Pope Francis has stressed on several occasion the need for the Synod to involve everyone, and to reach out as much as possible. “Everyone has a part to play; no one is a mere extra … The Synod is for everyone, and it is meant to include everyone … Let everyone come in … the Holy Spirit needs us. Listen to him by listening to each other. Leave no one behind or excluded.” (Pope Francis, 18 September 2021).
He stresses “real involvement on the part of each and all” and “a way of acting marked by true participation…. Enabling everyone to participate is an essential ecclesial duty! All the baptized, for baptism is our identity card.” (Pope Francis, 09 October 2021).
The Diocese of Phoenix “Synod of Young Adults” has involved Synodal Listening Sessions to which all the young adult-baptized (ages 18-39) are explicitly invited to participate, especially within their local communities; no one is excluded. The Synod Preparatory Document and the Vademecum have also stressed the importance of reaching out to the poor, to those who have less of a voice. This is also true of parishes, who must ensure that those people who might not normally attend meetings can be heard.
Because this way of proceeding is not the usual way the Church operates, Pope Francis is explicit in saying this involves a change or conversion. “In this regard, we have taken some steps forward, but a certain difficulty remains, and we must acknowledge the frustration and impatience felt by many pastoral workers, members of diocesan and parish consultative bodies and women, who frequently remain on the fringes.”(Pope Francis, 09 October 2021)
Clericalism poses an obstacle to participation; such an attitude of rigidity and superiority prevents us from recognizing the mission of each of the baptized in the Church. “One of the ills of the Church, indeed a perversion, is the clericalism that detaches priests and bishops from people, making them officials, not pastors. There can be no discrimination in the name of God. Discrimination is a sin among us too, whenever we start to say: “We are the pure, we are the elect, we belong to this movement that knows everything, we are…” No! We are the Church, all of us together.” (Pope Francis, 18 September 2021).
