Reporting on the opening of the Synod in Rome, Canon Andrew Clark writes:
“In the opening Mass of the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the Pope invites us to face today’s challenges and problems not with a spirit of division and conflict, but by centring our gaze on God, in order to be a Church that listens and dialogues and does not divide.”
“How can God’s revelation be made known to people today, so that it becomes salvation? For Francis, it is precisely the Synod that offers answers.”
In Pope Francis words, ‘This is the primary task of the Synod: to refocus our gaze on God, to be a Church that looks at humanity with mercy. A Church that is united and fraternal, or at least that seeks to be united and fraternal, that listens and dialogues; a Church that blesses and encourages, that helps those who seek the Lord, that beneficially shakes up the indifferent, that initiates paths to initiate people into the beauty of faith. A Church that has God at its centre and therefore does not divide internally and is never harsh externally. A Church that takes risks with Jesus. This is how Jesus wants the Church, his Bride’.