The Synod of Bishops on synodality’s October 2023 session will begin with a three-day retreat conducted by a Dominican preacher whose remarks on homosexuality have already generated controversy, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich revealed on Monday.
According to the cardinal, Dominican Father Timothy Radcliffe has been invited by Pope Francis to host a retreat near Rome from October 1–3 for Catholic bishops and attendees of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
From 1992 through 2001, Radcliffe, 77, presided over the Dominican Order. His unorthodox views, notably those concerning homosexuality, have in the past sparked debate in the Church.
When discussing same-sex partnerships, Radcliffe said in the 2013 Anglican Pilling Report, “we cannot begin with the issue of whether it is authorized or banned! What it signifies and how much of it is eucharistic must be clarified. It can undoubtedly be kind, open, compassionate, reciprocal, and peaceful. Therefore, I believe it may represent Christ’s self-gift in many different ways.
At a news conference given by the Vatican on January 23 to promote an ecumenical prayer vigil that would be place in St. Peter’s Square to commit the work of the Synod of Bishops to God, Hollerich announced the synod retreat.
“Church politics are not the topic of the synod. It involves moving forward as a team while paying attention to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, there will be one difference between this synod and others. The bishops and synod attendees will depart after the prayer vigil for a three-day retreat. So, Hollerich remarked, “Prayer and listening to the Spirit come first.
The ecumenical prayer vigil and bishops’ retreat will both take place in the days before the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, also known as the synod on synodality.
There will be two sessions during the Synod of Bishops’ 16th Ordinary General Assembly. The first session will be held in October 2023 from 4 to 29; the second will be held in October 2024.
Hollerich said at the press conference that he is “not worried… that there are diverse perspectives in the Catholic Church,” but he does consider “tensions… as something constructive” for the synod on synodality.
“Tensions in the Catholic Church do not need the synod to exist. The fact that everyone really wants to see or share how we might follow Christ and preach Christ in the modern world has already caused conflicts to arise without the synod. The strain stems from it, he added.
“Now, we saw tension as something constructive in the text for the synod’s continental phase. Because you need some tension to have a tent. If not, the tent is collapsing. And I believe that the synod, listening to God’s Word, listening to the spirit, praying together, and traveling together will all help to defuse tense situations. Therefore, although good tensions might occasionally be essential for unity, we do not want terrible tensions to destroy the Church.
In an interview with Vatican Media in October of last year, Hollerich, the relator general of the four-year international synodal process, said that he didn’t think the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith’s position against Church approval of same-sex partnerships was final.
The cardinal made his comments in answer to a question in an interview on the Catholic bishops of Belgium’s controversial decision to endorse the possibility of blessings for same-sex partnerships in defiance of the Vatican.
In an interview that was also released on October 24, 2022 by Vatican Media, Hollerich said, “Honestly, the issue does not seem conclusive to me.”
Hollerich said in today’s news conference that he expects the synod will usher in “a fresh springtime of ecumenism.”
The Taizé Community will lead the “Together: Gathering of the People of God” ecumenical prayer vigil on September 30 in the presence of the pope.
The Vatican issued a press statement describing the event as “a follow-up to World Youth Day” and inviting young people between the ages of 18 and 35 from all Christian traditions to participate in praise and worship with Taizé music and prayer.
The World Council of Churches, the World Lutheran Federation, and the Greek Orthodox Metropolitan Exarchate Europe are just a few of the more than 50 Christian organizations from various faiths that have already participated with the prayer vigil effort, according to the website.
In addition to Brother Alois, the prior of the ecumenical Taizé Community, the Vatican asked Archbishop Ian Ernest of the Anglican Church, Archbishop Khajag Barsamian of the Armenian Apostolic Church, and others to speak at the news conference about the vigil. The head of the French Protestant Federation, Pastor Christian Krieger, also took part virtually.
The Vatican requested in a letter to Catholic bishops last year that they extend invitations to local Orthodox and Protestant leaders to take part in the local stage of the synod on synodality.
At the opening session of the synod in October 2021, Ernest, who represents the archbishop of Canterbury personally before the Holy See and oversees the Anglican Centre in Rome, reflected that he “felt more as a participant than an observer” because his “voice was listened to in the group discussions.”
Ernest said that the Pope’s synodal process would “give wings to our ecumenical oneness, to our ambition to strive to walk together, and to explore how best we may assist in the suffering of people who live in troubled conditions of this broken world.”
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