The World Synod of the Catholic Church ends on Sunday, after three and a half weeks, with a large religious service in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The mass will be presided by Pope Francis. The deliberations ended on Saturday night without any concrete demands for reform. Participants adopted a final declaration that remained rather vague on controversial points. There will be another meeting like this in October next year.
The World Synod is considered one of the Pope’s most important projects. For the first time, among the approximately 350 participants entitled to vote were lay Catholics, including around 50 women. However, the vast majority still consist of bishops. Most representatives of German Catholics expected signs that the Church would be willing to reform. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn and the Archbishop of Salzburg, Franz Lackner of Austria, participate, and Linz pastoral theologian Klara-Antonia Csiszar is among the invited theological experts and advisors – without voting rights.
The summary document of the four-week deliberations, which was approved by an overwhelming majority on Saturday night, represents a roadmap for the Church for the period up to the next synod in autumn 2024 “and well beyond”, Schönborn said on the night of Saturday in an interview with Austrian media representatives in Rome, according to Kathpress. The cardinal emphasized that he was not taking home a document from the Synod, but above all an experience of unity that “I had not experienced in the Church for a long time”. And he wanted to transmit this experience of the synodal Church.
Schönborn once again praised the Synod’s method of discussion, which had an “incredible effect” with its strong emphasis on listening and responding to what was heard. “The fact that all these issues were put on the table openly and freely and without fear of each other. I’ve never experienced it this way before,” he said.
The cardinal also reiterated the important importance of the new presence of women in the synodal assembly. This has had a huge impact on queries and “makes a huge difference”.
At the Synod, “much was discussed, there was no prohibition on speaking,” Archbishop Lackner reported to Kathpress about the deliberations. Thematically, since the first phases of the World Synod, which took place at the level of local churches and continents, “a lot was brought back that is also on the table”, recalled Lackner – “and that was not swept away. “
The president of the Conference of Bishops described the synodal attitude practiced as central. “The question is, how does it all fit together?” Here we have to broaden our perspective, look at the entire universal church, bring things to change, but also ensure that the church does not lose connection to its origins and listen to the Holy Spirit. “And that is the task of all of us, not just Rome,” Lackner added.