Pope Francis’ most important ecclesiastical political project is heading towards its first climax: when the approximately 430 participants in the two-part Catholic “Synod on Synodality” begin their work in the Vatican at the beginning of October 2023, it will be about the Church of the future – and probably also about the future of the church. They will deliberate for four weeks in the Vatican audience room. It is a given that there will be discussions.
Essentially, on the one hand, it is a kind of new constitution for the Church, which aims to give the “people of God” more opportunities for participation. And there are also some hot topics, such as the Church’s treatment of members of sexual minorities. A “Church open to all” is the Pope’s stated goal.
The composition of the Synod is already something special: for the first time, a greater number of lay people can vote in a Synod of bishops – including women. And advocates of openness to gays and lesbians were specifically named by the Pope to participate.
Conservative and traditionalist circles are attacking the project before it has even started. They speak of imminent heresies, that is, deviations from the traditional teachings of the Church; This must be changed little by little. A split in the church or even the fall of the church are suggested as possible consequences. Conservatives repeatedly warn against Germany: One of the reasons so many people are abandoning the Church in that country is because the German “Synodal Way” reform process is radically changing doctrine.
“There is no place for ideologies in the Synod”
Francis and his synod representatives reject such alarmist claims. In fact, there were ideologies behind the warning that the Church’s teaching was being attacked, the Pope said recently on his return flight from a trip to Mongolia. Instead, he called for dialogue and a lively discussion of Church doctrine.
The strategy of the Synod Secretariat under the leadership of Cardinal Mario Grech includes repeatedly reminding people of the true theme of the meeting: it is a “synod on synodality”, which – in contrast to Orthodoxy or Reform churches – is a specifically Catholic synodality. The hierarchically structured institution of the Church must therefore think about how it wants to debate and make decisions in the future.
Worldwide research and consultation process
To immediately practice the new etiquette, Francis presented the Synod of Bishops with a comprehensive, multi-step process of research and consultation. Catholics from all over the world participated. It turned out that questions about the role of women in the Church are relevant in many parts of the world – not just in German-speaking countries.
The results were compiled during the process in the form of summary documents, first at local church level, then again and after additional consultations at continent level. The various texts were incorporated into the so-called “Instrumentum laboris”, the Synod’s working document that has been available since June.
Opening with an ecumenical night of prayer
The starting signal for the meeting in the Vatican will be officially given on September 30, 2023, in a night of ecumenical prayer in St. Peter’s Square. Then there are retreats, that is, spiritual exercises, on the outskirts of Rome, before a solemn mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, on October 4, which announces the beginning of the work phase. Discussions then take place once in plenary session and once in small groups of ten to twelve people. Discussions will be held in five languages - but not in German or Polish. The official languages are Italian, English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. This was different in previous synods of bishops.
In deliberations lasting approximately three and a half weeks, the members of the Synod chronologically address five modules: synodality, community, mission and participation, as well as a final module, guided by the chapters of the working document and the specific questions contained therein. After that, there should be a summary summary report, which the participants agreed to and which will also be published based on the current state of the information. It is not yet clear whether approval will already be given in the form of a vote among the members of the Synod.
Assembly is an intermediate step
The multilingual content coordinator, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg, maintains an overview of the debates. He was appointed by the Pope as the so-called “general rapporteur” of the Synod. However, the summary report planned at the end of the current synodal deliberations is only an interim step. The synods will meet for a second round in October 2024. Only then will they vote on concrete proposals, which they submit to the Pope for a final decision.
The process is complicated and time-consuming. The Italian daily “Il Messaggero” speaks of a “supersynod”. Thai Cardinal Francis Xavier Kriengsak Kovitvanit made a historical comparison. “In my opinion, this is a Third Vatican Council in pieces,” he told the newspaper.
At the end of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), profound reforms took place and the Church opened up to modernity at the end of the 20th century. Although the October meeting is “just” a synod of bishops – itself an outgrowth of the last council – the Archbishop of Bangkok’s description is impressive. Even the legendary Vatican II Summit was ultimately about the future of the Church.
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Kathpress