Within the Synod the recommendation is unanimous. The wording of the final document – which will be delivered to Pope Francis – must “be understandable to the People of God. There is great attention from the members of the Synod to make the document understandable to everyone,” reiterated the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini, during the press conference on October 16.
The conclusions of the debates in the Synod – which for many non-experts, and not only, may seem vague – must therefore be expressed in black and white and written in the final document – and this is the commitment of the participants – in the form more accessible and clear for everyone.
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Father Darío Vitali, coordinator of the theological experts, also spoke on this topic. “In a path of the Church listening to the Spirit, the decisive element is that of consensus, and it is up to theologians to recognize the type of consensus that is maturing and that must be delivered, so that the final text is coherent with the path. that the Spirit is indicating to the Church.”
“From this assembly,” he added, “a collaborative work has begun between theologians that accompanies all synodal work.”
Father Vitali also addressed the issue of the doctrinal competences of the different episcopal conferences.
He indicated that in the future they will not be able to “formulate dogmas,” but they will be able to “adapt the language to the consensus in which they find themselves and offer answers to the problems that arise in that context.”
For example – the priest continued – it will be possible to “return to the episcopal conferences competences on matters that they know well, with the possibility of formulating doctrinal proposals that have pastoral implications for a people on the way.”
In the afternoon, the members of the Synod participated, in the Vatican Basilica, in the Mass presided over by Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Primate Archbishop of Mexico and delegate president of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in ACI Press.
Marco Mancini