Chapter Six is entitled ‘Dialogue and Friendship in Society”. It takes us from n.198 to n.224. After the opening paragraph the rest of the chapter is divided into three sections. Their headings are; ‘Social Dialogue for a New Culture’ (mn.199-214); ‘A New Culture’ (nn.215-221) and ‘Recovering Kindness’ (nn.222-224).
If we look at the world around us, we see many attempts at dialogue in different levels on different topics. Sometimes it can to go well for a while and then something happens and the dialogue collapses. It can be very delicate. The idea of dialogue has great importance though for the future of our world and our Church. We will delve into the First Section next week. As we do so, let us keep in mind something Pope Francis, universally, and each Bishop in his diocese, are asking us to explore — the importance of dialogue within the Church as we begin to look at the understanding of what a synodal Church actually means.