Newly ordained Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost is in Rome attending the formation course for new bishops. As his time permits, he is sending photos and regular updates on the program. Below is the fifth installment.
Greetings from Rome for Day 5 of new bishops’ school. It’s Sept. 17, the optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Again, I am getting behind in my postings. Yesterday (Sept. 16) ended up being another long day – a good day, but a long one. I didn’t have much time for writing.
Yesterday’s theme was “Educating for Synodal Leadership.”
We began the day with breakfast being served at 6:15 a.m. We were on buses by 7:15 a.m. heading into Rome to concelebrate Mass at the Basilica of St. Mary Major with Cardinal Arthur Roche, the prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. I am not sure what the regular 8:30 a.m. Mass attendees thought when they saw 180 bishops walk into the basilica, but I will bet that it caused at least some of them to wonder what was going on.
We returned to the campus of Regina Apostolorum in time for our 11 a.m. lecture, “Exercises of Synodal Leadership.” The presenter was an American Jesuit, Father David McCallum, SJ who is the executive director of the Discerning Leadership Program in Rome. He is assisting the Vatican offices that are responsible for directing the worldwide synod on synodality. Father McCallum shared with us some of the observations being made by the Vatican as they review the synodal reports that have been received from the various national conferences of bishops.
Most of Father McCallum’s morning presentation focused on defining leadership in a synodal Church. He talked about the positive and negative reactions to the notion of synodality that bishops and the Vatican have encountered. He explored different leadership styles and discussed how these can either support or undermine what it means to embrace synodality. He reflected on Jesus’ leadership style presented in the Gospels and how this models the synodal process. Synodality, Father McCallum noted, is a process of being on the road with others. It is a distinct way and style of proceeding as Church. It builds on the formal authority and responsibilities given to bishops and includes the more informal style of accompanying and being accompanied by other members of the faith community through whom the Holy Spirit also acts and speaks. He challenged us to embrace our episcopal role of fostering a synodal Church by developing the means of enhancing communion, participation, and mission. He then facilitated a conversation with us to explore some of the practical considerations and challenges of developing a synodal model of leadership.
At the end of this dialogue, we dispersed for lunch at 1 p.m., followed by a two-hour break.
The afternoon session began at 4 p.m. and lasted until 7:45 p.m. with a 30-minute break in the middle. Father McCallum returned to the podium to continue his reflections on leadership in a synodal Church. This afternoon’s lecture focused on leadership during times of crises. He reminded us that being men of God needs to be the starting point and foundation of our leadership within the Church – that the spiritual mission of living the kingdom comes first. This mission needs to be grounded in the reality of daily life and the challenges presented by the Gospel message. The Gospel itself, he noted, provokes crises because Jesus calls us all to conversion. Jesus does not avoid challenging his disciples (and us) to examine how we are living, what we value, how we interact with one another, etc. as a catalyst for transformation and growth. Jesus invites us to consider that it takes courage and humility to recognize that a time of crisis can also be a time of the Spirit where God is inviting us to a new modality of being, knowing and doing. As he was describing all this, I could not help thinking about St. John of the Cross’ teaching on the dark night of the soul as a crisis time in which God brings about a transformation in grace. For me, St. John’s insights affirmed much of what Father McCallum was saying.
Father McCallum ended his afternoon lecture by suggesting some practical principles for being a good leader during times of crises. He then allowed the bishops to ask questions or to share their own experiences of dealing with crises within their dioceses.
After a break, Father Hans Zollner, SJ offered the final presentation of the day. Father Zollner is on the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He spoke to us about creating safe environments for children and vulnerable adults. His presentation was sobering since he has assisted the Vatican in responding to the sexual abuse crises experienced in many diocese throughout the world. He spoke about the realities, misconceptions and fallacies surrounding this serious issue which we must be willing to address openly and honestly. He spoke on behalf of the victims of abuse and challenged us to listen intently to their stories. Synodal leadership and the Gospel require that we accompany victims walking with them in seeking understanding, reconciliation, justice and healing. His presentation was passionate and demanding, making it difficult to summarize in just a few sentences.
Following a period of conversation after Father Zollner’s presentation, we broke for dinner at 8 p.m. Since this was the final dinner that all 180 bishops would have together, the seminary community made it a more festive occasion with live music and singing provided by the seminarians. After dinner, even some of the bishops in their nationality groups got up to sing.
Please be assured of my prayers for you, your families, and our entire diocesan community. May God continue to bless you with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, giving us all hearts transformed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
