A sad reality, a little bit of hope. Wisdom Wednesday begins this week with the acknowledgment that many Catholics in the United States are not hearing much (or even anything) about the synodal event launched by Pope Francis. Our hope is that AUSÇP members and friends will seek participation in the “Synod on Synods” and help friends and neighbors and everyone in their ministerial reach to be aware of this pivotal moment.
Synodality Explained
First of all, here is a kind of synodal primer.
When people ask you about the “Synod on Synodality,” here is a good article to recommend: “What is the Synod of Bishops? A Catholic priest and theologian explains.”
“Prayer is essential.”
Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, said in the process to create a more “synodal church,” one where every member contributes and all listen to each other, “we are touching something divine, and prayer is essential.”
The synod office, the Pope’s Worldwide Prayer Network and the women’s International Union of Superiors General have joined forces not only to encourage prayers, but to collect them, share them and build a global community of people praying for the synod and each other.
Their efforts are built on two main platforms: an updated version of Click to Pray, an app and website run by the prayer network, and www.prayforthesynod.va.
Both were unveiled Oct. 19 at a Vatican news conference.
Quoted and Noted: Selections from recent reports of news and views
NCR reports: Pope Francis significantly shifted the Catholic Church’s teaching on the use of military force in 2020, declaring in the encyclical Fratelli Tutti that because of the brutality of modern combat it is now “very difficult” for countries to invoke the just war theory in pursuing violent conflict.
Peter Daly, AUSCP member and NCR contributor, writes: Thank God for Pope Francis. He said what many of us have been thinking — that our bishops are behaving more like politicians than shepherds. “On a papal visit to Hungary and Slovakia in mid-September, he told reporters aboard his airplane that bishops should behave like pastors, not politicians.”
Thomas Reese writes, in Religion News Service: “Pope Francis has turned Twitter into a prophetic medium. It is his way of getting the Gospel message out to the world.”
Pew Research reports: Wide majorities in most of the 17 advanced economies surveyed say having people of many different backgrounds improves their society.
For Religion News Service, Robert P. Jones writes about “7 things white Christians can do to address white supremacy at church.” He says, “Simply start somewhere, and start somewhere local.”
The National Council of Churches has elected an all-female slate of officers for the first time in the ecumenical organization’s 71-year history.
From Religion News Service: “Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton, leader of the Fifth Episcopal District of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, on Wednesday (Oct. 13) became chair of the organization, starting a two-year term along with the other officers.”
Finally…
Are you searching for a “safe” news source to recommend to the people you serve? It’s not left, not right, and not perfect, but Catholic News Service is a go-to news service for Catholics and others in the United States.
We hope you have enjoyed this roundup of recent news about faith, politics, and culture. We will return next week with another edition of Wisdom Wednesday.
Until next week, please follow us on social media with the buttons below to make sure you don’t miss the latest news from the AUSCP!