Synod Father asks not to make the Synod of Synodality an ideological fair

The Spanish priest Luis Miguel Castillo, member of the Synod of Synodality by direct appointment of Pope Francis, affirms that, despite the different sensitivities within the Catholic Church, it is necessary “not to fall into making the Synod an ideological fair, that is, where “Everyone is going to claim and claim.”

In statements disseminated by the Archdiocese of Valencia (Spain), the professor at the San Vicente Faculty of Theology and doctor in Patrology and Classical Philology considers that the objective of the Synod is “to see what the Holy Spirit says to the Church, which is different.”

In his opinion, “we are not going to found a church, we are going to help in its renewal. That claim would be daring.” Consequently, he adds, “we are not going to deconstruct the Church, but simply help renew its institutions to better respond to the Gospel.”

The rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Valencia, who worked for seven years at the service of the Vatican Secretariat of State, maintains that “we must always learn from others and be open to the truth that exists in the other, but without breaking the unity of the faith, nor move away from, nor create a rupture with, the living tradition of the Church.”

On the other hand, Father Castillo explains that those who participate in the Synod of Synodality “we are not a decision-making body,” but rather they prepare proposals that are submitted to Pope Francis “so that he can then pray and reflect on the implementation.” of practical measures for the life of the universal Church.”

Discernment on access to the Eucharist for the divorced

Looking ahead to the celebration next October of the second session of the Assembly of the Synod of Synodality, this priest studies issues related to the role of the episcopate in relation to synodality, the life of the bishops, collegiality with the Successor of Saint Peter and the question about the possibility of divorced people being admitted to Eucharistic Communion.

In this sense, Father Castillo assures that the Church “does not want to create a divorce mentality, of course, because it would go against the will of Jesus Christ, but it does want to show an openness towards certain types of lives that participate in the Church and that “They were a little excluded from Communion.”

Paraphrasing Pope Francis, the synodal father assures that in the Church “we all fit in, all of us as long as we do not break the unity of faith. Now, it is true that we all fit, but not everything fits. Not even the Pope proposes such a thing. The Church has to renew itself but without breaking with its own living apostolic tradition.”

“I sincerely believe that Pope Francis—from what I have seen in the Synod participation and in my personal dialogues with him—wants to leave a kind of roadmap for the Church in the coming years,” he adds.