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SYNOD OF BISHOPS
from issue no. 10 - 2005

Interview with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

The Eucharist is the greatest sign of the unity of the Church


Many of the Synod interventions were truly moving. The Holy Father in his interventions obviously expressed his own personal interest and concern for the liturgy in the Church. This is clearly something that touches him very deeply


Interview with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor by Giovanni Cubeddu


 Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor

Tenth archbishop of Westminister and president of the Episcopal Conference of England and Wales , Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor has always been involved in dialogue with the Anglican communion. From 1982 to 2000 he was also co-president of ARCIC, the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission, which is the special seat of this delicate and intense rapprochement.
On the invitation of Queen Elizabeth, in 2002, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor was the first Catholic prelate since 1680 to be able to deliver a sermon before the English royals.

Your Eminence, what is your judgment about the Synod that has just ended.
CORMAC MURPHY-O’CONNOR: It was a source of great joy to pass these three weeks not only ‘sub Petro’ but ‘cum Petro’. Pope Benedict was with us for most of the time, listening with arefuly and creating a friendly atmosphere amongst the Synod fathers; that’s very important. I think that this was also favored by the changes in the organization of this Synod. These changes are steps forward towards the reform of the Synod which will undoubtedly continue. But the principal thing is that Pope Benedict is clearly interested in the Synod, cares about it and was happy to be with us. The Pope’s style is very collegial in manner and very open to the bishops of the Church.
What were the most important topics dealt with by the Synod, according to you?
MURPHY-O’CONNOR: Clearly the main concern of the bishops was the deepening of love, of respect and understanding of the Holy Eucharist as the central event in the life of Catholics. That’s the reason we met, to see how to increase devotion to Holy Mass. This meant concentrating on how the Mass is celebrated and how the people participate in it. This was the object of the Synod: the need all over the world for a greater understanding of the mystery of the Eucharist. Of course we talked about other things as well: the lack of priests, the difficult cases of people who can’t receive communion. And you’ll see what the mind of the bishops is on these questions, which are difficult. But I think the main focus of the Synod has been on the desire of the fathers to help bishops in their leadership for the formation of their people in the mystery and love for the Eucharist.
What in this Synod could have most interested the Anglican world?
MURPHY-O’CONNOR: There were three Anglican bishops present at the Synod and they made their own contributions. I think that the Anglicans together will look at the teaching of the Catholic Church on the Eucharist as something they could adhere to.
I was a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission which brought out documents on the Eucharist that have been more or less approved by the Holy See and by the Anglican Church. Our doctrine on the Eucharist is essentially the same. Naturally we cannot have inter-communion with the Anglicans for a number of reasons – the lack of agreement on authority, the whole question of the validity of Anglican Orders which we cannot as yet recognize. But there has been a great step forward in our mutual understanding of the Eucharist and I think the Synod will have assisted this process, helping the Anglicans in their manner of teaching the mystery of the Eucharist.
Are there some topics that that could have been treated with more care?
MURPHY-O’CONNOR: I think that most of the Synod fathers will go away reasonably satisfied. We have had some excellent papal documents on the Holy Eucharist in recent times and I think that this Synod has helped their reception. And it has also been a help to our understanding of how the teaching of the Church on the Holy Eucharist can be communicated and taught in catechesis to the people. This would be one of the main results.
Were there some particular interventions that particularly struck you?
MURPHY-O’CONNOR: Many of the Synod interventions were truly moving. The Holy Father in his interventions obviously expressed his own personal interest and concern for the liturgy in the Church. This is clearly something that touches him very deeply, as indeed it does all the bishops. And in a way to have a Synod on the subject of the Eucharist is to have a Synod on something that is the center of unity in the Church. The Eucharist is the greatest expression of the unity of the Church.
Did you use the occasion of the Synod to continue some form of dialogue with the Anglican bishops present?
MURPHY-O’CONNOR: Not in a formal way, but informal certainly. Actually there hasn’t just been one Anglican bishop here for the whole time of the Synod, but one each week. I’ve met them all and had very friendly and helpful conversations with them and I think they were very glad to have been in Rome.
What do you think the Anglicans understood most from this experience?
MURPHY-O’CONNOR: I think that what they appreciated was the diversity and unity of the Catholic Church, and also the strength of the authority of the Church in its teaching.



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