Vatican City, October 22, 2023 (KAP) The World Synod in the Vatican is entering the final stretch. Since October 4, around 350 members of the World Synod have been discussing more participation and new decision-making processes in the Catholic Church. During the debate, other topics were added, including the treatment of sexual minorities and the possible ordination of women.
Debates on a “message to the people of God” and a final synodal document begin on Monday. The organizers never tire of stressing that the latter will be a kind of interim report – and not binding results of the consultation. The mantra is that a second synod will take place in October 2024. And that is why the interim report can also record the points on which it was not possible to reach consensus.
This is just one of the many innovations that Pope Francis gave to the “Synod on Synodality”. The most important one only became clear a few months before it began: for the first time in the history of the Catholic Church, non-bishops received voting rights at the Synod in significant numbers. For the first time in history, there are women among them – 54 in total.
Lay people make a difference
The church is still a long way from parity. Still, the presence of women – and the rest of the non-bishops – made a difference. It became particularly noticeable when, in the middle of the Synod, several women spoke one after another and vehemently defended equal rights in the Church. The speeches of those who opposed also did not leave much to be desired in terms of clarity: this went against the tradition and teaching of the Church, according to their argument.
However, confrontation was not the dominant tone in the first three weeks of the Synod. People were looking for the “eye-level encounter” that church people like to invoke – which the round tables contributed to. The dress code has also become increasingly non-hierarchical. Even the cardinals (except one) renounced their cassocks and skullcaps; they generally conferred in their shirt sleeves.
Sitting at round tables, the synod fathers and mothers debated, sometimes in plenary, sometimes in small alternating groups. Not all 365 members were always present; Some corona cases also contributed to this. Those present were obliged to maintain secrecy regarding their contributions and those of third parties, as stipulated in the internal regulations. Daily press conferences should still provide insights to media professionals.
In addition, some information circulated behind the scenes and at night meetings. This includes the observation that dealing with cases of clerical abuse apparently played a subordinate role. Overall, all members of the Synod are trying to lower expectations regarding the texts. We hear again and again that it’s about finding a new way to face the challenges of the future.
Intensive work on the final document
However, the editorial committee made up of dozens of theologians and other experts takes a lot of time with the interim report. A few days ago, the Synod Secretariat announced two surprisingly long interruptions in the Synodal Assembly last week: the assembly will not meet from Monday afternoon until Wednesday morning and again during Friday. This suggests that the texts must be worked on with great intensity.
The time for discussing the changes is only scheduled for Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. The afternoon was reserved for the debate on how the next eleven months until the second world synod should be organized.
After the day of prayer and fasting for world peace on Friday, the oath will only take place on the last day of the consultation, October 28th. Until recently, it was not clear what procedure would be adopted for the final work. However, a vote with a close result was considered unlikely. Because if there is a list of points on which everyone agrees and has different opinions on these issues, decisions by a narrow majority cannot be expected.