Papal Allies and Friends Tapped to Shape Synod’s Conclusions

Crux ^ | 10/10/18 | Elise Harris

[marshmallow]

ROME - On Wednesday the Vatican released the list of figures who will shape the concluding document of the Oct. 3-28 Synod of Bishops on Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment, and based on the composition of the group, conservatives in the Church may feel anew that they’ve been given a cold shoulder.

Elected by region, the five prelates chosen by a vote within the synod hall to draft the final document are: Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, Archbishop of Mexico City, a papal delegate to the synod; Cardinal Peter Turkson of Ghana, Prefect of the Vatican dicastery for Integral Human Development; Cardinal Oswald Gracias, Archbishop of Mumbai and a member of the pope’s “C9” advisory council; Archbishop Bruno Forte of Chieti, Italy, also a member of the synod’s organizing council; and Archbishop Peter Comensoli of Melbourne, also a papal delegate.

In addition, Italian Cardinal Lorenzo Baldisseri, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, and Cardinal Sérgio da Rocha of Brasilia, general relator of the synod, are also automatically part of the committee due to their roles in the meeting.

Two others who will serve as secretaries are Father Giacomo Costa, a papal delegate to the synod, who is also director of the magazine Aggiornamenti Sociali, president of the “San Fedele Cultural Foundation” and vice president of the “Carlo Maria Martini Foundation”; and Father Rossano Sala, professor of youth pastoral outreach at the Pontifical Salesian University and director of the Italian magazine Note di Pastorale Giovanile.

Pope Francis also handpicked three others for the commission: Brazilian Father Alexandre Awi Mello, secretary for the Vatican’s dicastery for Laity, Family and Life; Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church; and Father Eduardo Gonzalo Redondo, head of vocations ministry in Cuba.

In general, the picks are all seen as generally......