Monday morning in the Synod Hall, the first General Congregation of the Eleventh Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was held. The meeting was presided by the Pope, and 241 Synod Fathers were present.
Two hundred and fifty six Synod Fathers from 118 nations will take part in the gathering. This is the highest ever number of participants in a synodal assembly. Among them are 55 cardinals, 8 patriarchs, 82 archbishops, 123 bishops, 36 presidents of episcopal conferences and 12 religious. There are also 32 experts and 27 auditors from five continents.
One novelty at this synod is that of the free discussions in the Synod Hall from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., at the end of the daily General Congregations. Furthermore, "the Synod Hall has been modernized, in particular with improvements to the lighting, air conditioning and video services."
"One of the functions of collegiality," said Benedict XVI, addressing some words of greeting to the assembled prelates, "is to help us to know our own shortcomings, which we do not want to see. It is never easy to contemplate one's own defects, and others notice them better than we do."
In this context, he went on, "fraternal correction helps us become more open, .... (it helps) each person find his own truth, his own integrity as an instrument of God. All this calls for humility, not placing ourselves above others, but helping one another."
In this way "we can help ourselves with a great act of love, an act of true collegial affection. When someone is desperate, he cannot see how to keep going, he needs consolation, someone to be with him, to give him courage, to play the role of the consoling Holy Spirit."
"This is an invitation for us to carry out the work of the Holy Spirit Paraclete," said Benedict XVI, asking "how can we do so if we do not share together the faith that was not invented by any one of us, but is the faith of the Church?"
"The faith is the common foundation upon which we stand and work." The words of St. Paul contain "an invitation to always remain upon this foundation that precedes us, to maintain this shared faith. ... Each person must experience the faith in his or her own uniqueness, but always knowing that this faith precedes us."
The Holy Father concluded his greetings by encouraging the participants in the Synod to be "instruments of Christ," and to "enter into the thoughts and feelings of the Lord."
At a later press conference, Cardinal Angelo Scola explained that his hope for this Synod is, first of all, "to recover the primacy of the rite of celebration of the Eucharist," the foundation of the Church. "We cannot," he said, "reduce the Eucharist to an act of community piety. 'Rite' is the most comprehensive word to describe how the Trinity, in Christ Jesus, comes out to meet my own individuality. The Eucharist is not a right or a possession, it is a gift."
The patriarch of Venice also briefly outlined some of the central themes contained in the Synod's "Instrumentum laboris," explaining that the subject arousing most interest is that of "maintaining the centrality of the Eucharist in all its plenitude," although other important themes include a more profound study of the relationship between the Eucharist and the priesthood, the question of "viri probati" (the priestly ordination of married men), and the relationship between the Eucharist and celibacy.
Also to speak at the press conference was Archbishop Pierre-Antoine Paulo O.M.I., who reaffirmed that "the Eucharist is the Church and the Church is the Eucharist," expressing the hope that the Synod would favor ecumenism. "We ask the Holy Spirit for the gift of unity," he said.
Finally, Bishop Luis Antonio G. Tagle explained the situation in his country, Philippines, where "we cannot speak of a lack of priests, because there are numerous vocations and the seminaries are full." However, Catholic communities are so many and so large that ther
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