El Ignaciano / Diciembre 2024

The Synodal Journey of 2024
Alfredo Romagosa

This article is a follow-up to the article published last year on the Synodal Journey of 2023, providing a commentary on the second session of the Synod on Synodality held during November 2024. Most of the material in the article is taken from the Final Document,[1] published at the end of the session, with the approval of two-thirds of the participants.

We must admit that there has been a widespread sense of disappointment about the results of the synod.  Perhaps this is because of a common misunderstanding about the purpose of this synod. It was not called to resolve doctrinal controversies such as the female diaconate, sexual orientation or celibacy. It was called to reorient the operational practice of the Church so as to return it to the more consultative style that was predominant in the Early Church. The doctrinal issues were discussed, and they provided subject matter to practice the desired style, but they were not central to the Synod. As we will see, the Final Document has plenty to say about the operational objective. An important general observation is that many of the structures and procedures discussed are already defined by Canon Law, but not widely utilized. Many of these have been gradually defined over the period since the Second Vatican Council, and the document recognizes this:

The synodal journey is indeed putting into practice what the Council taught about the Church as Mystery and Church as People of God, called to holiness through continual conversion that comes from listening to the Gospel. In this sense, the synodal journey constitutes an authentic further act of reception of the Council, thus deepening its inspiration and reinvigorating its prophetic force for today’s world. (#5)

The synodal journey does not conclude with this phase. The document asks the episcopal conferences and synods to allocate personnel and resources (#9) for the implementation phase, which will obviously be a gradual process. Our comments below are organized based on the Parts or sections of the document. Direct quotes from the document are in italics, and #’s refer to paragraph numbers in the document.

Part I - The Heart of Synodality - Called by the Holy Spirit to Conversion

This section tries to clarify the actual functioning of the Synodality process. It is contrasted with public opinion or democratic voting: It is always in conjunction with the discernment of pastors at the different levels of Church life. It does not consist of arguing about opinions, but of reaching a consensus of the faithful. (#22) The process relies on an effective technique, which we also described in the 2023 article:

“The major development at this synod is that it’s been structured for listening. Not only is there an unprecedented “climate of prayer,” but the bishops and other delegates have been given a methodology for their discussions called “conversation in the Spirit.” For the first time, synod members are sitting at round tables—not in hierarchical order—at which they take equal turns speaking without interruption, pausing for silence, prayer and personal reflection, and then responding to what has been said with the aim of discerning what the Spirit is calling for from within the group.”[2]

The document further characterizes this “Conversation in the Spirit”:

The word "conversation" expresses more than mere dialogue: it interweaves thought and feeling, creating a shared vital space. That is why we can say that conversion is at play in conversation. This is an anthropological reality found in different peoples and cultures, who gather together in solidarity to deal with and decide matters vital to the community. Grace brings this human experience to fruition. Conversing "in the Spirit" means living the experience of sharing in the light of faith and seeking God's will in an evangelical atmosphere within which the Holy Spirit’s unmistakable voice can be heard. (#45)

This process can be a prophetic sign to a fractured world:

We live in an age marked by ever increasing inequalities; growing disillusionment with traditional models of governance; disenchantment with the functioning of democracy; increasing autocratic and dictatorial tendencies; and the predominance of the market model without regard for the vulnerability of people and of creation. The temptation can be to resolve conflicts by force rather than by dialogue. Authentic practices of synodality enable Christians to be a critical and prophetic voice over against the prevailing culture. (#47)

The process assumes pluralism and it is enriched by it:

The whole Church has always been comprised of a plurality of peoples and languages as well as of local Churches. In turn, these local Churches have always possessed their own rites and disciplines as well as their own distinctive theological and spiritual heritage; so too, their own vocations, charisms and ministries at the service of the common good. Unity in diversity is realized by Christ, the cornerstone, and the Holy Spirit, the source of all harmony. This unity in diversity is precisely what is meant by the catholicity of the Church. (#38)

Part II - On the Boat, Together - The Conversion of Relationships
This section deals with areas that need special attention in the journey to synodality, calling for a conversion of attitudes.

