Afrika Synode als Zeichen des Friedens

Dear Friends,

Well it finished as it began in the splendor of St. Peter's Basilica, the Synod Fathers surrounding the Holy Father in a Eucharist of gratitude and hope; the final ceremony that gave closure to three weeks of hard work. We joined the Pope for the Angelus at 12h00, on St.

Peter's Square, where thousands had gathered, all of us dressed in the same chasuble, given as it was as a present from the Holy Father to each one of us.

The Holy Father mentioned he had two fears at the beginning of the Synod, that we would either be too 'spiritual' or too 'political' as regards the theme of the Synod; reconciliation, justice and peace and he was pleased to see we had arrived at a happy balance between the two. He also announced that Cardinal Turkson from Ghana would replace Cardinal Martino as head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace. As luck would have it I was invited to dinner with the Cardinal and of course the conversation eventually got around to the wonderful idea of 'An African Council of Peace Elders'. The new man at the helm of Justice and Peace showed more than a passing interest in the wonderful initiative and will be in touch, so to say!

The last days of the Synod had two goals: to finalize 'The Message' and to finalize 'The Propostions'. The editors of 'The Message' took to heart the concerns of the Synod Fathers and the final document, 43 paragraphs in all, is a worthy testimony to the work of the Synod. It remains a balance between a spirituality and theology of reconciliation, justice and peace and a hard hitting document that challenges those in power who cause so much misery on the African continent to amend their ways. The 'prophylactic' issue was toned down replaced as it was by a more positive approach to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. The voice of the Assembly had been heard load and clear and acted upon.

Our working group proposed 15 amendments to 'The Propositions'. Our French speaking brothers and sisters working in the group next to us had more amendments than their original propositions; giving as they did a monumental task to the redaction community that worked night and day.

The result was a far superior document. It must be remembered that 'The Propostions' are for the Holy Father to be used in the correlation of the Apostolic Exhortation, a task given to 12 elected Synod Fathers and three more to be appointed by the Pope. The outcome is 57 propositions.

The Propositions are broken up into 4 main categories: The theology and spirituality of reconciliation, justice and peace; reaching out to others e.g. Islam and Ecumenism; different groupings of people, such as the laity, priests and of course women (men are not mentioned) and political, economic and social issues, such as good governance, globalization, the arms trade and so on. They are well written and well presented. My Council of Peace Elders idea and the proposition on the Blessed Virgin Mary both made it into the final propositions, much to the delighted of the Archbishop from the Philippines and to be fair I must say, if it was not for Mary my proposition would not have made it.

Today the Synod finished but today the Synod begins in earnest as the Synod Fathers 'trek' home to the arduous task of implementing the Synod and bring ´The Synod Message' to their people. If there is a criticism it is that 'the how to implement' was not tackled. This will be left up to local Bishops'Conferences.

We came, we listened, we spoke, we agreed, we voted and now we are going home.

Africa, rise up, take up your pallet, and walk!

With best wishes,

Seán O´Leary