“Whoever expects big changes from the document will not find them,” says the facilitator of the Synod, Fr. Pedro Brassesco.

The Argentine priest Pedro Manuel Brassesco, deputy general secretary of CELAM and one of the facilitators of the Synod of Synodality, told EWTN today that the final document will be “inspiring,” but that anyone who expects “big changes will not find them.” .

In an interview with Patricia Bainberg and Omar Aguilar, from EWTN, Father Brassesco said that it is not a “recipe book that tells us ‘we have to do this and we have to do that’… You will not find it. But those who hope in some way to be able to grow and how to take concrete steps in the community will find many clues, many possible paths to be able to move forward in that direction.”

EWTN: What does it mean to be a Synod facilitator?

Fr Pedro Manuel Brassesco: Being a facilitator, in a group dynamic, is being the one who coordinates the group, the one who makes the group work in terms of the established methodology so that the expected results can be reached. So, within this Synod, in last year’s session and in this year’s session as well, the methodology of conversation in the Spirit has been used, which is a methodology that allows us to always discern in an environment of profound spirituality what the Spirit shows us how God’s will, precisely in this case for the journey of the Church in light of the themes of the Synod. That is why this conversation in the Spirit has a series of specific moments that the facilitator does is coordinate those moments, in some way marking the times of each one, making sure that everyone can participate and, above all, trying to move forward towards each other. We all discern what that will of God is manifested in attentive listening, always listening to the voice of the Spirit that resonates within us. That is why there are many moments of prayer, but the voice of the Spirit that also resonates through what others tell us, in this case those who are participating around a table, and what it says to all of us as a community. We do not intervene, in the sense that we do not give an opinion. We only facilitate so that the conversation develops and the final step can then be reached: the writing of a report.

EWTN: And you, personally, as a facilitator, how did you experience the points of tension?

Fr Pedro Manuel Brassesco: Convinced and confident in the action of the Spirit in me. Because more than mediating between tensions, it is letting the Spirit do its work. And for that, what the facilitator does is provoke those perhaps necessary moments of prayer, pause, silence. That was very important, because if at any time that difficulty appeared, first to always remember the need to listen to each other. That is something fundamental, because this session, in relation to the previous session, had at the end of each moment a moment where more open dialogue could be held. That question in the Synod, in the methodology, has always been key to remembering the need to listen, to actively listen, that is, not listening to another waiting for them to finish to say what I think, but truly what the Another says go question me, go ask questions within myself. And at some moments it was necessary to generate silence to listen to the Spirit. And the Spirit really worked. In some way, a consensus was forming where perhaps there were different positions at some point, but the Spirit was somehow showing the paths where He wanted us to go.

EWTN: What can you share with us about the document?

Fr Pedro Manuel Brassesco: Tomorrow we expect a long day. The editorial committee is working, it is already giving the final details and tomorrow we expect to read the document aloud all day and immediately begin voting. Last year we concluded at approximately 9:00 p.m. The document is a little longer than last year’s. Let’s see with the amendments. It is generally said that with the amendments an additional 20% is added. The characteristics that this document has, unlike previous synods, is that it is a document written, we could say, in a fluid manner. That is, previous synods made propositions. Such a thing is suggested. We propose such a thing. It was in the form of, we could say, sentences. On the other hand, this document is a document written in its entirety, where it has an entire theological and biblical foundation on synodality. In this session of the Synod the discussions have been based on the An instrument of labor and about him An instrument of labor it was working. Therefore, many other topics were not incorporated, some of which were already in the working commissions that the Pope had created and therefore it was not necessary to return to them. Although the Assembly has insisted that some topics must be in this final document.

EWTN: Are we going to be surprised by the final document?

Fr Pedro Manuel Brassesco: It is a document that is prepared and addressed to the whole world, to the universal Church. And in this matter of synodality, the same Synod has shown that each Church has a different history and path. When talking, for example, about participation, there are places in the world where this has been practiced for many years and there are other places where it is an absolute novelty. So for some it will be news and others will say that this is not news. Perhaps they may be disappointed because there is nothing new in that sense. The challenge is going to be this: first, not to look for a recipe book of the things we have to do, a vademecum of everything we have to do in our diocese. The document is going to be an inspiring document that will allow us to see in the light of our reality as a particular Church or as an Episcopal Conference or as a region, to see how we are being a synodal Church. What is in the document is, for example, what Latin America proposed, it is what came out of the episcopal conferences, it is what came out of the continental assembly, it is what also came out of the dioceses, of the things that they were proposing in order to how to be a synodal Church, how to be a more participatory Church, that we can grow in communion with everyday issues. One of the great things that came out and that the Synod and the document also take on is the whole issue of relationality. In Latin America it was said very clearly: we have relationship problems between the faithful of a community, between communities, between religious life and diocesan life, between dioceses. And then the document also assumes that: how can we try to improve our relationship? And of course there is no technical recipe in this, spirituality has a lot to do with it, assuming our discipleship of Christ also has a lot to do with it. So, I say again, whoever expects big changes from the document in the sense of a recipe book that tells us ‘we have to do this and we have to do that’, will not find it. But those who hope in some way to be able to grow and how to take concrete steps in the community will find many clues, many possible paths to be able to move forward in that direction. The question of the Synod was how to be a synodal, missionary Church and always in order to this, to the mission. In the discussions, at the tables, he always insisted and always came back. Let us not forget that this is not about internally reorganizing the Church for a self-referential issue or to say how good we are as a Church! How well organized we are! It really is always to fulfill and carry forward the mission of the Church, which is to evangelize.