The Role of Women (#60)
There is a clear recognition of this issue as a problem:

By virtue of Baptism, women and men have equal dignity as members of the People of God. However, women continue to encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation and roles in all the various areas of the Church’s life. This is to the detriment of serving the Church’s shared mission. (#60)

The assembly believes that the current canon law provides sufficient scope for solutions, but what is needed is a correction in implementations:

This Assembly asks for full implementation of all the opportunities already provided for in Canon Law with regard to the role of women, particularly in those places where they remain under-explored.  The document recognizes the canonical limitation that denies the diaconate to women, and it leaves it as an open issue: the question of women's access to diaconal ministry remains open.  Those who tracked the discussions on this issue during all the sessions would recognize that the consensus of the Church was not yet ready to implement the change; this discernment needs to continue.

One way to try to change attitudes is through language and images:

The Assembly also asks that more attention be given to the language and images used in preaching, teaching, catechesis, and the drafting of official Church documents, giving more space to the contributions of female saints, theologians and mystics.

Lay Ministry

The document recognizes the myriads of functions being carried out in the Church by lay men and women. Some of these may adequately remain as informal roles and others are more properly the function of official lay ministers. Whether a ministry is formal or not, in order to promote its effective recognition, a public entrustment should be made through a mandate before the community. (#76)

Organized Lay Ministry is a reality in some dioceses and not in others, and mobility creates issues:

Further reflection should be given to the most effective way of bestowing lay ministries at a time when people move from one place to another with increasing ease, specifying the times and areas of their exercise.(#66)

Specific recommendations:

a) increased participation of laymen and laywomen in Church discernment processes and all phases of decision-making processes (drafting, making and confirming decisions);

b) greater access of laymen and laywomen to positions of responsibility in dioceses and ecclesiastical institutions, including seminaries, institutes and theological faculties; more fully enacting existing provisions;

c) greater recognition and support for the lives and charisms of consecrated men and women and their employment in positions of ecclesial responsibility;

d) a greater number of qualified lay people serving as judges in all canonical processes;

e) effective recognition of the dignity and respect for the rights of those who are employed in the Church and its institutions. (#77)

Clericalism (#74)

The document reflects that this problem often starts with a lack of delegation:

Frequently during the synodal process, the bishops, priests and deacons were thanked for the joy, commitment and dedication with which they carry out their service. Often mentioned, in addition, were the very real difficulties encountered by pastors in their ministry. These mainly concerned a sense of isolation and loneliness, as well as the feeling of being overwhelmed by the expectation that they were required to fulfil every need. The experience of the Synod can be a response to this reality, helping bishops, priests and deacons to rediscover co-responsibility in the exercise of ministry, which includes collaboration with other members of the People of God. A more active distribution of tasks and responsibilities and a more courageous discernment of what properly belongs to the ordained ministry and what can and must be delegated to others will enable each ministry to be exercised in a more spiritually sound and pastorally dynamic manner. This perspective will surely have an impact on decision-making processes, enabling them to have a more clearly synodal character. It will also help to overcome clericalism, understood as use of power to one’s own advantage and the distortion of the authority of the Church which is at the service of the People of God. This expresses itself above all in forms of abuse, be they sexual or economic, the abuse of conscience and of power, by ministers of the Church.

Bishops (#70)

The document looks for more unity between a bishop and his community, and has some specific recommendations:

A bishop's service is a service in, with and for the community. It is carried out through the proclamation of the Word and by presiding over the celebration of the Eucharist and the other sacraments. This is why the Synodal Assembly desires that the People of God have a greater voice in choosing bishops.

 It also recommends that the ordination of a bishop should take place in the diocese to which he is destined as pastor, and not in his home diocese, as is often the case. It also recommends that the principal consecrator be chosen from among the bishops of the ecclesiastical province, including, as far as possible, the metropolitan. It will thus become clearer that he who becomes a bishop establishes a bond with the Church to which he is destined, publicly assuming before it the commitments of his ministry.

 It is equally important that, especially during pastoral visits, the bishop can spend time with the faithful to listen to them as part of his own ongoing discernment of needs. This will also assist them in experiencing the Church as God's family.

