El Ignaciano / September 2025

Comments on the “Pathways for the Implementation Phase of the Synod”

Alfredo Romagosa

On June 29 of 2025, the General Secretariat of the Synod published the document Pathways for the implementation phase of the synod 2025-2028, which provides a charter for this implementation. The document is signed by cardinal Mario Grech as Secretary General, and it has the approval of pope Leo XIV. In the beginning pages, the document emphasizes that synodality is not a passing fad, but it is a continuing act of implementing the decisions of the Second Vatican Council: It “constitutes a further act of reception of the Council, thus deepening its inspiration and reinvigorating its prophetic force for today’s world.” This act “is a task for which all the Baptized share responsibility,” and, as such, can only be done through the local churches. It then clarifies the role of the Secretariat:

The General Secretariat of the Synod remains at the disposal of all of them, to listen to them, accompany them, support their efforts and, above all, contribute to animating dialogue and the exchange of gifts between the Churches, for the benefit of the whole Church and its unity… Building on the contributions and questions it will receive from the Churches and on what will appear to be useful, the Secretariat will offer further insights and tools to accompany and support the common effort, in the hope of collaborating to make the implementation phase of the Synod even more fruitful.

The document recognizes that many local Churches are already enthusiastically involved, while “other Churches are still wondering how to proceed with the implementation phase or are taking their first steps. We encourage them to move forward courageously, facing any resistance and difficulties whether practical or substantive, with freedom and parrhesia.”

The document continues with a set of numbered questions and subsections, but before these, it establishes the following timeframe for the implementation process, which had already been communicated in a Letter of 15 March last:

• June 2025 – December 2026: implementation activities in local Churches;
• first semester of 2027: evaluation Assemblies in Dioceses;
• second semester 2027: evaluation Assemblies in national and international Episcopal Conferences, Eastern hierarchical structures and in other groupings of Churches;
• first four months of 2028: continental evaluation Assemblies;
• October 2028: Ecclesial Assembly in the Vatican.

1. What is the implementation phase and what are its objectives?

The implementation phase “aims to examine new practices and structures that will make the life of the Church more synodal.” It uses as its foundation the Final Document: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission, issued by pope Francis, that will be abbreviated here as “FD”. The planned implementation is not viewed as a new set of tasks, but it involves doing the ordinary tasks in the life of the Church in a new way: “Every local Church, every parish community will be able to practice synodality within its ordinary pastoral ministry, improving the way it carries out its mission through the ecclesial discernment that the Holy Spirit asks of us today.” The process requires knowledge of the FD but is also requires a conversion. Those that have participated in the earlier stages of the process can testify to being moved by the Spirit into this conversion.

A crucial attitude of all those involved must be the desire “to involve those who have so far remained on the margins of the ecclesial renewal process established by the Synod.” And “particular attention should be paid to listening to those who have expressed doubts and resistance to the synodal process.”

2. Who will participate in the implementation phase?

The implementation phase is an ecclesial process in the full sense. As such, it involves “all the Churches in their role as recipients of the FD, and therefore the entire People of God, women and men, in the wide range of charisms, vocations and ministries by which it is enriched and in the various forms in which its life is concretely lived (small Christian communities or basic ecclesial communities, parishes, associations and movements, communities of consecrated men and women, etc.)” Since synodality is “a constitutive dimension of the Church” (FD #28), this cannot be a path limited to a core group of ‘supporters.’

2.1. The responsibility of the diocesan Bishop

Because this is an ecclesial process, “the first person responsible for the implementation phase in each local Church is the diocesan Bishop”. It is his responsibility to initiate and guide it. In this leadership effort, the bishop should involve:

a) the Priests and the Deacons
b) the participatory bodies at the diocesan level (Presbyteral Council, Pastoral Council, and Finance Council)
c) the diocesan synodal team, which is particularly responsible for animating the process.

