The Church as communio

Mystery and Gift

10. When Jesus walked the shores of the sea of Galilee he called people to take the road of discipleship. He invited them to walk his way, to follow as it were in his footsteps. "Prompted by the Holy Spirit, the Church must walk the same road which Christ walked, and the Church means all of us, joined together like a body receiving its life-giving influence from the Lord Jesus".⁽¹⁷⁾ The way of Jesus is always the path of mission; and he is now inviting his followers to proclaim the Gospel anew to the peoples of Oceania, so that culture and Gospel proclamation will meet in a mutually enriching way and the Good News will be heard, believed and lived more deeply. This mission is rooted in the mystery of communion.

The Second Vatican Council chose the notion of communio as particularly apt to express the profound mystery of the Church;⁽¹⁸⁾ and the Extraordinary Synod Assembly of 1985 has made us more conscious of communio as the very heart of the Church. So too the Synod Fathers declared that "the Church is essentially a mystery of communion, a people made one with the unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. This sharing of the life of the Blessed Trinity is the source and inspiration of all Christian relationships and every form of Christian community".⁽¹⁹⁾ This understanding was the spiritual and doctrinal background of all the Synod's deliberations. It is "complemented and illustrated in the understanding of the Church as the People of God and the community of disciples. Church as communion recognises the basic equality of all Christ's faithful, lay, religious and ordained. The communion is shaped and enlivened by the Holy Spirit's gifts of offices and charisms".⁽²⁰⁾

The communio of the Church is a gift of the Blessed Trinity, whose deep inner life is most marvellously shared with humanity. Communio is the fruit of God's loving initiative, fulfilled in the Paschal Mystery of Christ by which the Church shares in the divine communio of love between the Father and the Son in the Holy Spirit. "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Rom 5:5). On the day of Pentecost, Christ's Passover was brought to completion by the outpouring of the Spirit, which gave us the first fruits of our inheritance, a share in the life of the Triune God, which enables us to love "as God loved us" (1 Jn 4:11).

The Church Particular and Universal

11. During the Synod Assembly, the Bishops took up in a particular way the notion of the Church as communio. They emphasized the aspects of belonging and interpersonal relationship found in the understanding of the Church as the People of God. Ecclesial communio is expressed and lived in a special way by the local Church gathered around the Bishop, with whom the people are co-workers in the mission.⁽²¹⁾ As Pastor, each Bishop seeks to promote this communio through his ministry, which is a sharing in the pastoral, prophetic and priestly office of Christ. The sign and effect of this communio is described in the Acts of the Apostles: "The whole group of those who believed were of one heart and one soul" (4:32). The Synod Fathers saw one very practical expression of this spirit in the preparation of a diocesan pastoral plan in conjunction with the faithful and their organizations. This will ensure that the plan flows from the spirituality of communio promoted by the Second Vatican Council.⁽²²⁾

The communio among the local Churches is based upon unity of faith, Baptism and Eucharist, but also upon the unity of the episcopate. The communio of the Church comprises all the local Churches through their Bishops, united with the Bishop of Rome as visible head of the Church. "The College of Bishops united under the Successor of Peter gives an authoritative expression to the communio of the Church".⁽²³⁾ This unity of the episcopate is perpetuated down the centuries through apostolic succession; in every age it is the ground of the identity of the Church, established by Christ on Peter and the college of the Apostles. The Successor of Peter is indeed "the enduring principle of unity and the visible foundation" of the Church.⁽²⁴⁾ The Lord himself commissioned Peter and his Successors to confirm their brethren in faith (Lk 22:32) and to feed the flock of Christ (Jn 21:15-17). "There exists between the Bishops a bond which expresses in a personal and collegial way the communion - the koinonia - that characterizes the entire life of the Church. Together in the College of Bishops they share the ministry of fostering the unity of God's people in faith and charity".⁽²⁵⁾ The Synod expressed the hope that the relationship between the particular Churches and the universal Church, especially the Holy See, reflect and build up communio, and that these relationships develop with due regard to the Petrine ministry of unity and due respect for the local Churches.⁽²⁶⁾ The local Churches in Oceania recognize that they share in the communio of the universal Church, and they see this as a cause for rejoicing. Despite the vastly diverse cultures and great distances in Oceania, the local Bishops realize that they are united with one another and with the Bishop of Rome, and they see this too as a great gift. "Between the Successor of Peter and the successors of the other Apostles there is indeed that profound spiritual and pastoral bond; it is our effective and affective collegiality. May we always find ways to support one another in our united efforts to build up the church and to live out this communion in service and faith".⁽²⁷⁾ As brothers in the College of Bishops, the Synod Fathers were unequivocal in expressing their desire to strengthen their union with the Bishop of Rome;⁽²⁸⁾ and the Bishop of Rome was himself moved and encouraged by their desire.

Mutual Enrichment

12. A sign and instrument of collegiality and communion among the Bishops is the Bishops' Conference, a "holy union of energies in the service of the common good of the Churches",⁽²⁹⁾ which contributes in many ways to the concrete realization of the spirit of collegiality. There are many areas in which the Bishops' Conferences have established fruitful relationships. The exchange of gifts is characteristic of many parts of Oceania and can serve as a model of positive relations between the Bishops of Oceania and with others. This model encourages an exchange of spiritual gifts which fosters relations of mutual love, respect and trust. These are the basis for open dialogue, participation and consultation as practical expressions of the communio that marks the Church.

The Eastern Catholic Churches have arrived in Oceania in comparatively recent times, and they have established themselves as a rich expression of Catholicity in various parts of Oceania, particularly Australia. They bear significant witness to the diversity and unity of the Universal Church with their unique history and traditions.⁽³⁰⁾ At the Synod, it was clear that the Eastern Catholic Churches are conscious of the generosity of the Latin Catholic Church in Oceania. Over the years, often in difficult circumstances, Bishops, priests and parishes have offered the hospitality of their Churches and schools, and the bonds of friendship and cooperation continue at all levels. Yet these Churches are vulnerable because of the relatively small number of their faithful and the great distance separating them from their Mother Churches, and their people can feel pressured or tempted to assimilate themselves into the predominant Latin Church. Yet the Synod also made it clear that the Latin Bishops of Oceania are eager to appreciate, understand and promote the traditions, liturgy, discipline and theology of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Therefore, increased awareness and understanding of the riches of the Eastern Catholic Churches is important among Latin Catholics.

The challenge for the Church in Oceania is to come to a deeper understanding of local and universal communio and a more effective implementation of its practical implications. My Predecessor Pope Paul VI summed up the challenge in these terms: "The first communion, the first unity, is that of faith. Unity in faith is necessary and fundamental. The second aspect of Catholic communion is that of charity. We must practise in its ecclesial aspects a more consistent and active charity".⁽³¹⁾ The peoples of Oceania have an instinctively strong sense of community, but unity in faith is required if reconciliation and love are to replace conflict and hatred. In the more Westernized cultures of the region, social institutions are under strain and people are hungry for a life more worthy of man. Where individualism threatens to erode the fabric of human society, the Church offers herself as a healing sacrament, a fountain of communio responding to the deepest hungers of the heart. Such a gift is clearly needed now among the peoples of Oceania.