Positive air pervades Synod opening in Rome

by Desmond O'Grady at the Rome Synod DESPITE last-minute uncertainties, the extraordinary Synod opened in a postive atmosphere. Its tone was set by the Belgian Cardinal Godfried Danneels who summarised episcopal conferences' response to the synodal secretariat's questionnaire.
Danneels, who prepared his summary with the help of West German theologian Walter Kasper praised the successful application of Vatican 11 even while admitting there had been errors and there were grey zones.
Given the lack of a draft working paper, Cardinal Danneels' well-balanced survey became the Synod's point of reference. This was possible also because in formally opening the Synod, Pope John Paul refrained from foreclosing any questions.
At the opening ceremony in St Peter's, the Pontiff gave what Danneels described as a "very spiritual homily".
But in his speech on Tuesday night, Cardinal Ratzinger said the Church should not appear simply as an institution in which the Pope and the bishops squabble over power.
Unless the Church appeared as a mystery, the Cardinal said, people would seek the sacred elsewhere.
There were several dramatic appeals from bishops representing Catholics in minority positions. Cardinal Antoine Khoraiche, Patriarch of the Maronites in Lebanon, warned that Christianity in his count's, was in danger of being crushed by Islam; Cardinal Lubachivsky of Lwow made an impassioned appeal for the persecuted Catholics in the Ukraine.
At a press conference on Monday attended by over 500 journalists, Danneels was asked whether the Synod was divided between optimists such as Bishop James Malone, president of the US Bishops' Conference, and Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of the Doctrinal Congregation.
In an answer which drew applause, Danneels recalled his story of the argument whether a glass is half-full, or half empty. He said he was not interested to hear the glass wa.f half empty (which is Ratzinger's view), or half full (Malone's). He was only interested to know how much water was in the glass.
He said, further, that the Synod was not about a book (Ratzinger's) but about a Council. Cardinal John Krol, one of the pro-presidents of the Synod and also present at the press conference, added that there was no possibility that the Synod would go back on the Council.
Danneels, likewise, scotched any possibility of restoration and said the word and concept were irrelevant. He told synodal participants that all postconciliar periods were full of "tensions and conflicts for lack of a synthetic vision and because of confusions and temporary regressions. Today we are merely at the beginning of the Council's implementation. After a phase of post-conciliar fervour, there has been a certain disillusion but the third phase will be that of equilibrium and rediscovery".
Without the Council, Danneels added, "would it have been possible to avoid the bursting of the darn?"
Among the postive effects of the Council Danneels listed were: the acceptance of liturgical renewal, the spiritual renewal of many groups as regards evangelisation, catechesis and preaching a more profound understanding of the Church, greater lay responsibility, base communities which, if they are truly churches, constitute a great hope, a dynamic ecelesial attitude which has replaced a defensive one.
Danneels added that there was a more radical testimony in areas of rights, justice, peace and freedom, a more positive appraisal of collegiality, a great effort to renew consecrated religious life, new vigour in ecumenism and a new form of evangelisation in which there is collaboration between young and ancient churches.
His negative points included: insufficient preparation for liturgical reforms, isolation of the Bible from living tradition, church-world relations more difficult than 20 years ago, and finally the heart of the crisis — opposing the Church as institution to the Church as mystery, the people of God to the hierarchy.
He concluded "the Synod must listen to what the spirit says ... It must give the Church a great impulse of hope". Pope John Paul was present at the first session and listened to Cardinal Danneels but did not speak. On the whole the first speakers confirmed Cardinal Dannecls positive assessment of the post-conciliar period. Bishbp Malone called for a reinforcement of coegiality through episcopal conferences.