The Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Mario Grech, believes that the synodal process promoted in the Church in recent years has not yet reached the goal it had set for itself. During a meeting held at the Vatican with the presidents of the continental episcopal assemblies, the Maltese prelate stated that he will only be satisfied when synodality translates into a genuine missionary impulse capable of renewing evangelization.
Grech maintained that the various stages completed so far are a sign of the Holy Spirit’s action, but he insisted that the journey will remain incomplete if it does not give rise to communities that proclaim the Gospel with renewed enthusiasm.
“I will only be satisfied when I see a broad missionary movement”
During his intervention, the cardinal acknowledged the progress of the synodal process, although he made it clear that, in his view, it has not yet produced the most important fruit.
“I will only be truly satisfied when I see a broad missionary movement emerge, a new impulse that makes the Church go out, that leads it to take risks, that brings it closer to people and allows it to proclaim the Gospel with freedom and creativity,” he stated.
For Grech, the goal of synodality is not merely to improve the Church’s internal functioning or make its structures more participatory, but to provoke a genuine renewal of its evangelizing mission.
The real test will come when the Church goes out to evangelize
The Secretary General of the Synod maintained that the success of the process cannot be measured by organizational reforms, but by its capacity to generate missionary communities.
“The true test of the synodal path will come when we see communities that allow themselves to be sent, that go out to meet others, that not only speak of hope but make it visible with their lives,” he affirmed.
Grech also expressed his desire that the current phase of implementing the Synod’s conclusions will enable the entire Church to embrace this renewed evangelizing impulse.
“A synodal Church does not fear differences”
The prelate also defended that synodality should not be understood simply as a method of organization, but as a way of living ecclesial communion.
“A synodal Church does not fear differences, because it knows that unity does not arise from uniformity, but from communion,” he stated.
Along the same lines, he explained that the synodal path does not aim to redistribute spaces of power within the Church, but to foster a culture of listening, discernment, and co-responsibility that progressively transforms ecclesial life.
Implementation of the Synod’s conclusions continues
Grech’s statements come as the General Secretariat of the Synod continues to accompany the implementation of the conclusions of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the various particular Churches.
For the Maltese cardinal, this stage constitutes a decisive moment, since it will now be possible to see whether the synodal process begun in recent years succeeds in translating into a renewed missionary dynamism or remains limited to the sphere of internal reforms.