Cardinal Mario Grech, General Secretary of the Synod, expresses satisfaction and gratitude for the great commitment of those around the world who are helping to shape    the future of the Church and make synodality a living experience. The focus is on ‘staying on the track of God’s will’. Trust in the German Synod Way is intact. The questions were asked by ANNA MERTENS, editor of KNA, Rome.

I have to be honest with you, I find it very difficult to explain to anyone what synodality means. Can you help me?

Cardinal Mario Grech: Synod means ‘walking together’ In his encyclical Fratellitutti, Pope Francis points out that we live in a culture marked by profound individualism and that we must respond to people who are tired of walking alone. Synodality is the opposite, it means ‘walking together’ and is a constitutive dimension of the Church. In the Church there is no room for individualism. We are the people of God, called to be a community. Inviting us to be more synodal, the Holy Father is telling us to recomprehend, what ‘people of God’ really means. If we rediscover our relationships to create a more communal spirit, that would be a great step forward. Not only in the Church.

In this sense the Synod for a synodal Church is just a start of a long, an eternal process?

The Synod is the kickstart. It is an opportunity to reect on the need to become more synodal as a Church. And to discover new ways to be more synodal and to strengthen those we already practice to make them more effective.

This process has started. Are you happy with its start and its progress?

Yes, the signals we are getting from various parts of the world are positive. I think we are on the right track. As an example, I’ve just been to Lebanon and I was surprised by the amount of enthusiasm. If you ask me whether all are on board: No. Some dioceses are hesitant. But I haven’t lost hope. Gradually, they will join the process. After all, synodality is not an agenda or some extra work. It is our nature as a Church.

We cannot not be synodal.

You have provided the dioceses with documents and guidelines.

Our ministry is not to dictate, but to accompany.

We want to help our brothers and sisters to ‘walk the talk’ and for this we have provided materials that can serve to stimulate the process. We have an idea; we are making progress and we are on a good path. Some say we have already written our final document. That’s not true. We started from a blank sheet of paper and slowly we are writing it together. And what is even more important are the relationships and ties that, through the synodal process, are being created at all levels.

Have you already received or read contributions from different dioceses?

So far we have received responses from a number of bishops’ conferences: the deadline for submission is mid-August. And we have also received a decent number of individual contributions. This is a possibility, too. However, we encourage all to submit their contribution to the local Churches because the universal Church exists in and from the particular Churches.

What is your next step?

As soon as we have received and read the responses received from the Bishops’ Conferences and other stakeholders (Eastern Churches, religious congregations, dicasteries of the Roman Curia), our first task will be to prepare the working document to serve the continental phase of the synodal process. In the past, the General Secretariat of the Synod would entrust just few theologians with the drafting of this document. This time, however, we have decided to appoint a group of around 30 experts from around the world. Together we will retreat for fifteen days to analyse all the proposals and prepare the document for the next phase. It will be a synodal and spiritual experience.

“Questions are not only important, but necessary. What really worries me is when there are no questions. Questions mean we are alive and continue to develop.”

Have you chosen the members already?

Yes, from all over the world and different backgrounds. Men and women, of course. Most are already involved in the synodal process. We asked them for their willingness to read the materials received before we met and to prepare a summary highlighting the elements that struck them most.

And after that?

Once this document has been approved, it will be forwarded to all bishops. We will ask all bishops to convene diocesan synod leaders to reflect on the document in preparation for the continental stage. Then there will be Continental Synodal Assemblies taking place next year from January to March. We are planning to have seven continental meetings. I have set up a task force that will accompany these meetings.

You will be able to follow these steps on our website www. synod.va

How many people work in the Secretariat for the Synod?

We are only 14. But I have set up four commissions: theological, spiritual, methodological and one for communication, all in all 70 to 80 people. And they are all very generous and willing to help us.

What’s the feedback you’re getting from within the Curia?

There has not yet been a meeting with the whole Curia, but we have tried to visit all dicasteries. The general response has been quite positive. And all the dicasteries are invited to submit their contribution to the consultative phase. I am also aware that some dicasteries are conducting a synodal process in their offices, involving all staff.

