Our parishioner, Svea Fraser, is in Rome with the Discerning Deacons/CEAMA Pilgrims and will be sending us updates from their journey!
The Discerning Deacons/CEAMA (Amazonian Ecclesial Conference) Pilgrims arrived over the past two days, 55 pilgrims representing five countries and both hemispheres! Even before we got here, we were filled with great joy when we learned about the private audience that Pope Francis held for nine women from our group, among them Casey Stanton, Sister Elizabeth Young and the women leaders from the Amazon. It was a surprising opportunity for them to speak personally and offer support for a synodal church and to pray for him. As one of the Spanish speakers relayed to me, she could feel the weight of his mission and felt his compassion and the weight of the papacy on his heart, and his knees!
Our pilgrimage is synodal and we came to pray for members of the synod assembly and for our global church as we grow in synodality. Our pilgrimage is also diaconal. We share a commitment to the flourishing of the diakonia of the Christian community and the renewal of the diaconate for the synodal church. We came not to lobby or convince, but as a visible sign of presence and the untapped riches of women’s gifts.
Last night Pope Francis presided over a “penitential vigil.” Not all of us made it in time, but the topics included sexual abuse, violence against women and clericalism. A survivor was the first person to speak. It filled one of our members with sorrow for the harm inflicted. Admittedly, it is a good thing that Pope Francis seeks forgiveness for the sins of the church on the evening of the Synod, but the lingering question is, what is the hierarchy doing about it?
The heaviness of the evening was quickly dissipated by the glorious sunshine the next morning. As we lined up for entrance to St. Peter’s Square, the Basilica shone like a golden nugget. We didn’t have to wait too long and were lucky to have seats ten rows from the front. It is impossible to be there and not be overwhelmed by the history embracing that square, with apostles and saints looking down from their lofty perches along the walls. I was happy to see St. Teresa of Avilla overhead, and further back St. Clare of Assisi with a monstrance in her hands! I wondered what they are thinking as they gather with us in the communion of saints. The choir was heavenly (how could it not be?) and you could feel the excitement of being in such a sacred ancient space. As the procession began a hushed silence filled the air and we watched as long lines of priests and bishops from all over the world filed in signifying centuries of tradition, tradition that seems averse to change.
That image was changed for me when the delegates filed in, including lay and women religious. It gives me hope for a church that can and must change. And of course, the Pope’s appearance in a wheelchair was like the arrival of a rock star!
Since the Pope’s homily was in Italian, I was not able to understand it because I haven’t seen a translation. But after Mass the Pope literally swirled around the Square in his popemobile taking in the cheers and love of everyone there. He did the “winner’s circle” three times!
In our group reflection following Mass, one of the women shared what many of us were thinking, She named what we were experiencing as a clash of cultures: the history of two thousand years and the reality of the present moment. This is a critical time in the church, and as contradictory as it seems, it can be the cradle for something new to be born, a time to be a church at the margins that listens and reaches out to the peripheries. Without throwing away all that is good in our past it calls for a new structure that unleashes the power of holding the tension. It is the power of the Holy Spirit’s in the already but not yet.
It’s getting late in Rome, and these “postcards” are nothing more than thoughts at the end of the day. There are a lot of other groups and journalists reporting on the details. I hope you can read in them what I feel in my heart: this is a decisive moment for our Church. The Holy Spirit will not deny what the church needs. I pray that we are open to whatever that should be.
In the meantime, we continue to pray for St. Phoebe’s intervention!
Svea
To view all the posts in this series please visit our Synod page.