They walked in procession through St. Peter’s Square one behind the other. Lay people and clergy, members of the general assembly of the “synod on synodality” arrived together, Wednesday October 4, at the opening mass of this great meeting which could change the future of the Catholic Church. As a carefully staged symbol of the place that the laity could take in the Church of Pope Francis, which he dreams of being more horizontal and less pyramidal.
At the call of the Pope, these synodal delegates will discuss for four weeks the numerous questions put to their work table by faithful from all over the world, also encouraged by the pontiff to give their opinion on the way in which the institution should function. . Governance of the Church, ordination of married men, place of women and lay people or even management of sexual violence committed by members of the clergy: there will be many hot topics on the menu of this first assembly, which must be followed by a second in October 2024.
Historical in what it could modify in the way in which the Church lives, this event which must serve to finish giving shape to the legacy of Francis, is also historic in the composition of its members, where clerics (more numerous) and secularists seem to have the same power. For the first time, it is not the only bishops who must meet and then vote on resolutions. Alongside them are lay people, including women, who marched like the others in Saint Peter’s Square on Wednesday, while the litany of the saints resonated.
Tables without hierarchy
Also for the first time, the members of the assembly will not meet in the usual place for synods, organized in the form of an amphitheater, but in the enormous Paul VI hall, within the Vatican. They took their place there on Wednesday morning to get used to this new organization. Forgotten the sloping stands where everyone would have taken their place according to their ranks. This time, lay people and clergy together, organized in small linguistic groups, took place around round tables without any hierarchy. Another symbol of equality and horizontality between clerics and laity desired by Francis for this event, but also within the Church.
Seated at the presidential table, barely raised above the others, the Pope himself participated in this staging of horizontality. A few minutes before the opening, sitting in the middle of the crowd of participants, he chatted with some and hugged others.
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