Currents News Staff
The Amazon Synod is in its final phase.
Cardinal Claudio Hummes is preparing the conclusions. A commission of 12 people — four of them chosen by Pope Francis — will verify that they reflect everything that was discussed.
Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, Archbishop of Vienna, is one of the four named by the Pope.
“The role of women in our Catholic communities and the role of instituted and ordained ministers are some of the themes that we discussed in the Synod. We’ll see at the end of the Synod what proposals regarding them are offered to the Pope,” said Cardinal Schönborn.
The provisional document will not be very long. It will be given to the 185 synod priests on Friday. They will have a few hours to review it and propose changes.
More than anything, the Synod has drawn global attention to the extreme situation of people in the Amazon and the environmental crisis.
“A tragedy, a human tragedy. Pope Francis insists to alert the whole Catholic Church about the destiny of these people. I think this is for me a great sign, and I’ve learned a lot to be attentive to those who have no voice,” said Cardinal Schönborn.
On Saturday evening, the 185 synod members will vote on the concrete proposals. This will show on which issues there is consensus.
Of the 12 discussion groups, six were in favor of ordaining married men to mitigate the lack of priests. Two are opposed and three propose studying the issue further.
Seven groups have engaged the possibility of ordaining women to the permanent diaconate. Everyone supports the general idea of increasing the ministries of lay men and women.
The Synod is a consultative body. It will give its proposals to Holy Father on October 26, and he will make a decision in the coming months.