Among the qualities for which Pope Francis will be remembered are his efforts to build bridges across cultural, ideological, political and religious barriers.
The pontiff, whose title derives from the Latin pontifex, literally pont – [bridge] and fex – [maker], was tirelessly committed to bringing people together in a spirit of dialogue and encounter.
One of the ways he did this was through the use of synods – assemblies in which the laity together with the clergy and the religious were consulted on a wide range of issues.
A significant number of synods were called by Pope Francis throughout his papacy. Two synods on the Family (2014 and 2015), the Synod on Young People (2018), the Synod on Amazonia (2019) and the recent Synod of Bishops (2023 – 2024) also known as the Synod on Synodality) highlight the pontiff’s desire for the people of God to come together, speak to each other, and for the voice of the Holy Spirit to be heard through their voices.
Pope Francis also drew significant attention to a term that, for many, seemed at first unfamiliar: synodality.
From the term ‘synod’ which originates in the ancient Greek συν [together] and ὁδός [way, journey], synodality essentially means ‘walking together on the same journey’ through a process of collaboration and discernment. For us anglophones, it helps to know that the term ‘synod’ is connected to the Latin word ‘concilium’ meaning ‘council’. The two terms have been used interchangeably, but there exist some differences between the two.
In his 2020 book Let Us Dream (written in collaboration with British journalist and biographer, Austen Ivereigh), Pope Francis explained how the synodal experience “allows us to walk together not just in spite of our differences, but seeking the truth and taking on the richness of the polar tensions at stake…This synodal approach is something that the world now needs badly.”
As we look back on the recent Synod of Bishops called by Pope Francis, three distinct terms connected with synodality come to mind: communion, participation and mission.
Why did Pope Francis focus so strongly on these three key areas? A review of his Jesuit education, service as Archbishop of Buenos Aires and Cardinal, and his work as Pope may shed some light on this question.
A Jesuit Formation
Pope Francis belonged to a religious order named the Society of Jesus, better known as the Jesuits. Historically, this order has been renowned for its emphasis on education for both its own members and for the wider community.
Ignatius of Loyola (1491 – 1556), who founded the Jesuits in 1534, wanted those belonging to this order to be well educated and capable of defending the faith in a coherent manner. As more members joined, the Jesuits founded their own schools and helped revive Catholic education by opening their schools to rich and poor alike.
At the heart of Jesuit education is the search for truth and the cultivation of a student’s intellectual talents. The primary goal of study, as stated in 1564 by Spanish professor of philosophy at the Jesuit Roman College, Father Benito Pereira, was not the acquisition of information, but the ‘knowledge of truth, which is the perfection of the human mind’. Quoting the philosopher Aristotle, Father Pereira stated that although it was fine to be a friend of Socrates and Plato, it was more important to be a friend of the truth.
This would mean that sometimes one may have to disagree with others, and if the truth demanded it, one may need to change or even retract their own opinion. Pereira would go on to say that the goal of the Jesuit schools was to cultivate a student’s intellectual talents and bring them to their perfection. The Jesuits looked to the formation of their student’s minds first – their ability to learn information was secondary.
As a Jesuit novice in the late 1950s, the young Jorge Mario Bergoglio lived and breathed Jesuit education and began his own search for the truth. Intrigued by the Jesuits’ involvement in work for the poor and social justice, he became interested in the fragility of the human condition and developed a concern for the marginalised and those furthest from God.
In his role as provincial superior of the Society of Jesus in Argentina (1973 – 1979) and as a teacher within the seminary (1980 – 1986), Bergoglio connected his theological classes with practical examples from society and daily life. At times, the division of Jesuit students between conservatives and proponents of liberation theology (an attempt to do theology through the experience of the poor and oppressed) left him in the middle of their disputes. Former students recall that he often took a balanced approach, but did not support liberation theology.
The political environment in Argentina throughout the 1970s and 1980s was challenging for Bergoglio. The so-called Argentine ‘Dirty Wars’ of the 1970s saw Argentinian military and security forces hunt down suspected left-wing political activists and anyone associated with socialism – this included priests, especially Jesuits, with some kidnapped and murdered.
Despite accusations against Bergoglio for his perceived silence on the kidnapping and torture of two kidnapped Jesuits in 1976 (both of whom supported liberation theology), it later became known that he had negotiated with the government behind the scenes for their release.
Part II and III of Francis the Bridge-builder: will feature in the coming editions of The eRecord.
Dr Marco Ceccarelli is the Director of the Centre for Faith Enrichment for the Archdiocese of Perth and a Lecturer in the school of Philosophy and Theology at The University of Notre Dame, Fremantle.