RHODE ISLAND CATHOLIC EDITORIAL

Vatican seeks to give wings to ‘Good News’

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From across the globe, more than 250 “synod fathers” have gathered in Rome this week for the 12th general assembly of the World Synod of Bishops.

Pope Benedict XVI has convened these “synod fathers,” along with a host of delegates and observers from other religious groups for the three week synod on “The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church.” The Holy Father explained that the word “synod” suggests “the idea of paving the way together.” The synod has been called to help the Church strengthen Biblical formation, remove “ignorance of the Scriptures,” improve Biblically-based preaching, and provide further guidance on Biblical interpretation.

At the opening Mass at St. Paul Outside the Walls, Pope Benedict recognized the need for a deeper knowledge of Scripture in an increasingly godless society, and suggested that “it is indispensable that the Church know and live which she proclaims, so that her preaching is credible, despite the weakness and poverty of her members.”

The Holy Father will preside over the twice-daily sessions of the synod, and has indicated that the results will most likely be the basis of a new papal document on Scripture. The purpose of the synod is to consider how the proclamation of the Gospel can be more effective in a contemporary culture that is often at odds with God’s message. The positive message of Scripture that “Christ who wins in the end” needs be the center of the life and mission of the Church to ensure that “evil and death will not have the last word.”

This World Synod of Bishops is part of Pope Benedict XVI’s bold vision for the Church as he leads the renewal of the evangelization of an increasingly secularist culture often hostile to religion. This effort to revitalize the study and proclamation of Scripture is part of Pope Benedict’s consistent theme that there can be no authentic happiness for people who remove God from their lives and no authentic justice for a world that rejects God.

Over the next three weeks of prayer and discussion, this gathering of representatives of every culture and various religious traditions “will pave the way together” to renew the mission and life of the Church and strengthen the understanding for the real need “to place the word of God at the center of our life.” Let us pray for this remarkable gathering that it might produce much fruit for the Church and renew her efforts to proclaim to the world the beauty and the truth of the Word of God.