SYNODALITY IN ANGLICAN, LUTHERAN, REFORMED, METHODIST 
AND OLD CATHOLIC TRADITIONS 

Greetings to the International Academic Conference "Listening to the West"

Pontifical University St. Thomas Aquinas
Rome, 26 January 2023

Your Excellencies, Your Graces, Reverend Sisters,

dear Father Rector, dear Professors, dear students, dear participants,

I am pleased to greet you all at the beginning of the International Ecumenical Conference “Listening to the West” -  Synodality according to Anglican, Lutheran, Reformed, Methodist and Old Catholic Traditions.

This very week, during a Press Conference on the presentation of the Prayer event at the beginning of the Synod next October, a journalist asked: can the Catholic Church learn something on synodality from the other Christian Confessions? I wish he could attend the various ecumenical conferences on the topic organized by the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Angelicum. Indeed, a change of attitude is necessary in order “to examine our own faithfulness to Christ’s will for the Church and accordingly to undertake with vigour the task of renewal and reform” (UR 4) as proposed by the Decree on ecumenism

For sure synodality is not a new ecclesial reality, neither it has been lived in the same way by all Christian traditions. Different circumstances, ecclesial developments, and theologies has resulted in different synodal approaches from the different traditions through the centuries.

“Synodality”·is a challenge for the church of our times. And, as Catholics we wish to explore the different “synodal approaches” of our brothers and sisters, in an attitude of listening. It is our firm conviction that “what the Holy Spirit has sown in you is also a gift for us.” (EG 246) Therefore, attentive listening, authentic spiritual discernment and avoiding self-reference attitudes are key if we wish this exercise will succeed in order to strengthening our Christian witness in the world as “evangelizers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit.” (EG 259)

In expressing my best wishes for this first part of the symposium “Listening to the West”, I would like to express my deep appreciation to the Institute for Ecumenical Studies of the Angelicum for this academic initiative at the service of the whole Church and my gratitude for the close collaboration with the General Secretariat of the Synod, represented here by Sister Nathalie Becquart, Undersecretary. Allow me finally to express my heartfelt thanks to all those who will enrich this conference with their own expertise and qualified papers. Unfortunately, I cannot stay with you during the Conference. I wish I could attend all the deliberations and listen personally all your presentations, nevertheless I will not miss to read the conclusions and the proceedings at the end of these three days of reflection.