With the Mission of the Church in Mind, Bishop Rhoades Returns to the Synod Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Ind., leaves the Vatican’s Paul VI Audience Hall after the morning session of the assembly of the Synod of Bishops Oct. 6, 2023. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez) Prior to his ordination as a priest of the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Bishop Rhoades lived and studied in Rome as a seminarian for the better part of four years. On Saturday, September 28, he flew back to the Eternal City, where he will spend the next four weeks engaged in the work of helping to make the Body of Christ a more synodal – and missionary – Church. A two-day spiritual retreat for delegates of the Synod of Bishops was held on Monday, September 30, and Tuesday, October 1. The prelude to the synod concluded with a penitential liturgy led by Pope Francis. On Wednesday, October 2, the second session of the synod on synodality officially began with a Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica. Before he left for Rome, Bishop Rhoades sat down with Today’s Catholic to talk about the Holy Spirit’s guiding role in the synodal process, how the talk surrounding the synod seems less contentious than it was a year ago, what he hopes the synod ultimately brings to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, and what he’s looking forward to about returning to Rome. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity. Today’s Catholic: At the prayer service for you and others participating in the Synod of Bishops in Rome that was recently held at St. Matthew Cathedral, there was a considerable focus on the role of the Holy Spirit in the synodal process. Can you explain how you’re discerning His will as a delegate at the synod? Bishop Rhoades: Even in the working document, but really throughout the synod process, the Holy Father wanted to make it clear that the Holy Spirit needs to be the protagonist of the synod, which means it requires of us prayerful discernment, obviously based on the word of God that we have received through Scripture and Tradition, and then discerning the Lord’s will at this time and place in history the questions that arise. So, we strive to listen to one another and then, jointly or communally, prayerfully listen to the voice of the Lord. And so, prayer really does permeate the whole synod assembly. Now, this is the second assembly of the synod, of course, also included listening to the faithful throughout the world. And one of the principal themes of the synod is the co-responsibility of all the baptized for the Church’s mission. And that will continue to be a principal theme of this next assembly that we have in October, entitled “How to Be a Missionary Synodal Church,” which I spoke about at the prayer service – not to forget that all this is oriented toward the mission of spreading the Gospel. Today’s Catholic: Can you give us an example of how you might have felt the Holy Spirit’s guidance during your time at the first assembly of the synod last year? Bishop Rhoades: Of course. We have Mass daily, and we spend a lot of time in prayer, silently and communally. Even in our small-group discussions, after a few people speak, we usually stop for about five minutes just in silent prayer. So, through all of that, there have been some particular moments where my heart was really moved when someone has shared something. For example, I remember in one of the small groups a Ukrainian woman shared her experience, there were a lot of tears. And I would say there were other moments that, really, there was a strong movement of the heart. And I think that does come from the Holy Spirit. Listening to those who share their heart – and quite a few participants come from areas of the world where they’re persecuted for their faith or they don’t have religious freedom – there is a strong sense of solidarity that I experienced. And I think that solidarity also is something that comes from the Holy Spirit, that here we are, united as one body in Christ, and when one member of the body suffers, all suffer. When one rejoices, all rejoice. As far as the discussions, I think there are times where there are convergences, where there’s really no disagreement. There are times where there would be some disagreement, but everyone listens respectfully to one another and we don’t come up with a solution because the Spirit’s voice is not clear, so we continue to pray and continue to discuss. I think that’s the whole synodal methodology, and it’s very, very different in the way, for example, political discussions take place, especially now at election time. There’s no putting anyone else down after they speak. I mean, that’s just not the Christian way. And sometimes that requires some self-discipline to hold back. It’s not to say there aren’t disagreements, but it’s how people disagree. And then, as far as decision making, ultimately, the synod is a consultative body, so we will make our recommendations to the Holy Father at the end of October. And then he, as the visible head of the Church on earth, I’m sure will prayerfully consider the recommendations that are made. Today’s Catholic: Before the first session of the synod began last year, there seemed to be a lot of controversy surrounding it from outside observers. It seems much of that contentiousness has died down. Has this