Part III - Cast the Net - The Conversion of Processes

This section is the crux of the document, with many detailed recommendations about how to translate the spirit of synodality into action. It is characterized in terms of three aspects: ecclesial discernment, the care for decision-making processes, and the commitment to accountability. The section ends with a discussion of participatory bodies that can help in all of these aspects.

Ecclesial discernment

Ecclesial discernment is not an organizational technique but rather a spiritual practice grounded in a living faith. It calls for interior freedom, humility, prayer, mutual trust, an openness to the new and a surrender to the will of God. 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 other who shares according to their conscience. In this sharing, they seek to recognise together “what the Spirit is saying to the churches” (Rev 2:7). (#82)

Steps which should be included in the process:

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) allowing time to listen 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 facilitators of the process formulating the consensus in such a way that allows the participants to say whether they recognise themselves in it or not. (#84)

The Structure of the Decision-making Process

The hierarchical nature of the Church is recognized: In a synodal Church, the authority of the Bishop, of the Episcopal College and of the Bishop of Rome in regard to decision-taking is inviolable as it is grounded in the hierarchical structure of the Church established by Christ; it both serves unity and legitimate diversity. But this authority is bound by the need for consultation: Such an exercise of authority, however, is not without limits: it may not ignore a direction which emerges through proper discernment within a consultative process, especially if this is done by participatory bodies. However, the document indicates that there is a need for a change in Canon Law to clarify the nature of consultation:

It is not appropriate to set the consultative and deliberative elements involved in reaching a decision in opposition to each other: in the Church, the deliberative element is undertaken with the help of all, and never without those whose pastoral governance allows them to take a decision by virtue of their office. For this reason, the recurring formula in the Code of Canon Law, “merely consultative vote” (tantum consultivum) should be reviewed to eliminate the possibility of ambiguity. It, therefore, seems appropriate to carry out a revision of Canon Law from a synodal perspective, clarifying the distinction and relation between consultation and deliberation and shedding light on the responsibilities of those who play different roles in the decision-making process. (#92)

The following steps are recommended:

a) in particular, it is up to the relevant authority to: clearly define the object of the consultative and deliberative elements, as well as clarify with whom ultimate responsibility for taking the decision resides. They need to identify those who ought to be consulted, including those who have a specific competency or are affected by the matter under consideration. They also need to ensure that everyone involved has access to relevant data so that they may make an informed contribution to the process;

b) those who are consulted, whether individually or as members of a collegial body, assume the responsibility of: offering their input honestly, sincerely, with an informed conscience and acting in good conscience, respecting the confidentiality of the information received, offering clearly formulated thoughts that identify their main points. This will enable the pastoral authority to explain how they have taken the consultation into account if the decision was ultimately taken should it differ from the opinions offered;

c) finally, when the competent authority has formulated the decision, having respected the consultation process and clearly expressed the reasons for it, by reason of the bond of communion that unites them, all the baptised should respect and implement the decision. They should do this even if it differs from their own opinion, but they should also be free to participate honestly in the evaluative phase. There is always a possibility of making an appeal to the higher authority according to the provision of the law.(#93)

Transparency, Accountability and Evaluation

Decision-making does not conclude the discernment process. It must be accompanied and followed by practices of accountability and evaluation undertaken in a spirit of transparency inspired by evangelical criteria. (#95)

The synodal process has connected it [transparency] to words such as: truth, loyalty, clarity, honesty, integrity, consistency; rejection of obscurity, hypocrisy and ambiguity; and absence of ulterior motives… Transparency, in its correct evangelical sense, does not compromise respect for privacy and confidentiality, the protection of persons, their dignity and rights, even in the face of unreasonable demands of civil authorities. However, this privacy can never legitimate practices contrary to the Gospel or become a pretext to circumvent or cover up actions to combat evil. (#96)

