For the first time in her history, the process is done bottom up, involving everyone in the universal dioceses in a journey of mutual listening and spiritual discernment. The purpose of this exercise is to express how we see ourselves as a community of believers, what needs to be reformed or what structures need to be transformed.

The Church has been exposed, in recent years, to scandals due to abuses of power, made visible among others, in sex, money and conscience matters, which have greatly damaged her credibility, causing so many people to leave her and to renounce their faith. Clericalism has dominated our modus operandi, depriving the lay faithful of their place and role—rooted in their baptismal vocation—in the community.

A synodal Church needs to listen to those who have been pushed to her margins (agnostics, women in their leadership role, divorcees, secularized priests, LGBTI people, among others) to form a community that is welcoming to all and values the contributions that each individual can offer. An inclusive Church needs to go and reach out to those who have been discouraged and have abandoned her. She cannot wait inside the parishes for them to come back. Referring to this synodal process, Cristina Inogés-Sanz, lay theologian and member of the methodological commission, envisions that a synodal Church will be contemplative, open to conversion and will welcome the changes which the Spirit will offer.