2.2. The task of the synodal teams and participatory bodies

To insure integration, these synodal teams should include individuals who are working in the parish functions, such as liturgical, apostolic, and social services. Continuing education and training in synodality need to be maintained. Again, we are reminded that what is needed is not a supra-structure, but “the growth of synodal dynamism within the concrete contexts in which each local Church lives; to identify appropriate tools and methodologies, including those for formation; and to carry out the necessary initiatives to ensure that the necessary steps are taken.” Key quotations from the FD encourage wider participation, including more access to positions of responsibility and leadership roles for the laity. (#60) And “attention needs to be given to the membership of the participatory bodies so as to encourage greater involvement by women, young people, and those living in poverty or on the margins.” (#106)

The synodal teams have a very important task, “helping to gather the fruits of the implementation processes,” so as to provide for the evaluation phase and the Assemblies scheduled to begin in 2027. Each bishop has the responsibility of recognizing and confirming the validity of these reports, in relation to the journey undertaken together by his diocesan community.

In the goal of developing new insights, efforts should be made to enlarge the circle beyond the parishes, involving schools, hospitals and prisons, as well as using digital media. Throughout, it is essential to maintain communication with the General Secretariat of the Synod and provide feedback on successful and unsuccessful experiments.

2.3. The role of the groupings of Churches

The FD is careful to emphasize that local Churches are not isolated entities. To this end it “will be important to reactivate and renew the national and continental synodal teams, along the lines of what has already been said for the local ones.”

2.4. The service of the General Secretariat of the Synod

The General Secretariat of the Synod was initially entrusted by Pope Francis, and then by Pope Leo XIV, with the role of animation and coordination through a process of accompaniment during the four-year period 2025-2028… Important tools for this purpose include listening to the experiences carried out in different ecclesial contexts and promoting shared reflection on them, so that together we can recognize the voice of the Spirit and direct our steps in the direction He indicates… In addition, it will propose meetings that foster mutual listening, sharing of the journey and its fruits, and the communal expression of gratitude to the Lord. The first of these events is the upcoming Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies (24-26 October 2025).

To ensure that the process and the document are followed in a timely fashion, a concrete action is being required in a very short term. Through this document, the Secretariat is requiring that each diocese register its synodal team in the database of the Secretariat. And it is entrusting each bishop to “verify that this has been done.” This is in “order to ensure an orderly flow of communication and more effective coordination” in preparation for this October Jubilee.

3. How to engage with the FD during the implementation phase?

The FD is the point of reference for the implementation phase… Consequently, it is essential to promote its knowledge, particularly among the members of synodal teams and those who, at various levels, are called upon to animate the implementation process… Reading of the FD should be supported and sustained by both communal and personal prayer, centered on Christ, the Master of listening and dialogue.

3.1. Preserving the overall vision

Rooted in the themes of the Second Vatican Council, “the mission of proclaiming the Kingdom of God, inaugurated by Jesus and to which all the Baptized are called, each with the specificity of their own charisms, vocation and ministry, constitutes the backbone of the text.”  Communities are encouraged to be outgoing, “devoted to the service of a mission that the faithful carry out within society, in family and working life. They will, therefore, not remain focused exclusively on the activities that take place within their own communities and upon their own organizational needs.” (FD # 59) The conciliar vision is of a “Church in the world, in dialogue with everyone, with other religious traditions and with the entire community.”  (FD # 41-42) 

3.2. Investing in concrete practices

This section draws attention to specific paragraphs in the FD that are important for the implementation phase. It emphasizes that to maintain credibility, concrete changes in the way of doing things must be visible.  Paragraphs 81 to 86 describe the process of discernment, which is central to synodality:

Ecclesial discernment is not an organizational technique but rather a spiritual practice grounded in a living faith… It is never just a setting out of one’s own personal or group point of view or a summing up of differing individual opinions. Each person, speaking according to their conscience, is called to open themselves to the others who share according to their conscience. In this sharing, they seek to recognize together “what the Spirit is saying to the Churches.” (Rev 2:7)… The steps of ecclesial discernment will differ depending on the various places and their traditions. Based on the synodal experience, we have identified some elements of discernment which should be included:

a) clearly setting out the object of discernment and disseminating information and the means for adequately understanding it;

b) giving sufficient time for prayerful preparation, for listening to the Word of God and for reflection on the question;

c) an inner disposition of freedom regarding one's own interests, both personal and as a group, and a commitment to the pursuit of the common good;

d) listening attentively and respectfully to each person’s voice;

e) searching for the widest possible consensus which will emerge when our hearts burn within us (cf. Lk 24:32), without hiding conflicts or searching for the lowest common denominator;

f) the leaders of the process formulate the consensus in such a way that allows the participants to say whether they recognize themselves in it or not.