A number of practices are recommended to ensure accountability and facilitate evaluations:

a) effective functioning of finance councils;

b) effective involvement of the People of God, in particular of the more competent members, in pastoral and financial planning;

c) preparation and publication (appropriate to the local context and in an accessible form) of an annual financial report, insofar as possible externally audited, demonstrating the transparency of how the temporal goods and financial resources of the Church and its institutions are being managed;

d) the preparation and publication of an annual report on the carrying out of the local Church’s mission, including also safeguarding initiatives (the protection of minors and vulnerable adults), and progress made in promoting the laity’s access to positions of authority and to decision-making processes, specifying the proportion of men and women;

e) periodic evaluations of all the ministries and roles within the Church. (#102)

There are a number of existing participatory bodies defined by the current Canon Law, such as parish councils and presbyteral councils, but they are not universally utilized:

A synodal Church is based upon the existence, efficiency and effective vitality of these participatory bodies, not on the merely nominal existence of them. This requires that they function in accordance with canonical provisions or legitimate customs and with respect to the statutes and regulations that govern them. For this reason, we insist that they be made mandatory, as was requested at all stages of the synodal process, and that they can fully play their role, and not just in a purely formal way, in ways appropriate to their diverse local contexts. (#104)

Part IV - An Abundant Catch - The Conversion of Bonds

This section is a continuation of the previous one, but concentrating on the larger picture of the Episcopal Conferences and the Pope. Episcopal Conferences express and implement the collegiality of the bishops in order to foster communion between Churches and respond more effectively to the needs of pastoral life. They are a fundamental tool for creating bonds, sharing experiences and good practice among the Churches. (#125) The document calls for all dioceses to be part of a respective conference. And it also supports the continuing efforts by Pope Francis decentralize the Church:

A synodal reflection on the exercise of the Petrine ministry must be undertaken from the perspective of the “sound decentralisation” wanted by Pope Francis and many Episcopal Conferences. According to the Apostolic Constitution Praedicate Evangelium, this decentralisation means “to leave to the competence of Bishops the authority to resolve, in the exercise of ‘their proper task as teachers’ and pastors, those issues with which they are familiar and that do not affect the Church’s unity of doctrine, discipline and communion, always acting with that spirit of co-responsibility which is the fruit and expression of the specific ‘mysterium communionis’ that is the Church. (#134)

Perhaps as a sign of this decentralization, Pope Francis has chosen not to issue a papal apostolic exhortation as is customary after a synod. In this way, the bishops may feel the full responsibility of implementation.

Part V - “So I Send You” - Forming a People for Missionary Discipleship

This section concentrates on the formation or education required to implement everything else. Catholic schools and universities have a crucial role in this process and a prophetic role in the larger society:

Catholic schools and universities play an important role in the dialogue between faith and culture and in providing moral education on values, offering a formation oriented towards Christ, the icon of life in its fullness. Thus, they become capable of promoting an alternative to the dominant models that are often driven by individualism and competition, thereby also playing a prophetic role. (#146)

On the formation of priests and deacons, a widely expressed request was that discernment and formation of candidates for ordained ministry be undertaken in a synodal way. There should be a significant presence of women, an immersion in the daily life of communities, and formation to enable collaboration with everyone in the Church and in how to practice ecclesial discernment. This requires a revision of the foundational document on the education of priests. This call for a revision is perhaps the most critical and effective result of the Synod:

The Assembly calls for a revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis in order to incorporate the requests made by the Synod. They should be translated in precise guidelines for a formation to synodality. Formation pathways should awaken in candidates their passion for the mission to all peoples (ad gentes). Formation of Bishops is just as necessary so that they may better assume their mission of bringing together in unity the gifts of the Spirit and exercise in a synodal manner the authority conferred on them. The synodal way of formation implies that the ecumenical dimension is present in all aspects of the paths towards ordained ministries. (#148)

The formation process needs to preserve the larger context of “the Church in the World”:

The themes of the Church's social doctrine, such as commitment to peace and justice, care for our common home and intercultural and interreligious dialogue, must also be more widely shared among the People of God so that the action of missionary disciples can influence the construction of a more just and compassionate world. The commitment to defending life and human rights, for the proper ordering of society, for the dignity of work, for a fair and supportive economy, and an integral ecology is part of the evangelising mission that the Church is called to live and incarnate in history. (#151)

¹XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation: Final Document, October 2024.
²Sebastian Gomes, “Synod Diary”, America Magazine. Oct. 9.

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