CONVIVIUM: SPEECH OF BENEDICT XVI TO THE SYNODAL FATHERS

During the course of the convivium in the atrium of the Paul VI Hall, in the Vatican, the Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops, H.E.R. Mons. Nikola Eterović, presented the Pope with the principal data regarding the works in which 173 Synodal Fathers took part . There were 14 General Congregations and 6 meetings of the Working Groups. There were 10 meditations and homilies. There were 125 interventions plus 5 that were handed in in writing. There were a further 12 interventions by Fraternal delegates and 12 reports were presented. In addition, there were 111 free interventions in the presence of the Pope. The president delegate H.B. Ignace Youssif III Younan, thanked the Pontiff for the opportunity offered to the Churches of the Middle East to have their voice heard, ensuring that the pastors of the Eastern Churches will return to their lands to proclaim, without fear, the Gospel in charity and truth, and to live it every day. The Greek-Melchite Patriarch H.B. Gregorius III Laham gave a present of a splendid Eastern liturgical vestment to the Holy Father. The Pope said that the best gift of the Synodal Assembly is the communion in the diversity of the Eastern Churches, a communion that becomes witness:

Dear friends,
according to a beautiful tradition established by Pope John Paul II, the Synods end with a lunch, a convivial act that also sits well in the climate of this Synod that speaks of communion: non only did it speak of it, but it led us to create communion.
This for me is the time to say thank you. Thank you to the Secretary General of the Synod and his staff, who prepared and are still preparing the follow-up to the work. Thank you to the Presidents Delegate, thank you, above all, to the Relater and the Deputy Secretary, whose work was incredible. Thank you! I too was once relater at the Synod on the family and I have some idea of the work you have undertaken. Thank you also to all the Fathers who presented the voice of the Church in the East, to the Auditors, to the Fraternal Delegates, to everyone!
Communion and witness. In this moment we thank the Lord for the communion he gave us and continues to give us. We have seen the wealth and the diversity of this communion. You are Churches with different rites, who form, all the same, with all the other rites, the single Catholic Church. It is beautiful to see this true Catholicity, that is so rich in diversity, so rich in possibilities, of different cultures; and, yet, this is truly the way in which grows the polyphony of a single faith, of a real communion of hearts, that only the Lord can grant. For this experience of communion we thank the Lord, I thank all of you. It seems to me that this is the most important gift of the Synod that we have lived and realized: the communion that links us all and that is in itself witness.
Communion. Catholic, Christian communion is an open communion, one of dialogue. Thus we were in permanent dialogue as well, internally and externally, with the Orthodox brothers, with the other Ecclesial communities. And we felt that it is truly in this that we are united – even if there are exterior divisions: we felt the deep communion in the Lord, in the gift of his Word, of his life, and we hope that the Lord will guide us to move on in this profound communion.
We are united with the Lord and so – we can say – we have been “found” by the truth. And this truth does not close, if does not impose borders, but it opens. For this reason we are also in frank and open dialogue with our Muslim brothers and our Jewish brothers, all of whom together are responsible for the gift of peace, in a real way for the gift of peace in that part of the earth that is blessed by the Lord, the cradle of Christianity and also of the other two religions. We want to continue on this journey with strength, tenderness and humility, and with the courage of the truth which is love and which opens up in love.
I said that we are ending this Synod with a meal. But the real conclusion tomorrow is the living together with the Lord, the celebration of the Eucharistic. The Eucharistic, in reality, is not a conclusion but an opening. The Lord walks with us, he is with us, the Lord sets us on our way. And thus, in this sense, we are in Synod, that is, a walk that continues even once we have dispersed: we are Synod, in a shared journey. Let us pray to the Lord to help us. And thank you to all of you!