Two years to change the church. Two years in which delegates, bishops and lay people from all over the world, invited by the Pope, will meet in Rome in October to discuss, debate and perhaps decide on major, even historic, changes in the way the Church operates the Catholic Church. On Saturday, October 28, at around 9 p.m., the work of the first general assembly of the Synod on the Future of the Church or “Synod on Synodality” ended, an important process of reflection on the future of an institution that brings together 1.3 billion people on the World.
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A first step for work that is not scheduled to be completed until October 2024. For four weeks, from October 4th to 29th, the 365 members of this first session worked on the life of the Church and the way to become more anchored in today’s world. Among other things, to better address the existential challenges of the lack of vocations and the exodus of believers in certain parts of the world, as well as the enormous crisis of sexual violence by priests around the world.
Position of women in the institution, inclusion of LGBT people, greater participation of lay people in the committees, fight against clericalism, especially the excessive position of clergy in the institution … so many issues that are put on the menu of working people were instruments of the delegates, created through a worldwide survey of believers.
A cultural change
In the flat part of the large Paul VI Hall, the synodal “fathers” and “mothers” worked at round tables symbolizing the equality of all to arrive at the document that was voted on Saturday evening. For the first time, lay people, including women (54 of the 365 meeting participants), participated not only in the development of the text on an equal footing with bishops and even cardinals, but also in its adoption. This gives substance to the profound cultural change that Pope Francis wants in a church that he would like to see more open to discussion and dialogue.
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The 18-chapter, 41-page summary report, published in Italian on Saturday evening, which the churches must address, does not currently contain a decision. Each topic is divided into three areas: convergence points, suggestions and points to be resolved. If the goal of the entire process was to introduce a new way of collective discussion and leadership of the church, the topics covered were much broader.
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