On June 29 we celebrate the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, a feast that takes us to Rome. The Eternal City was the setting that saw how the first Pope in history and the Apostle par excellence gave their lives for the Lord they loved so much. That honor has been one of the foundations on which the See of Rome has been viewed for 2000 years with respect and veneration by all Christians.
It is no coincidence that days before this significant feast, last June 13, the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity published a document entitled The Bishop of Rome. Primacy and Synodality in the Ecumenical dialogues. The document addresses the difficult question of the role of the Papacy in ecumenical dialogue. This document comes 29 years after the encyclical Ut unum sint (that they may be one), published by St. John Paul II in which the Polish Pope encouraged pastors and theologians of other Christian confessions to reflect together on how the Bishop of Rome can perform a service of unity recognized by all. This document presents the answers and objections presented to this thorny question. After the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church entered a stage of great ecumenical commitment, and this document is part of that line of dialogue with other believers in Christ. It does not attempt to settle the theological, historical, and canonical problems that the Petrine ministry implies, but it is a step forward in dialogue with other Churches and Christian denominations. The document does not see the papacy simply as an obstacle, but as an opportunity for union because, in spite of undeniable differences, all agree on the need for the service of unity at the universal level.
A transversal point in the document is the mutual interdependence between Primacy and Synodality, between Papacy and Collegiality. The Pope as head of the Church does not act independently, but with the consent of the College of Bishops, and the Bishops do not act without the consent of their head. The document refers to a "creative tension" involved in this ascending-descending dynamic. This interrelationship is not only at the universal level (between the Pope and the Bishops), but also at the regional (national or regional synods) and local levels (local synods, parish meetings) where this "creative tension" becomes concrete.
Such synodal thinking has been recurrent in the Church in recent decades. The Second Vatican Council reflected on the hierarchical constitution of the Church, which resides in the College of Apostles presided over by the Successor of Peter. Recently, Pope Francis has convoked a Synod on synodality, which entered its first phase last October, in order to "walk together", as Pope Francis loves to say; and thus build a more participative, evangelical, and open Church.
We could be tempted to think that these documents concern only the ecclesiastical hierarchy. The ordinary Christian may consider them as theological discussions far removed from day-to-day life, but this is precisely the mentality that synodality seeks to overcome. This designates the active participation in the ecclesial life of the faithful on the basis of baptism. Each member of the Church by virtue of baptism has his place and responsibility in the People of God.
This upcoming feast of Saints Paul and Peter should be an opportunity to pray for the Holy Father in his mission of presiding over the Church in charity, a prayer for all Christians so that we may reach the unity willed by Christ; but also, a commitment to join as a living stone of the Church in this synodal dimension that the Holy Spirit proposes to us.
