Cardinal Grech: Synod is a sign of gentle listening

By Edoardo Giribaldi

The greatness of listening lies in its smallness—in the humility of dialogue, in contrast with a geopolitics that is accustomed, almost resigned, to war and economic coercion.

This is the teaching that the Synod has given and continues to give to the Church, now entering an implementation phase that is not simply aimed at applying decisions, but at allowing the insights gained along the journey to mature in the life of communities. These communities are, in turn, called to take a further step by widening dialogue and engaging with Churches throughout the world. Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, shared these reflections in his introduction to the fourth session of the Extraordinary Consistory held this afternoon, 27 June.

Expectations for the Synod

In his address, the Maltese cardinal recalled that when the Synod on Synodality began in 2021, “few would have imagined the breadth of involvement it would generate.” Different realities within the Church participated, in some cases for the first time, in “moments of listening and ecclesial discernment,” following different paths, experiencing fatigue and resistance, but universally recognizing the desire to “walk together, valuing the gifts and responsibility of all.”

The implementation phase

The synodal experience, Cardinal Grech continued, has been significantly supported by the method of conversation in the Spirit. This awareness matured as it helped to grasp “the substantial difference between thematic spiritual conversation and a conversation in the Spirit—that is, within the mutual speaking and giving of the Risen Lord among us as a work of the Spirit.”

The implementation phase now underway will allow Churches to exchange gifts and experiences, expanding the “sense of belonging to the one People of God.” This is not an immediate process, however, since each culture receives and interprets the insights that have emerged according to its own times and ways—“in cultures, institutions, pastoral practices, and ecclesial relationships.”

Broadening dialogue

To accompany this process, the General Secretariat of the Synod has outlined a pathway leading to the ecclesial Assembly scheduled for October 2028. The goal is to progressively translate into the life of communities the insights developed during the synodal journey, while fostering increasingly intense exchange among realities that are geographically and culturally distant.

In this process, the cardinal stressed, the ministry of the bishop remains fundamental in promoting the participation of the entire People of God. Alongside him work synodal teams, participatory bodies, ordained ministers, consecrated men and women, associations, movements, educational institutions, families, young people, and local communities.

The four verbs of the journey

The implementation process is structured in several stages, marked by four verbs. First, “to remember,” helping communities live “a dynamic of exchange between Churches that nourishes communion and supports mission,” not by repeating the initial listening phase but by “welcoming” what has already emerged. Then “to interpret,” in order to read shared dynamics and tensions; “to orient,” opening the Church to new perspectives; and finally “to celebrate,” bringing the journey undertaken back to the goal of unity.

The link between Synod and Consistory

According to Cardinal Grech, the point of connection between the Consistory experience and the synodal path lies in the fact that the gathering of cardinals does not take place “outside a matured ecclesial spirituality that is broadly synodal.” The shared presence of the Holy Spirit thus reveals “two operative dimensions of the same communion”: on one hand, the Consistory, called to be a “living memory of the collegial communion that the Master gave to his first disciples as a relational style of governance”; on the other, synodal assemblies, the “living memory of that fraternal and theological communion that actualizes every local Church and makes it sacramentally participate in the gift of salvation,” now called to renewed discernment and witness.

Listening and discerning together

The cardinal concluded by addressing his fellow cardinals directly. Some lead local Churches called to live this implementation phase, while others serve the universal Church through the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia. All, however, share “the responsibility of safeguarding ecclesial communion and supporting the Church’s mission.”

For this reason, the contribution of the College of Cardinals to the implementation phase of the Synod will be “particularly important.” In a world marked by profound transformations and increasingly complex challenges, synodality thus appears as a “missionary resource,” capable of helping the ecclesial community listen to humanity’s questions and discern together the steps to be taken.