2023-05-05 10:12:59
The Pope’s ambassador in Bratislava, Nicola Girasoli, spoke in a podcast interview with representatives of the Focolare Movement about Pope Francis, the Synodal Process and the Church in Slovakia.
One has to understand the pope from his experiences in Latin America, where there are far fewer priests than in Europe, he said. Because this was overlooked, false hopes were placed in the 2019 Amazon Synod, for example regarding the ordination of married men, according to Girasoli. The 65-year-old archbishop from Apulia is one of those Vatican diplomats with world church experience whom the Pope prefers to send to post-communist countries. Before taking office in Slovakia in 2022, Girasoli was nuncio in Peru, previously in the Caribbean countries.
In contrast to Latin America or Africa, where a priest has to take care of several parishes, in Slovakia he has to concentrate on holding the numerous well-attended services, Girasoli was quoted as saying in the interview on the website “nm.sk”. The “excessive presence of the priests” is nice, but also brings difficulties. One could even say “that the presence of the priests limits the participation of the faithful”. However, the Church is also thinking about the future, because “later on, when the priests will be absent”, the laity will have to be involved.
It is one of the goals of the synodal process to prepare the laity and especially the women for it. One of the prerequisites for this is the finding of bishops “who have experience and competence both in the institutional-canonical and in the pastoral area”. He himself was “in the search phase, together with the bishops, but also with the priests and lay people,” said the nuncio. Francis’ visit to Slovakia in September 2021 set a lot in motion. However, one should not be satisfied with “ceremonies commemorating the Pope’s visit”, but concrete signs of openness must be given. Critics should also be heard.
“Lead Role of the Laity”
The evangelization and transmission of the faith is a “main role of the laity”, according to Girasoli. It is up to the bishops and priests to accompany them. Concerns about the synodal process, according to which it has a tendency to adapt to the world, are not appropriate. The process is “inevitable, whether you want it or not,” the nuncio said.
It is about the “reversal of a pyramid”, in which authority has to descend and go with the middle. According to Girasoli, this is where church authority differs from civil authority. “Authority in the church is service. Therefore the service of power must be transformed into the power of service. This is very important and will take some time.”
The Church in Slovakia is “still very dependent on the state for a number of historical reasons,” the Nuncio further noted. From this path you have to “step away”. And she also had to overcome the “fear of intervening in public life”. This requires a certain “elasticity that frees you from prejudice and leads to respect and actual dialogue”.
(kap-pr)
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