It is an honour and privilege that I can address the Churches in Oceania. I know that you are meeting in Suva. Obviously, in your schedule you have lots of things, but I know also that you have a preference to reflect, to discern about what the people of God are saying with regards to a synodal Church.
Thank you. Thank you for the work that you will carry out enabling the whole Church to continue on a path that in so many parts of the world is renewing the vibrancy of the People of God and above all its impetus for the mission of proclaiming the Gospel that the Lord has entrusted to each one individually, but above all to all together.
This is why I urge you to work to ensure that the Continental Assemblies are another moment of growth in the awareness of the “we” that we are and that we are called to become more and more in order to fulfil the mission that the Lord has entrusted to us.
So participate in the Continental Assembly by cultivating an exquisitely synodal attitude, that is, of true dialogue, the only path along which we can grow as a Church. This requires speaking courageously and sincerely, that is, integrating truth and charity with a deep inner freedom.
Frank speech, however, is always accompanied by humility in listening. The first fruit and sign of the authenticity of a true dialogue, in fact, is that each person is open to newness, that he or she is willing to change his or her own opinion on the basis of and thanks to what he or she has heard from others in the light of the Word of God and the Church Magisterium.
This is important throughout the Synod and it is also important during the Continental Assemblies. Do not be afraid to speak, and do not be afraid to listen, to make an effort to welcome and understand others, and also do not be afraid to change your mind based on what you hear.
And then above all, through others, listen to the Spirit, the true protagonist of the synodal journey, which resounds in the words of the People of God. Have confidence: it is the Spirit who will show us the path to follow and accompany us to follow. It is good to see how the paths followed have so many elements in common, but also have so many differences in the timing, in the way the meetings are organised… This is a sign of enrichment and vivacity; this how the Holy Spirit will work!
Under these conditions, the Continental Assemblies will be what they must be: an ecclesial exercise of discernment, which is “based on the conviction that God is at work in the history of the world” and concretely in the events and situations that the People of God live in each continent.
Share the resonances that the reading of the Working Document for the Continental Stage has elicited within each Church. Remember, however: it is not yet time to make decisions or develop plans! The more the discernment of each Assembly is able to recognise what the Spirit is suggesting to the Churches of each continent, the more stimulating the Synodal Assembly next October will be.
Remember also the profound meaning of the synodal process: to push the whole Church and every believer to take a step in the direction of that unfathomable depth in which the authentic source of our walk together resounds: the voice of the Lord who calls us to the common mission of proclaiming his Gospel and bringing his salvation to a wounded world that desperately needs it.
Synodality works when it is oriented to the service of mission and thus bears the mark of that “joy of the Gospel [that] fills the hearts and lives of those who encounter Jesus” (EG no. 1).
That is why I pray that the Continental Assemblies will be an opportunity to experience that joy. I accompany your work with my prayers and once again thank you for your commitment.
The Holy Father thanks you for your commitment and he ask me to convey to you his fatherly blessing.