Pope Francis urged parish priests to “learn to practice the art of communal discernment,” which has proved helpful in the Church’s Synodal journey.
In his letter to the attendees of the recently concluded International Meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod, the Holy Father said that the clergy will reap many good fruits from having “conversations in the Spirit” in their parish councils and other structures of communion.
“As pastors, we are called to accompany in this process the communities that we serve and, at the same time, to commit ourselves with prayer, discernment, and apostolic zeal to ensuring that our ministry is suited to the needs of a synodal and missionary Church,” wrote Pope Francis.
The pope emphasized that the Church can only achieve its true Synodal nature through the social and spiritual efforts of parish priests.
“A synodal Church needs its parish priests. Without priests, we will never be able to learn how to walk together and to set out on the path of synodality,” he said.
“If parishes are not synodal and missionary, neither will the Church be,” he also said.
Moreover, Pope Francis encouraged the priest attendees to become “missionaries of Synodality” among themselves and to their fellow parish priests once they returned home.
“I ask you to encourage reflection, with a synodal and missionary mindset, on the renewal of the ministry of parish priests,” said the pontiff.
The pope also underlined how the contributions of the parish priests during the recently concluded international meeting will play an important role once the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishop resumes this October.
“The purpose of the present International Meeting was to listen to parish priests, but that cannot finish today; we need to continue to hear from you,” said Pope Francis.
Around three hundred parish priests from all over the world attended the Synod-centered meeting from April 28 to May 2, held in Sacrofano, outside of Rome.
The gathering involved the sharing of experiences between the participating priests and reflections on building a local Synodal Church on mission.
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