Below is a summary of the main points of the speech of Bishop Chito Tagle, delivered on Tuesday, October 7, at the ongoing Synod of Bishops in Rome, on the theme of the Word of God. As John Allen reports, Bishop Tagle's speech was one of only two interventions that were greeted with spontaneous applause by the Assembly.
One hopes for a copy of the full speech soon, but in the meantime, there is much that merits serious reflection and consideration even in this summary of Bishop Chito's points.
How different, how much more life-giving the Church would be, if, as Bishop Tagle points out, the Church does not see itself exclusively or even primarily as a teaching Church, but as a Church that listens, and creates an environment hospitable to listening--as a Church that listens in the way that God listens, particularly to the poor, the vulnerable, the voiceless.
H.E. Most. Rev. Luis Antonio G. TAGLE, Bishop of Imus (PHILIPPINES)
The Synod rightly deals with the disposition of listening. In Scriptures, when people listen to God's Word they experience true life. If they refuse, life ends in tragedy. Listening is a serious matter. The Church must form hearers of the Word. But listening is not transmitted only by teaching but more by a milieu of listening. I propose three approaches for deepening the disposition for listening.
1. Our concern is listening in faith. Faith is a gift of the Spirit, yet it also is an exercise of human freedom. Listening in faith means opening one's heart to God's Word, allowing it to penetrate and transform us, and practicing it. It is equivalent to obedience in faith. Formation in listening is integral faith formation. Formation programs should be designed as formation in holistic listening.
2. Events in our world show the tragic effects of the lack of listening: conflicts in families, gaps between generations and nations, and violence. People are trapped in a milieu of monologues, inattentiveness, noise, intolerance and self-absorption. The Church can provide a milieu of dialogue, respect, mutuality and self-transcendence.
3. God speaks and the Church, as servant lends its voice to the Word. But God does not only speak. God also listens especially to the just, widows, orphans, persecuted, and the poor who have no voice. The Church must learn to listen the way God listens and must lend its voice to the voiceless.
[Original text: English]
One hopes for a copy of the full speech soon, but in the meantime, there is much that merits serious reflection and consideration even in this summary of Bishop Chito's points.
How different, how much more life-giving the Church would be, if, as Bishop Tagle points out, the Church does not see itself exclusively or even primarily as a teaching Church, but as a Church that listens, and creates an environment hospitable to listening--as a Church that listens in the way that God listens, particularly to the poor, the vulnerable, the voiceless.
H.E. Most. Rev. Luis Antonio G. TAGLE, Bishop of Imus (PHILIPPINES)
The Synod rightly deals with the disposition of listening. In Scriptures, when people listen to God's Word they experience true life. If they refuse, life ends in tragedy. Listening is a serious matter. The Church must form hearers of the Word. But listening is not transmitted only by teaching but more by a milieu of listening. I propose three approaches for deepening the disposition for listening.
1. Our concern is listening in faith. Faith is a gift of the Spirit, yet it also is an exercise of human freedom. Listening in faith means opening one's heart to God's Word, allowing it to penetrate and transform us, and practicing it. It is equivalent to obedience in faith. Formation in listening is integral faith formation. Formation programs should be designed as formation in holistic listening.
2. Events in our world show the tragic effects of the lack of listening: conflicts in families, gaps between generations and nations, and violence. People are trapped in a milieu of monologues, inattentiveness, noise, intolerance and self-absorption. The Church can provide a milieu of dialogue, respect, mutuality and self-transcendence.
3. God speaks and the Church, as servant lends its voice to the Word. But God does not only speak. God also listens especially to the just, widows, orphans, persecuted, and the poor who have no voice. The Church must learn to listen the way God listens and must lend its voice to the voiceless.
[Original text: English]
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