Pope Francis ".. it was the Spirit that led them to say: "Mary, Mother of God" to Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Bishops

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE BISHOPS OF THE SYNOD OF THE UKRAINE GREEK-CATHOLIC CHURCH

Hall of the Consistory
Monday, 2 September 2019

There is no speech, because in that meeting we had [in the Vatican, 5 July 2019] the Pope said everything he had to say.

But you emphasized something we must not lose: synod and synodality, and the Holy Spirit. It is not to advertise, but in the last "Osservatore Romano", the one with the date on Sunday, released on Saturday, there is a beautiful article on the presence of the Holy Spirit on the synod path. Because there is a danger: believing, today, that doing a synodal journey or having an attitude of synodality means making an inquiry of opinions, what this, this, this thinks, and then making a meeting, agreeing ... No, the Synod is not a Parliament! Things must be said, discuss how they are normally done, but it is not a Parliament. Synod is not an agreement as in politics: I give you this, you give me this. No. Synod is not making sociological inquiries, as some believe: "Let's see, we ask a group of lay people to make an inquiry, if we have to change this, this, this ...". You certainly need to know what your lay people think, but it's not an inquiry, it's another thing. If there is no Holy Spirit, there is no Synod. If the Holy Spirit is not present, there is no synodality. Indeed, if there is no Church, the identity of the Church. And what is the identity of the Church? St. Paul VI said it clearly: the vocation of the Church is to evangelize, indeed: its identity is to evangelize. Enter this Synod of yours with this spirit, with the Holy Spirit. Pray to the Spirit. Quarrel among yourselves, all you want ... Think of Ephesus, how those fought! But they were good ... And in the end it was the Spirit that led them to say: "Mary, Mother of God". This is the way. It is the Spirit. Because we do not want to become a Congregational Church, but a Synod Church. And go ahead on this road.

Now I invite you to pray to Our Lady, all together, to receive the blessing.

Hail Mary, ...

[Blessing]
Image Source: Vatican.va - Text Source: Vatican.va - Unofficial translation