Milan
The first phase of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, convened by Pope Francis to debate the future of the Catholic Church, ended on Saturday evening (28) in the Vatican with the publication of the document presenting a summary of what has happened in recent times was discussed for three weeks. The most controversial points in the report concern women’s participation and access to the diaconate.
“Different positions have been expressed regarding women’s access to diaconal ministry. Some consider this move unacceptable as it is not in line with tradition. For others, however, granting women access to the deacon would restore a church practice of origin,” the excerpt reads.
“Others still see this step as an appropriate and necessary response to the signs of the times, faithful to tradition and capable of resonating in the hearts of many who seek new vitality and energy in the Church. Some express the fear that this request is an expression of a dangerous anthropological confusion by accepting that the Church has joined the spirit of the times,” concludes the paragraph, which received the most dissenting votes in the entire document, with 69. However, it was adopted with a twothirds majority of votes and 277 votes in favor and retained in the text.
The Synod of Bishops is a meeting of experts that serves as a consultation mechanism for the Pope on a specific topic. The task of those convened is to deepen and clarify questions and ultimately provide the Pope with material to provide guidance to the clergy.
Subsequently, in the “Proposals” section, the Episcopal Assembly recommends continuing the theological and pastoral study of women’s access to the diaconate, based on the work of the commissions set up by Pope Francis in the past. The text requires that the results of this research already carried out be published. The paragraph received 67 votes against and 279 votes in favor.
In the Catholic hierarchy, deacons occupy the first level below priests and bishops. Although they are authorized to preach sermons during Mass and perform baptisms, weddings, and funerals, deacons, now only men, are not authorized to celebrate the Eucharist, hear confessions, or perform the anointing of the sick (the final anointing).
365 participants had the right to vote this Saturday, including Francisco. The group voted in a secret electronic vote to approve or not approve each paragraph. Each section was considered adopted if a majority of twothirds of those present voted “yes”. For the first time, more than 50 women were able to take part in a synod. The meeting ended around 9 p.m. (4 p.m. in Brasília), more than an hour late.
Another passage that deviated from the consensus was the one dealing with clerical celibacy. “Different assessments have been expressed regarding the celibacy of priests. All appreciate its value as full of prophecy and testimony of conformity to Christ; some question whether his theological suitability for priesthood must necessarily lead to discipline in the Latin Church, especially where ecclesiastical and cultural contexts make it more difficult. This is not a new issue that requires further consideration,” reads the excerpt, which was approved with 291 votes in favor and 55 against.
The topic of how to approach the LGBTQIA+ community was on the agenda that led the Episcopal Assembly’s debate, limited to the chapter dedicated to issues that require greater discernment.
“Some topics, such as gender identity and sexual orientation, the end of life, difficult marital situations, ethical problems related to artificial intelligence, are controversial not only in society but also in the church because they raise new questions,” it says Abstract. “Sometimes the anthropological categories we have developed are not sufficient to capture the complexity of elements that emerge from experience or scientific knowledge and require refinement and further study.”
In addition, the document mentions those who feel excluded from the Church because of “their marital situation” and refers to those who have been divorced in their second marriage, as well as “identity and sexuality”. “There was a deep feeling of love, mercy and compassion in the congregation for people who feel hurt or neglected by the church. (…) The Assembly affirms that Christians must not lack respect for the dignity of every human being.”
Regarding abuses committed by clergy, the congregation notes that the openness to listening to victims “has made visible many who had long felt invisible.” But he concludes: “We still have a long way to go toward reconciliation and justice, which requires us to address the structural conditions that have enabled such abuses and make concrete gestures of repentance.”
Elsewhere, the bishops point to “the delicate issue of dealing with abuse,” which makes it difficult for them to reconcile the roles of father and judge. “It is requested to examine the possibility of transferring the judicial task to another, canonically specified instance.”
The theme of this issue is “For a synodal church: community, participation and mission”.
Unlike documents published at the end of previous synodal meetings, this Saturday’s text does not contain any explicit recommendations to the pope. Since this synod was organized in two assemblies, the present text is a report on the themes that were more or less agreed upon in this first phase. The idea is that it will be seen as an indication of the points that require further consideration by the final meeting in October 2024.
Only after next year’s stage will a document with recommendations be presented to the Pope, who may decide to publish an Apostolic Exhortation with guidelines for Catholics in the following months.
With 42 pages, the synthesis document is divided into three parts with a total of 20 chapters. They indicate “convergences” of ideas on a topic, the “problems to be addressed,” and the “suggestions.”
“One theme that particularly stood out was the participation of women at various levels. Women are the ones who are the most active in the church and the most present in the most remote places. There was talk about how to make this more recognized, institutionalized and empowered,” he told Folha. Father Adelson Araújo dos Santos, professor of spiritual theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. He was one of the Brazilians who participated in this synod as an experienced moderator of the groups.
“The issue of the female diaconate has been widely discussed, consistent with the desire to delve deeper into this topic theologically and canonically. Is there any reason that would be a theological obstacle? Is there a reason that would be canonically an obstacle? Like not being left in the dark whether I like it or not,” he said, author of the recently published book “The Spiritual Steps of the Synodal Path: Finding, Listening, Recognizing” (Loyola Editions).
Since the beginning of October, 464 people from five continents have gathered at the Vatican to discuss the priorities indicated by the faithful as part of a consultation process that began in October 2021 in the dioceses and lasted almost two years after going through the bishops’ conferences and culminating in the assembly of the bishops. In addition to bishops, the group also includes cardinals, religious from other hierarchical levels and laypeople.
This synod is considered the most ambitious hearing process in Catholicism’s recent history and is seen by the more progressive wing of the church as a path to reform, while conservatives see it as a source of division, particularly due to the broad hearing method. including lay Catholics.