By Devin Watkins
“Pope Leo XIV encourages us to advance on the path of synodality, making fruitful the many seeds planted in the soil of the Church during the 2021–2024 Synodal process.”
Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops, offered that invitation to members of the Union of Superiors General (USG) on Friday during their Assembly.
The heads of male religious orders held their 103rd General Assembly in Sacrofano, near Rome, on May 21-23.
In his address, Cardinal Grech reflected on the theme “Consecrated Life: Engine of Hope in a Synodal Church,” recalling Pope Francis’ call for the Church to listen well.
Pope Leo XIV, he noted, has already spoken frequently of synodality, most notably in his address on the evening of his election to the papacy: “We want to be a synodal Church, a Church that moves forward.”
Cardinal Grech said the Church has concluded the “celebratory” phase of the Synod on Synodality with its Final Document, noting that the most important phase is its “reception” by the people of God.
“The protagonist of reception is the Holy Spirit, who acts in the depths of the people of God and gradually leads them along the path of reform, of which He Himself is the divine engine,” he said.
The Cardinal went on to highlight the role of consecrated life in the Church as a form of prophecy, one which assists in the inculturation of the Gospel in local cultures and societies.
He pointed out that the Synod on Synodality’s first phase involved in-depth consultation with various realities of local Churches, in the hope of giving Catholics a chance to walk together.
Consecrated life, he added, have long employed the principle of synodal listening and communal discernment for their shared life and mission.
Cardinal Grech said religious orders also carry out a “prophetic exercise of authority,” with many religious expressing their appreciation at the Synod for a transparent and accountable form of leadership.
However, he noted, religious authority has sometimes degraded into abuse of conscience and personal freedom, resulting in deplorable cases of sexual abuse.
Confronting patterns of abuse require both sanctions and, more importantly, a change of “mentality, style, and ecclesial culture,” said the Cardinal.
Cardinal Grech then highlighted Pope Leo XIV’s focus on the Church’s missionary zeal.
Mission, he said, stands as the external expression of the synodal drive to involve everyone at all stages through “participation and communion.”
“In this new stage of the Church’s journey,” concluded Cardinal Grech, “you consecrated men and women, belonging to ancient and modern Institutes, must feel entrusted with the task of being the vanguard of the Church’s missionary renewal.”