Pope Francisco warned this Wednesday that “gossiping is the most common disease in the Church”, in the first plenary session of the Synod of Bishops, where he encouraged avoiding ideology to address issues of the future of Catholicism.
(Also: France seeks to sanction sexual montages created with artificial intelligence)
“Gossip is the most common disease of the Church. If we do not let the Holy Spirit cure us of this illness, a synodal path will hardly be good. At least in here,” the pope said in the first session of the Synod, in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican.
(You can read: Four months of the Ukrainian counteroffensive: these are the advances that kyiv has made)
In this sense, he encouraged the 464 members gathered, including bishops and lay people, to speak clearly, of whom 364 will have the right to vote, including 54 women for the first time.
“If you disagree with a bishop, a nun or a layman, say it to their face, tell the truth, not with gossip under the table,” encouraged the Argentine pontiff.
If you disagree with a bishop, a nun or a layman, say it to their face, tell the truth, not with gossip under the table.
This important assembly of bishops from around the world will meet this month in Rome – the final meeting will be in October 2024 – to address important issues for the future of the Church, such as celibacy or blessing homosexuals, which has raised the criticism of the most conservative sector of the Roman Church.
(Keep reading: Russian journalist who protested against the war is sentenced to more than 8 years in prison)
Francis defended the importance of addressing these issues collectively and recalled his participation in the past in this type of meetings, established by Paul VI in 1965.
“We still did not have the habit that everyone should express themselves freely but slowly, in these almost 60 years, the path has gone in this direction and we can reach this Synod. It is not easy but it is very beautiful,” he said from his table, along with other members.
The Argentine pope argued that the meeting “is not a Parliament” nor “a meeting of friends to resolve some things of the moment or give an opinion” and that the “protagonist” is the Holy Spirit.
(Also read: Foreign Ministry confirms death of three Colombians in fire at nightclub in Spain)
“If the Holy Spirit guides us, it will be a good Synod. If there are other ways among us to pursue human, personal and ideological interests, it will not be a Synod but a parliamentary meeting or something else,” he warned.
On the other hand, he assured that “The ugliest disease that is also seen in the Church, always and also today, is spiritual worldliness”.
Francis assumed that the previous Synods started with “pressures” generated by the expectations of the press and “public opinion created by worldliness,” as when the possibility of divorced people returning to the sacraments focused the entire assembly on the Family in 2015. .
“Now there are some hypotheses of this Synod, such as the priesthood of women, these things that they say outside, right?, and they often say that the bishops are afraid to communicate what is happening,” he said.
(You can read: Pedro Sánchez begins negotiations to seek support for his inauguration in Spain)
That is why Francis encouraged the journalists covering the Synod to respect “a certain fast from the public word” and to carry out their work in a “good and fair” way. communicating that the Church, with this event, manifests above all a “will to listen.”
“The Church has stopped. This is a pause for the entire Church to listen,” he concluded.
EFE
#Pope #Francis #asks #avoid #ideologies #address #issues #future #Catholicism