acceptance of the synodal process allowed you to better prepare for the second assembly? Bishop Rhoades: You know, it’s interesting – that contentiousness was something that I didn’t experience very much at the synod. I think it was more from the outside, not in the inside. Yes, there were so many issues, because during the worldwide consultation, a lot of these particular issues came up. But it’s just impossible through one synod to deal with all these issues. And, really, the theme was focused on how to be a more synodal Church – and a missionary synodal Church. So, we could have gotten sidetracked by all the issues that were raised in the consultations that took place around the world – for example, the ordination of women as deacons. That was not a theme of the synod, but that did come from some countries. Well, if we got into that a lot, we’re kind of getting away from the theme that we’re there to discuss. So, I think the Holy Father was wise to set up these study groups to look at some of the issues that really are not directly about synodality but they have to do with other aspects of the life of the Church. Today’s Catholic: I know that you enjoyed meeting the people in your small groups at the synod last year and getting to know new people. Are you going to be in the same groups? Bishop Rhoades: I don’t know yet. Last year, three of the groups I was in were Spanish speaking, and two were English. But I have no idea; we haven’t gotten that information yet. I think I’ll only know when I get my credentials when I arrive, because it will say which groups I’m in. I enjoyed all the groups I was in, but I would like to reconnect with some of the Latin American bishops that I got to know. Even if I’m not in their small group, it would be nice to reconnect with them. Today’s Catholic: While a lot of people might see the synod as an issue for the global Church – and it is that, too, of course – what do you hope comes from the synod as it relates to the Diocese of Fort Wayne South Bend? Bishop Rhoades: Well, the way I understand it, this is to be a continual process. So, I think Pope Francis is getting away from the idea of having a synod of bishops every four or five years, and he really wants to have this synodality really become part of the life of the Church. I would say that the way the Church functions and operates in our diocese is already quite synodal. Some other countries in the world, for example, there wouldn’t be as much synodality as we have here. There wouldn’t necessarily be strong consultative bodies like the Diocesan Pastoral Council, or the Presbyteral Council, or Parish Pastoral Councils, etc. So, we’re somewhat accustomed to these. Now, we could do more. And it’s vital for the pastors – that includes me, but the pastors of parishes – to listen to our people and that we recognize the gifts of all the people and their views. Ultimately, in making decisions, consensus is a very good thing … but that really does require openness to hear, openness to listen. So, we still have ways that we can do this better. I think some parishes probably do it better than others. But it is important, because people can feel put off if they don’t feel like their baptismal dignity is being respected or that their ideas aren’t being listened to. … So, my hope is that this will just continue to grow in our diocese, that we make better use of, for example, parish pastoral councils or other ways to engage people in small groups or sometimes in larger groups, because there’s so many gifts and charisms that people have that could be used for the service of the Church, and we need to call those gifts and charisms forth. Today’s Catholic: I know the synod will keep you busy, as you said last year that you met six days a week for 10 to 12 hours a day. Will you get any time to yourself while you’re there? Bishop Rhoades: We only have one weekend where we’re actually free during the month, which I don’t know exactly what I’m going to do during that free weekend, but I’m thinking about a few things. That will be nice. I might take a short trip, because I love Umbria and Tuscany and the different areas around Italy, so with the weekend off I’m thinking of maybe going to a place that I haven’t been to before. But yes, other than that, we really only have Sundays off. Today’s Catholic: You’ve spent a lot of time in Rome. What do you look forward to about going back? Also, what are some challenges about leaving the diocese for a month? Bishop Rhoades: Well, I love Rome, and my years of study there and living there – I just love when I go back. I just enjoy walking through the streets; I enjoy visiting churches; I enjoy the food. I really love Rome. I love praying at the tombs of various saints. I really love, as far as the synod goes, I really get engaged when I’m with people from other countries. I love to hear and talk about the life of the Church all over the place. I’m really looking forward to that. I’m not a real big fan of the travel part. It’s always a little nerve-wracking flying these days. So that’s the only negative thing. I don’t like long flights. And I do miss it when I am away from the diocese, obviously. My work piles up when I’m away for a whole month, so I’ll dread seeing what my desk looks like. Nicole Hahn contributed to this article. The post ‘All This Is Oriented Toward Spreading the Gospel’ appeared first on Today's Catholic.