Pope Francis repeats call at Lisbon Synod for the Church to be open to “everyone, everyone, everyone”

Pope Francis repeated the message of World Youth Days (WYD) in Lisbon today at the opening of the Synod of Catholic Bishops, saying the Catholic Church should be a welcoming place for “everyone, everyone, everyone.”

At a solemn Mass in St. Peter’s Square that marks the beginning of the great meeting of bishops, Francis said the Church must avoid “falling into certain dangerous temptations: to be rigid, a custom that shrinks before the world and looks at the past; this is to be a warm Church that obeys the fashion of the world; it is to be a tired Church, closed in on itself.”

In his homily, Francis said these “preconceived” ideas have no place in the great gathering of the Church, where “everyone, everyone, everyone” must be welcomed.

“Jesus also calls us to be a Church that welcomes” and not “behind closed doors” because “in difficult times like these, new cultural and pastoral problems arise that require a cordial and friendly internal attitude to face them” . them without fear,” the Pope reasoned, giving examples: “Come, you who have lost your way or feel alienated; come, you who have closed the door of hope, the Church is here for you! A church with an open door to everyone, everyone, everyone,” the Pope added in his homily.

For the Pope, the Synod serves as a reminder that the Church is “always in need of purification and restoration” as it unites “a people of forgiven sinners, always in need of a return to the source, which is Jesus.”

And faced with the “fears” that arose before the Synod, Francis wanted to remind that the meeting “is not a political meeting, but a meeting in the Spirit; this is not a polarized parliament, but a place of grace and fellowship.”

“The main task of the Synod” should be “to bring God back to the center of our gaze, to be a Church that looks upon humanity with mercy,” he said, advocating a structure “that has God at its center and which therefore does not create division within and does not is cruel on the outside.”

The three-week closed-door meeting, which begins today, was preceded by criticism and warnings of the risk of schism from conservatives and expectations from progressive Catholic movements that demand more power for laity and women in the Church. The synod will not make any binding decisions and is only the first session of a two-year process.

Before starting, Francis decided for the first time to allow women and the laity (less than a quarter of the assembly’s 365 members) to vote along with men religious on any final document produced.

“This is a turning point,” Indian-American laywoman Joanne Lopez, who helped organize two years of consultations before the meeting in the parishes where she worked in Seattle and Toronto, told The Associated Press, emphasizing: “This is the first time that women have had a qualitatively different voice for the negotiating table, and the ability to vote on decisions is huge.”

Before the opening, activists placed a giant purple banner reading “Order of Women” in a nearby square.

The role of divorced people and new strategies for welcoming LGBTQ+ Catholics is another topic progressives hope to see discussed at the meeting.

Catholic conservatives have expressed some concern. North American Cardinal Raymond Burke criticized the importance of the Synod for reform, considering it an attempt to transfer power and decision-making away from the hierarchy, which “jeopardizes the very identity of the Church.”

“Unfortunately, it is clear that the invocation of the Holy Spirit by some is intended to present an agenda that is political and human rather than ecclesiastical and divine,” Burke said at a conference called Synodal Babylon.

A group of conservative cardinals formally called on Francis to reaffirm the Church’s position on homosexuality or the ordination of women before the Synod.

In an exchange of letters made public Monday, Francis acknowledged the blessing of same-sex unions when not confused with sacramental marriage.