The discernment process should lead to a mature acceptance by all of the decision, even by those whose individual opinions are not accepted. The process should also provide for a period for reception by the community that will lead to further review and assessment.

Paragraph 95 to 102 recommend implementing appropriate forms of transparency, accountability and evaluation, emphasizing that “Wherever the Church enjoys trust, the practice of transparency, accountability, and evaluation helps to strengthen its credibility. These practices are even more critical where the Church’s credibility needs rebuilding. They are particularly important in regard to the safeguarding of minors and vulnerable adults.” And “The absence of these practices is one of the consequences of clericalism, which is thus fueled. Clericalism is based on the implicit assumption that those who have authority in the Church are not to be held to account for their actions and decisions as if they were isolated from or above the rest of the People of God.” In financial matters, it is important to have effectively functioning finance councils and periodic formal reports and auditing.

Paragraphs 102 to 106 enumerate the participatory bodies required by canon law, such as Diocesan Synod, Presbyteral Council, Diocesan Pastoral Council, Parish Pastoral Council and Diocesan and Parish Finance Council. The proper synodal functioning of these bodies is essential in the conversion process.

4. What method and tools can help shape our path during the implementation phase?

The initial paragraph of this section calls again for a synodal conversion:

The synodal method is not reduced to a series of techniques for managing meetings, but it is a spiritual and ecclesial experience that involves growing in a new way of being Church, rooted in the faith that the Spirit bestows on all the Baptized with His gifts, beginning with the sensus fidei (FD # 81). Since it is not a technique, the methodology does not guarantee the desired result, because this depends on the openness to listening of those who take part in the journey and on their willingness to let themselves be transformed by the Spirit of Christ in communion with their brothers and sisters.

4.1. Ecclesial discernment

The method of discernment, as outlined above, is reiterated, with some additional practical concerns, including the participation of trained facilitators: “It is crucial that each participant arrives adequately prepared and that the context foster a climate of prayer and an inner openness to listening and dialogue. In this perspective, it is worth recalling how experience highlights the importance and fruitfulness of synodal processes being supported by appropriate forms of facilitation.”

4.2. A synodal approach to designing and accompanying processes

A number of practical suggestions are offered, including training courses, celebrations and encounters within a diocese and among dioceses, and the utilization of digital communication channels, and activities adapted to the realities of each local Church, such as “promoting more lively participation in the Sunday celebration, catechetical programs, ecumenical dialogue, integration of migrants, commitment to caring for our common home, etc.” and the concluding paragraph:

The synodal method allowed us to be surprised by the Holy Spirit and to reap unexpected fruits during the consultation and listening phase, as well as during the sessions of the Synodal Assembly, inspiring the amazement and enthusiasm of many participants, as evidenced by the many summaries and documents received: communion among the faithful, among pastors and among churches was nourished by participation in synodal processes and events, renewing the momentum and sense of shared responsibility for the common mission. This gives us confidence as we look ahead to the journey that awaits us in the coming years, beginning with the Jubilee of the Synodal Teams and Participatory Bodies. We are already working to organize it in the best way possible, so that the opportunity to walk physically together towards the Holy Door may become an opportunity to exchange gifts and celebrate that hope which does not disappoint, the only hope capable of nourishing our commitment to carry forward, as a synodal Church, the mission entrusted by the Lord Jesus to His disciples.

Links to Documents
Pathways for the Implementation Phase of the Synod: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/process/implementation/pathways/250102---ENG-Pathways-for-the-implementation-phase.pdf

Final Document: For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission: chrome extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.synod.va/content/dam/synod/news/2024-10-26_final-document/ENG---Documento-finale.pdf

Alfredo Romagosa is Director of Instituto Jesuita Pedro Arrupe, he has degrees in Religious Studies and Engineering and has taught at the Southeastern Pastoral Institute (SEPI) and at Florida International University.