The Start of the Preparatory Phase for the Synod of Catholic Bishops in Rome

H.E Bishop Paul Rouhana:

‘The Lord invited us to be a Church’

‘Love is a spiritual battle we fight to free ourselves from ego and anger. Without it, our journey together would fail’

This report is also available in Arabic.

H.E Bishop Paul Rouhana

Injustice, hate speech, corruption, unfairness... All these are expressions that have always dominated the global scene, especially the Levantine, at a time when societies are suffering from severe crises on every front: health, environmental, economic, cultural, and political. But does anyone hear the pain of those marginalized? Are there initiatives contributing to alleviating the crisis? What is the Church’s role in all of the above?

It seems that walking this journey together is imperative to support one another. We are all Christians and brothers in one human family, helping each other overcome all difficulties. Hence, His Holiness Pope Francis reminds us that one cannot reach salvation alone, but with the help of others. He, therefore, sees these crises as “signs of times” the Church as a whole must capture, read, and interpret according to its vocation and mission.

This is why the Pope called for the convening of the sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October 2023. The Synod aims to reach by “walking together” finding common solutions to our common issues, especially since the path of walking together in general requires meeting and free dialogue.

The preparatory stage for this Synod has begun, and dioceses around the world are in the process of preparing its recommendations and suggestions. Is the Middle East concerned with this Synod? Maronite Patriarchal Vicar of Sarba for the Patriarchal Maronite Diocese and former Secretary General of the Middle East Council of Churches H.E Bishop Paul Rouhana contributed to assisting parish priests and their assistants in the region in the task entrusted to them during the first stage of this synodal procession by preparing a guide in Arabic based on the French Synod Guide.

However, many questions arise. What is the Synod about? Does it interpret our reality? What is the role of the Church? What does it mean to walk together? Does the Synod have ecumenical goals?

H.E Bishop Paul Rouhana paints us the big picture in a lecture he gave during the spiritual retreat organized by the General Secretariat of the Middle East Council of Churches headed by Secretary General Dr. Michel Abs on Friday, November 5, 2021, in the Saint Paul Monastery - Patriarchal Maronite Diocese, Summer residence of the Vicariate of Sarba Keserwan, Lebanon.

The Church, an Invitation to Walk Together

His Holiness Pope Francis chose the title of the Synod “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” for it to be, according to Rouhana, a topic of interest to every Church, without it being only related to the ideology of the Catholic Church. His Eminence explains: “the Church is in a process of becoming and in continuous movement where our mechanisms, ideologies, and beliefs are re-examined... Therefore, it’s okay not to achieve the synod now, for the Church has not yet reached the Synod.”

He continues: “The Church in Syriac means “Clushto” and in Greek “Ecclesia” and in both languages it means a group called by God. Therefore, we must feel that God called us to be a Church, and the Church is called by God to participate with Him in salvation. The Synod means “walking together”. The expression “Synodal Church” is formed by two synonyms, for walking together is an essential characteristic of both the Church and of the community before God.”

The Church, a Cure to Everything Preventing us from Walking Together

H.E Bishop Paul Rouhana

Does real life allow us to actually walk together? H.E Bishop Paul Rouhana confirms that the Church is well aware of the bitter conditions believers are going through. He says: “Humanity’s life precludes walking together. Therefore, the Church may be a cure from God to all our obstacles, through its teachings, values, and symbols of salvation... A cure through which people restore fraternal solidarity with each other in the eyes of God, and this is the goal today.”

He adds: “Since the beginning of human history, people have lived in dispersal and divisions due to differences in personalities, the predominance of personal interests, clan, tribal, and religious fanatism, economic gaps between the rich and the poor, not to mention religious conflicts among the same religion... All these are reasons we must take into consideration today while walking together.”

From here, Rouhana ask: “Facing this tragic reality, does believers still find themselves prisoners of conflicts, as if they were an inevitable and never-ending reality?” He points out: “If we acknowledge this reality, God's work and project would fail, and the Church and the synod would fail with them. Hence, the importance of cooperation between God and man, between the work of grace and the fragile and broken human will.”

Communion Sets the Basis for Walking Together

Rouhana explains: “Communion is a theological expression, and it is achieved through the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Communion in the Trinity forms the basis of the synodal Church. The Church is the communion of the Father who called for it, based on love between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

What is then the “walking together” theology? His Eminence answers: “We turn to St. Paul, architect of faith, who talks about the Church as the body of Christ with a diversed organism. The head of the Church is Jesus Christ, and in the body, each organ works in harmony with the others, meaning they rely on one another. None can be independent, as confirmed by the letter of St. Paul to the Romans Chapter 12 “so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another…”

“I cannot be with Christ and neglect the body, or in other words, others.” Thus, Rouhana continues based on 1 Corinthians 12:31-34, and stresses “So that there may be no division in the body, but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.”

Love in Walking with God and our Loved Ones

After talking about real life problems, H.E Bishop Rouhana explains: “Love is also a spiritual cure for walking together. The theological revolution is based on combining the love of God and the love of loved ones. It means that walking with God in His love is inseparable from walking with loved ones in theirs. Man is on the same level, as is walking with God and man.”

Starting from the parable of the Good Samaritan, His Eminence asks, “Do I elevate myself to being close to every victim of injustice in order to take care of her so that she can recover? I must rise up for human rights, and faith is what accompanies God’s love…”.

He continues, "Love is a spiritual struggle that believers undertake to free themselves from envy, pride and anger. Without this freedom, walking together cannot become a reality. Love, according to the First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, is patient and gentle, does not envy, does not boast or is puffed up. And if the mutual love between brothers is built-in, in the footsteps of Jesus it has an exemplary dimension.

Walking Together on an Ecumenical Path

We may conclude that the synodal path also bears Ecumenical goals, especially since both Synodalism and Ecumenism call for “walking together”. The synodal Church listens, then, to all the baptized who share to a certain degree the sense of faith. Ecumenism is also based on the “exchange of gifts”, and the one gift that Catholics can receive from other Christians is their experience and understanding of the Synod.

This is in addition to the fact that the synodal organization of the Catholic Church includes but isn’t limited to: Ecumenical goals enhancing credibility in dialogue. Let’s not forget that the synodal path constitutes an opportunity to stimulate Ecumenical relations at various levels in the Church, especially since the participation of Ecumenical delegates has become a normal practice in the Synod of Bishops and in the Synods of the Diocese.

Communication and Public Relations Department