“synodal” church

The Synod of Bishops will be askjed to reflect on the characteristics they believe are essential for building a “synodal church” by sharing what they heard from multiple listening sessions.

Among the challenges identified during the process of the Latin American church’s First Ecclesial Assembly were social and economic inequalities exacerbated by the pandemic.

The document released Oct. 27 is the result of a group reflection on the syntheses of synod discussions submitted by 112 of the world’s 114 bishops’ conferences, all 15 Eastern churches, 17 of the 23 dicasteries of the Roman Curia, the men’s and women’s international unions of superiors general, dozens of Catholic associations and more than 1,000 individuals.

According to the recently released “national synthesis,” which brought together feedback from 178 dioceses and 112 organizations for a total of 22,000 individual reports, Catholics were motivated to sound off: the good, the bad, the concerning.

Synodality is not a reorganization of church structures but rather a path of ecclesial communion that seeks to open minds and hearts to the will of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis said.

“Of the many words that Pope Francis has introduced or reintroduced to our lexicon, one of his frequently employed terms (often left untranslated) is ‘parrhesia,’ described as boldness or conviction, which the Holy Father insists is vital to the proclamation of the Gospel today.”

Building on the guiding principles of his papacy, Pope Francis this year invited Catholics both in the mainstream of church life and on the margins to express their dreams, ideas and concerns in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in 2023.

Approving the revision of the entire process of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis has asked that it begin with serious, widespread consultations with laypeople on the diocesan level.