On May 21, Pope Francis surprised the Church by announcing that the Synod of Bishops postponed due to the pandemic will be preceded by a synodal process that includes “listening to all of the baptized” in every local diocese before the bishops gather again in 2023.
In his continuing efforts to promote a synodal process that involves the whole church and focuses on listening to one another and to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Pope Francis in May approved major revisions to how the Synod of Bishops will work, starting with a full diocesan-level process of consultation.
The path toward synodality, the cardinal said, will require the Church to undergo its own conversion, “a new way of understanding and approaching how we carry out our mission.”
A true synodal path comes from making concrete choices that give way to the action of the Holy Spirit, not from following spur-of-the-moment concepts that adhere to the latest trends, Pope Francis said.
Give the solid food of faith to the people of God, not feed the people of God disputed questions, Pope Francis said to the International Theological Commission on Nov. 29.
“Synodality,” a key concept of Pope Francis’ papacy, was used repeatedly in the final document of the Synod of Bishops on young people, the faith and vocation discernment.
