This morning, in the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Holy Father received in audience the participants in the 65th General Assembly of the Conference of Italian Major Superiors (CISM), to whom he delivered the following address:
Address of the Holy Father
In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you!
Good morning to you all and welcome. There is more enthusiasm here than on youth day1 This means you are all young!
A cordial greeting to you all, participants in the 65th General Assembly of the Italian Conference of Major Superiors.
The theme you have chosen is Governing Hope. Forms and styles of the Provinces in a synodal Church. It is a demanding prospect, which reflects the richness of the time of grace the Church is living, as well as its complexity.
The community of believers has never shied away from the stimuli or the challenges of the times and the places in which it has lived, and even today it wants to continue to do so with confidence and generosity, bringing Christ's message to every area of society and every part of the world. In this effort, the presence of religious has always been significant and providential, as a leaven, prophecy and strength for all God’s People (cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 44). The theme you have chosen confirms your fidelity to this role, particularly in the context of the journey of ‘synodal conversion’ that we have been experiencing in recent years.
The Final Document of the last Synod, in this regard, has shown how it is proper to religious families, over the centuries, to have developed “practices of synodal living … [including] how to practise discernment in common and to harmonize together individual gits as well as pursue mission in common” (Final Document, 26 October 2024, 65). Synodality, intrinsic to the life of the Church (cf. Francis, Address to the faithful of the diocese of Rome, 18 September 2021), is in fact even more characteristic of your vocation, and this makes you particularly suited to contribute to the efforts being made in this direction throughout the world. Added to this is the value of the growing interculturality of consecrated communities, which also responds to the needs of the societies in which we live (cf. ibid.).
The heritage formed by these resources, however, cannot be considered something defined and static: it is the fruit of a dynamism of life and faith that continually needs to evolve, grow, develop and be expressed, both in the multiplicity of charismatic contexts and in the continual novelty of situations and relationships.
This entails the need to care for it like the fruit of a living organism, in need of nourishment, attention and, at times, healing. The ministry of authority can contribute significantly to this, with forms and styles of “government” suited to inspiring hope in the journey of our brothers and sisters, supporting their generous and fruitful apostolate.
In the search for guidelines for moving forward in this direction, we can refer to the suggestions of the aforementioned Final Document of the Synod, deriving three important attitudes from it: ecclesial discernment, care in decision-making processes, and a commitment to accountability and evaluation of one's actions and their results and methods (cf. ibid., 79). As the Document emphasizes, these are interconnected processes that support and correct each other. Fidelity to the Church guides and enlightens the involvement of our brothers and sisters and nurtures their co-responsibility, ensuring transparency and facilitating that reciprocal openness that alone can foster the cooperation of all. Moreover, sincere dialogue, sharing, and fraternal correction can be of great help in avoiding and countering any particularistic and self-referential tendencies (see Francis, Address to the Diocesan Representatives of the Italian Synodal Path, 25 May 2023). Ultimately, it is a journey of purification designed to make individuals and communities increasingly free in goodness, both in terms of personal growth and the exercise of charity. This clearly also favours a renewed charismatic fidelity, which requires a continuous stripping away of structures and attachments that are non-essential or even harmful to the full realization today of the original mission inspired by the founders.
To this end I would like to recall, in particular, the importance of encouraging, in the forms of governance, a fruitful alternation in responsibilities and offices, avoiding static situations that risk favouring rigidity and sclerosis. In this regard, Pope Francis warned us several times of the danger of “stagnant waters”.
Saint Augustine, in the Soliloquies, asks: “Why do you desire, either that the persons whom you affect should live, or that they should live with you?”, and follows it with this beautiful answer: “That together and concordantly we might inquire out God and our souls. For so, whichever first discovers anything, easily introduces his companions into it” (I, 12:20). It seems to me to be a very significant thought for us too, particularly referring to the synodal dimension of the responsibility that is given to us towards our brethren.
Dear friends, thank you for the fidelity with which you carry out your task, which is not easy. I accompany you with my prayer and I bless you from my heart.