On your travels have there always been the same issues brought to your attention?

I didn’t enter into details with the people I met. Sometimes there are lists of topics. When I travel, I try to listen and to encourage and in turn I am also encouraged a lot. More than anything, I feel that there is a great enthusiasm for the Synod.

Why? Because they feel heard?

Yes, they appreciate that they have one more opportunity to make their voices heard. And this about a particular theme: for a synodal Church. I expect, there will be contributions that address other issues, but the main issue is ‘a synodal Church’. And I believe that once we’re more synodal, we will also be in a better position to address other issues.

What if there is no feedback? If a diocese doesn’t want to participate?

This can happen. I have for instance received a letter informing us that in a particular diocese the bishop is not convinced and is not organising the process. But the Nuncio in this country was clever enough to address the faithful directly and encouraged them to hand their contributions to him. All of us are asked to contribute, no one is excluded.

Let’s have a look at the German synodal path which has been going on for quite some time. There have been preliminary results, have they been presented to you?

No, nobody has officially presented the preliminary results to us. But I understand that. Until the 5th of June when the Apostolic Constitution on the reform of the Roman Curia Praedicateevangelium came into force, we were the ‘General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops’, and in this sense not responsible for a synodal assembly. Only now we are the ‘General Secretariat for the Synod’. That is more than a change of names.

Have you read the results obtained to date?

I try to follow the process. But for me, it is one thing to follow what is published and another thing to follow what actually happens. It is a process. Perhaps the communication in general could have been better and that would have helped a better understanding of what happens in Germany. I have trust in the Catholic Church in Germany, in the bishops, I trust they know what they are doing.

You have been formally invited to go to Germany by bishopGregorBätzing. Have you planned your trip already?

Not yet. I was formally invited, but back then, it wasn’t possible for me to go.

And are you going to go any time soon?

I don’t rule it out.

Is something stopping you from going there?

No, absolutely not. I am in good and regular contact with Bishop Georg Bätzing.

What topics would you like to discuss with the members of the German synodal path?

I do not feel it’s appropriate to enter in an ongoing discussion. The same applies to the synodal plenary council in Australia. We have to respect the local Churches. If we’re asked for assistance, that’s something else. I would probably stress the general principle of synodality in the Catholic Church. There is the reciprocal listening of the People of God – all included –, then there is collegiality. Every bishop is part of the college of bishops. And there is Peter – the principle of unity and certainty. Those three levels have to be respected – always.

There has been criticism about the German synodal path from different Churches, such as Poland.Do you know why?

I cannot say why there has been such criticism. But I am puzzled over the method and the style used by the critics. I think a fraternal correction and dialogue are something very positive. But why a public denunciation? It seems to me that it does not help. It only creates more polarisation.

Have you seen similar controversies in other countries regarding other synodal paths, e.g., in Australia?

I have the impression that certain issues that are being discussed in Germany are also being discussed elsewhere. But again, there are different ways of discussing those topics. Let me try to explain myself with an example. I had just taken office and one of the first letters I received was from a bishop who had just concluded a diocesan synodal process. He wrote me that before he started the process, he had told his diocese that certain topics couldn’t be discussed within the process because it wasn’t within his competence as a diocesan bishop to address them. But in the end the people discussed them no matter what. So, he asked me whether he should disregard those topics or include them in the final document. I told him to stand by what he had stated at the beginning but without disregarding or discarding those topics. I told him to write another document, e.g. an appendix, and submit it to the higher authority.

Do you know what the response was in the diocese?

No, but I have the impression the community took it well. Because the bishop listened.

Questions are not only important, but necessary.

What really worries me is when there are no questions. Questions mean we are alive and continue to develop.

Do there have to be results that change things at the end of a synodal process?

The main goal of this process is to find God’s will and better understand it. And 2020 is not 1020, nor is it 2000. So, we have to be faithful to God. At the same time, we have to find the right answers for the people today.