On October 4th, in commemoration of the Feast of St. Francis, the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops commenced its proceedings with a solemn Celebration of the Eucharist. Prior to this significant event, the participants had undergone a three-day retreat in the tranquil setting of Sacrofano.
This inaugural session of the 16th Synod, focused on the theme of Synodality in the Church, is scheduled to span the entire month of October. A noteworthy development in this assembly is the participation of 365 members with voting rights. Among these, a majority comprises bishops, numbering close to 300. In a historic move, women and laypeople have also been granted voting privileges, with 54 women, both religious and lay, actively engaging in the proceedings.
In addition to these voting members, a contingent of 100 experts will contribute to the synodal process, with 36 of them serving as facilitators for the spiritual dialogues within small groups. These dialogues will revolve around the themes outlined in the Instrumentum Laboris.
Among the facilitators are found current members and collaborators of the Discerning Leadership Team: Father David McCallum, Ms. Sandra Chaoul; faculty of the Roman DL formations such as Dott. Paolo Foglizzo and Ms. Christina Kheng; and esteemed collaborators including Sister Jolanda Kafka, Sister Laurence Loubières, Dott. Austen Ivereigh, and Professor Rafael Luciani.
At the inaugural Eucharist of the General Assembly the Pope addressed the participants saying “we do not need purely natural vision, made up of human strategies, political calculations, or ideological battles.” Instead, he invited “We are here to walk together with the gaze of Jesus, who blesses the Father and welcomes those who are weary and oppressed.”
The Pope concluded his homily insisting that the Synod is “not a political gathering, but a convocation in the Spirit; not a polarized parliament, but a place of grace and communion.” And insisted participants to “Let us open ourselves to Him, the protagonist, the Holy Spirit. And let us walk with Him, in trust and with joy.”
Fr. Giacomo Costa SJ did studies in philosophy and theology, and he also obtained a master's degree in Political and Moral Sociology at the EHESS in Paris.
He is the responsible for Formation at the Society of Jesus.
Prof. Rafael Luciani received his licentiate and doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and a degree in educational sciences with a philosophical orientation from the Universidad Católica "Andrés Bello" in Caracas (Venezuela). He also studied philosophy at the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome and did post-doctoral work at the Julius Maximilians Universität in Würzburg (Germany).
Nathalie Becquart serves as Undersecretary of the Secretariat of the Synod of the Bishops since March 2021.
Robert J. Bies (Ph.D., Stanford University) is Professor of Management and Founder of the Executive Master’s in Leadership Program at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University. In addition, Dr. Bies is a co-author of the book, Getting Even: The Truth About Workplace Revenge—And How to Stop It.
Professor Bies’s current research focuses on leadership, the delivery of bad news, organizational justice, and revenge and forgiveness in the workplace.