Extracts from an article by Thomás Halik published in The Tablet on May 4th, 2024

Clergy from around the world met in Rome, May 2024, to share their experience of synodality. A fellow priest, Fr. Thomás Halik, reflected in three talk on their role in a changing Church.

Extracts

Synodality is a journey – a transition, like the exodus pilgrimage to freedom.

It requires the courage to convert from a static “being Christian” to an ongoing dynamic process of “becoming Christian”.

Discernment is learning to distinguish between spirits. We need to distinguish the ‘spirit of the age’ from the ‘signs of the times’.

The ‘spirit of the age’ is the voice of the world. The ‘signs of the times’ the events that hold deeper meaning – are God’s speech.

When Jesus first met his future Apostles they were tired and frustrated fishermen:

“Try again. Go to the deep and let down your nets to fish.”

When our nets remain empty , we must ask if it is because we have remained in the shallows; could it be that we have not had the courage to push off from the shore, to go to the deep?

Mission is not just one of the activities of the Church; it is its essence

The key word of the Second Vatican Council was “dialogue”. Mission ceased to be a one-way street. It took the form of dialogue, listening to others, respecting them and trying to understand.

The Church cannot turn away from the noisy world of constant change but equally, the Church cannot stand in it without places of silence and spiritual refreshment.

The synodal process is a process of reform and healing

The process of synodality… should inspire co-existence in the whole family of humanity.

 

Communications