In the closing service of the Synod, Pope Francis asks for “a Church that listens to the cry of the world”| National Catholic Register

Pope Francis closed Sunday’s Global Synod on the Synodality’s final assembly with a call for a Church that “listens to the cry of the world” without being “blind” to the urgent issues facing our time.

At the closing service of the synod in St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis said that a synodal Church must be “on the move”, to follow Christ in the service of those in need.

“We do not need a sedentary and defeatist Church, but a Church that hears the cry of the world… and gets its hands dirty in the service of the Lord,” the Pope said in his Oct. 27 homily.

Pope Francis emphasized that the Church cannot remain inert in the face of “the questions raised by today’s women and men, the challenges of our time, the urgency of evangelization and the many wounds that affect humanity.”

“Brothers and sisters, not a sedentary Church, but a standing Church. Not a silent Church, but a Church that embraces the cry of humanity. Not a blind Church, but a Church, enlightened by Christ, that brings the light of the Gospel to others. Not a static Church, but a missionary Church that walks with its Lord on the streets of the world,” he said.

The liturgy marked the end of the second assembly of 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishopswhich started on October 2 and focused on the theme “For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission”.

The assembly represented a significant stage in the Church’s global synodal process, initiated three years ago. In the last month, the delegates of the synod produced a Final document of 52 pages outlining recommendations for the renewal of the Churchincluding proposals for expanding women’s leadership roles, greater lay participation in decision-making, and significant structural reforms.

In a notable departure from tradition, Pope Francis announced that he will give up issuing a post-synodal apostolic exhortation. Instead, he opted for the ratification of the synod’s final document, directly implementing the assembly’s conclusions. While the synodal meeting ended, 10 synodal study groups will continue to examine the issue of women deacons and other key topics until June 2025.

In his homilyPope Francis reflected on The Gospel of Mark’s account of Jesus healing a blind man called Bartimaeus. He said that “blind Bartimaeus…represents that inner blindness that holds us back, keeps us stuck in one place, keeps us away from the dynamism of life and destroys our hope.”

“So many things along the way can make us blind, unable to perceive the presence of the Lord, unprepared to face the challenges of reality, sometimes unable to give adequate answers to the questions of so many who call out to us,” the Pope said. said.

“A sedentary Church, which inadvertently withdraws from life and confines itself to the fringes of reality, is a Church that risks remaining blind and comfortable with its own restlessness,” he said. “If we remain stuck in our blindness, we will continually fail to understand the urgency of providing a pastoral response to the many problems of our world.”

Pope Francis, dressed in green robes for the 30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, delivered his homily slowly, pausing often to speak off the cuff. He described the image of a “synodal Church” as one in which “the Lord calls us, raises us when we sit down or falls down, restoring our sight so that we can perceive the anxieties and sufferings of the world in the light. of the Gospel.”

“Let us remember to never walk alone or by worldly standards,” he added, but to travel “following Jesus on the road.”

at the altar Cardinal Mario Grechgeneral secretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, served as the main celebrant.

Over 300 priests and bishops, 70 cardinals and nine patriarchs concelebrated the closing Mass of the synod under the canopy recently restored baldacchino over the central altar.

The intricate 400-year-old bronze canopy, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, was unveiled at the Mass for the first time since restoration, its twisted columns gleaming with baroque-style golden angels, cherubs, bees and laurel branches decorated complex.

“As we admire Bernini’s majestic baldacchino, more sublime than ever, we can rediscover that it frames the true focal point of the entire basilica, namely the glory of the Holy Spirit,” the Pope said. “This is the synodal Church: a community whose primacy lies in the gift of the Spirit, who makes us all brothers and sisters in Christ and raises us to Him.”

At the end of the Liturgy, Pope Francis, from his wheelchair, led the faithful in veneration of a the relic of St. Peter’s chair — a wooden throne symbolizing papal primacy. This relic is expected to remain on display in St. Peter’s Basilica for public veneration until December 8.

“Today, as we thank God for the journey we have made together, we will be able to see and venerate the relic of the ancient chair of Saint Peter, carefully restored,” Pope Francis said. “As we contemplate it with the wonder of faith, let us remember that this is the seat of love, the seat of unity, and the seat of mercy.”