TAIZÉ

Message of Brother Alois for the Opening of the Synodal Journey in Rome

 
Brother Alois was invited to speak on Saturday 9 October 2021 in Rome at the opening of the Catholic Church’s two-year synodal journey on the theme of synodality. Here is the text of the speech he gave on this occasion.

Thank you, most Holy Father, for convening this synod. In Taizé, we were moved to be invited to its opening. Thank you also for the tradition of inviting delegates from other Churches. It will be of great value to hear from them about their own practice of synodality, with its benefits and its limitations.

This synodal process comes at a crucial moment when we can see two contradictory developments. On the one hand, humanity is becoming more clearly aware that we are all linked to each other and to the whole of creation. On the other hand, polarisation is growing in the social, political and ethical domains, causing new divisions in societies, between countries, and even within families.

Unfortunately, between our churches and also within them, there is a trend for differences to become polarisations that separate people, at a time when our witness to peace is vital.

How can we move Christian unity forward? I recently asked Pastor Larry Miller, former General Secretary of the Global Christian Forum. He replied: “It is not good to start by saying, ‘This is who we are and this is why we are right.’ Rather, it means to recognise our weaknesses and ask other churches to help us receive what we lack – this is receptive ecumenism, which allows us to welcome what comes from others.” Doesn’t this pastor see things correctly? We all carry the treasure of Christ in clay vessels and it perhaps shines out more clearly when we humbly acknowledge what we lack.

At the very heart of the Catholic Church, the synod will bring to light great diversities. These will be all the more fruitful if the search for communion is deepened at the same time. Not in order to avoid or to hide conflicts, but to nourish a dialogue that reconciles.

To encourage this, it seems to me desirable that there should be, on the synodal journey, moments to catch our breath, like little breaks, to celebrate the unity which is already accomplished in Christ and to make it visible.

In this regard, Holy Father, since you have invited us to dream, I would like to share a dream with you. Would it be possible that at a certain point, in the course of the synodal process, not only delegates but the whole people of God, not only Catholics but believers from the various Churches, could be invited to a large ecumenical gathering? For in baptism and by the Holy Scriptures, we are sisters and brothers in Christ, united in a communion that is still imperfect but quite real, even when there are theological questions still to be resolved.

Such a gathering – here in Rome and at the same time elsewhere in the world – could have at its heart a solemn celebration listening to the word of God, with a long moment of silence and intercessions for peace. Could the leading of this be entrusted to young people? Could such a celebration be prolonged by a time of sharing between denominations? We would discover that by being united in Christ, we become peacemakers.

Our experience in Taizé encourages me to make this proposal. In our community, coming from different denominations, we live under the same roof. For more than sixty years, we have welcomed young people from different churches or who are simply in search of the meaning of their lives. Far from settling for a lowest common denominator, we are constantly driven to go to the source of the Gospel, to the risen Christ who, through the Holy Spirit, leads us together to the One who is Father of all people without exception.

Photo: Tilen Čebulj

Last updated: 9 October 2021