Ecumenism and synodality under Pope Francis
We publish part of an article by Hyacinthe Destivelle, OP, Director of the Institute for Ecumenical Studies at the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome.
The full text is available in Sequela Christi 2021/02
Synodality as listening to other Christians
The synodality of the Catholic Church is also expressed and strengthened in its dialogue with other Christians. Indeed, if a synodal Church is characterized by “reciprocal listening in which everyone has something to learn,”[1] it’s not just Catholics who need to be listened to, but all the baptized, from whom the Catholic Church can learn more about synodality.
Listening to the sensus fidei of all Christians
Vatican II teaches that “the Catholic Church recognizes that ‘many elements of sanctification and truth’[2] are to be found outside its visible limits,” and that “whatever is accomplished by the grace of the Holy Spirit among our separated brethren can contribute to our edification.”[3] Pope John Paul II also affirmed that “certain aspects of the Christian mystery have sometimes been better brought to light” in other Christian communities.[4]
On the basis of this conviction, the International Theological Commission, in its document on the sensus fidei, stresses that “a certain form of sensus fidei may exist in ‘the baptized who bear the beautiful name of Christians without professing the faith in its entirety’ (Lumen gentium 15)” and that “the Catholic Church must therefore be attentive to what the Spirit may say to her through the intermediary of believers in Churches and ecclesial Communities who are not fully in communion with her.”[5] Further posing the question: “Are we to believe that separated Christians in some way participate in and contribute to the sensus fidelium?,” she asserts that “the answer must undoubtedly be in the affirmative.”[6]
Listening to the sensus fidei of all the baptized is one of the reasons why representatives of other Churches and ecclesial communities are invited to take part in the synodal processes of the Catholic Church. Since its creation, the Synod of Bishops has invited “fraternal delegates” who are not simply observers: they can address the synodal assembly and take part in discussions in language groups. Similarly, the participation of ecumenical partners has become the norm in diocesan synods. These synod processes are not only an opportunity to listen to the sensus fidei of other Christians, but also to “gather what the Spirit has sown in them as a gift for us too.”[7]
[1] Francis, Address of 17 October 2015 Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops.
[2] Ecumenical Council Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen gentium, n. 8.
[3] UR, n. 4.
[4] UUS, n. 14, see also UR, n. 17
[5] International Theological Commission, The sensus fidei in the life of the Church, 2014, n. 56.
[6] Id., n. 86.
[7] Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium [EG], 2013, n. 246.