“The Synod is walking together. But it is very difficult to walk together if we do not experience closeness. It is important to feel physical closeness which, however, must be accompanied by compassionate closeness. God is in communion with the pain and suffering of his people”. Card. Luis Antonio Tagle, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and President of Caritas Internationalis, said this in his opening remarks at the second day of the Joint Assembly of the UISG (International Union of Superiors General) and USG (Union of Superiors General) on the theme “Becoming sisters, becoming brothers. Consecrated life at the service of fraternity in a wounded world”. Neglect of the poor and creation, the cardinal said quoting from the encyclical “Laudato Si”, is a consequence of the fact that “many opinion makers, communications media and centres of power are far removed from the poor”. “One cannot live and reason from a comfortable position when speaking about poverty. All this can lead to a numbing of conscience”. Indeed, according to Card. Tagle, “spiritual, physical and existential closeness helps us to walk with the people towards a more just and peaceful world. But where are we as pastors and religious leaders? Can we also fall into the trap of being far removed from the poor and the suffering? Of offering solutions to situations that we try to avoid?”.