The Committee is responsible for gathering and summarising responses to questionnaires for the Irish Synodal Pathway.

The young Catholics wrote that they love the Church's teaching, but their voices have not been heard.

The process leading up to the Synod on Synodality in Rome did not pay attention to their views, they said.

They express concern that the synodal process might give a false impression. As it stands. it suggests all Catholics in Ireland would like to see changes made.

Ireland's bishops also received a copy of the letter..

Peadar Hand, one of the letter's organisers, said making changes may not be the way to go.

"Among people who are actually practising and trying their best to live their faith, there's no desire for a change in Church teaching," he said.

"The duty of the Church is not to change with the world, but to change the world."

The letter says:

"As young practising Catholics, we would like you to hear our voices regarding developments with the Synodal Synthesis" it begins.

It goes on to explain young Catholics' concerns following the presentations at the pre-Synodal National Gathering in June.

Issues of concern include "the emerging synthesis risks presenting a false conclusion".

"The Sensus Fidei is in conflict with current church teaching and practice" they say. "This relates in particular to human sexuality, marriage and ordained ministry."

The Catechism defines sensus fidei or sensus fidelium. It is "the supernatural appreciation of faith on the part of the whole people when, from the bishops to the last of the faithful, they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals".

The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference has been asked for comment.

In March 2020 Pope Francis announced a Synod on Synodality.

Its aim is "to provide an opportunity for the entire people of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term".

The three-part synodal process started in October 2021 with consultations at the diocesan level. A continental phase is scheduled to commence in March 2023.

The final and universal phase will begin with the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. This will be themed: "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission."

The Assembly will take place at the Vatican in October 2023.

Source

• CNA

Vatican II affirmed that every Christian shared Christ's role as priest, king, and prophet by virtue of baptism and dismissed the erroneous notion that the clergy is one step above the laity in terms of power, rank, and decision-making.

The spirit of the Council did not fully materialise, so the clericalist culture continued to sway churches across the world, such as in Bangladesh, where Catholics number just 400,000 among a 170 million predominantly Muslim population.

Clericalism, which Pope Francis despises as "a cancer" is a major obstacle in the Church's progress to synodality in Bangladesh, as it is across Asia.

While Catholics are enthusiastic about becoming part of a synodal Church, eager to occupy their rightful place in the Church's mission, most clerics find no urgency to mend their old ways that assert clerical superiority.

Bangladesh's eight dioceses held synodal consultations at parish, diocese, and national levels.

Apparently, representatives from different sections and diverse groups of people participated and presented a host of proposals and observations. However, the final national document sent to the Vatican has not been made public.

The Church leadership circulated the Asian Continental and Vatican Synod documents across dioceses, but not their own document. Catholic bishops' responses to the Vatican Synthesis Report has been the only accessible document.

The response praises the local Church's growth, good clergy and religious vocations, efforts in evangelisation, social welfare and inculturation, and calls for "shared responsibility" for all to ensure a synodal Church.

Interestingly, it mentions nothing about a clericalist culture that is still predominant.

Secrecy

A sense of secrecy shrouded synodal consultations and findings in Bangladesh.

This secrecy is the best example of continuing clericalism, which forces the hierarchy to believe ordinary Catholics have no right to know the decisions the hierarchy makes for the Church.

So, there is no clue to determine whether the participants spoke against clericalism in Bangladesh and sought ways to get rid of it.

In most probabilities, the answer is no. Because tolerating the "cancer of clericalism" is deeply rooted in the psyche of most Catholics in Bangladesh.

Most Catholics do not find any problem with priests making final decisions on administrative matters at parish, diocesan, and national levels.

Lay people consider it their honorable duty to agree with a priest's decisions. On the contrary, any disagreement will almost always be frowned upon as anti-Church.

For a major part, the laity should be blamed for clericalism in Bangladesh.

Most would assert that "all good Catholics" should obey their priests always and everywhere. Such a highly clericalized laity allow clericalism to flourish in the Church.

Primacy of the priest

The "primacy of the priest" in the psyche of Bangladesh's Catholics is not just something leftover from the Church's centuries-old link with the Roman Empire but also a legacy of European colonialism in Asia.

At a time when the hierarchy's leaders were kingmakers and anointers who bestowed divine authority on kings, the masses saw priests not only as dispensers of spiritual power but also as those close to secular power.

During the colonial era, the public looked at missionaries as collaborators of the colonial powers and a majority of Christians — mostly from socially and economically poor social sections — took them as benefactors who doled out material assistance for their welfare.

In the benefactor-beneficiary relationship, lay Catholics willingly became subservient, and clerics appropriated powers to control the lives of parishioners.

Although colonialism ended more than seven decades ago, the new generations of priests in Bangladesh and South Asia have continued cultivating the benefactor-beneficiary system.

With many Christians coming from poor, low-income groups, the clergy has continued to dominate decisions as they have played vital roles in dispensing the Church's social welfare benefits.

In Bangladesh and most of South Asia, most priests are now natives, and only a very few Europeans are active in missions.

Yet, the native clergy do not see the laity in their communities as equals, even in the Church, and even if the laity are more educated and skilled. What a tragic irony!

Social inequality and discrimination

Added to this is the continuing social inequality and discrimination within the Church.

The rich and powerful receive better treatment from the clergy, and the poor and powerless are ignored or looked down upon.

The clergy also continue attempts to be connected to the secular power and love to hobnob with the elites and politically connected.

At least half of Bangladesh's Christians are tribal people who struggle for social equality and to assert their rights as humans.

Tribal Catholics dominate in five of the eight dioceses, and they happily accept a priest's dominance in all their affairs rather than fight clericalism. A synodal Church will not be their priority until priests make it so for them.

Another issue is a lack of proper adult catechism. Catholics in Bangladesh have not yet internalised the notion of the Second Vatican Council, that the Church is the People of God.

They would love to see the hierarchy as the Church. In this part of the world, considering the hierarchy as the government of the Church and communities of Catholics as the Church's core is a thought frowned upon.

The dominating hierarchy smothers any criticism, however legitimate it may be, against its members and their policies. Critics are branded as anti-clerics and, therefore, anti-Church.

This fear of vilification stops many good Catholics from speaking the truth and defending the rights of the poor in the Church. It allows the Church to become unchristian.

Reform needed

The Church in Bangladesh needs major reform and a shake-up to remain relevant in these times, which demand equality, justice, and fairness.

The old-fashioned priesthood and elitist clericalism must be dismantled with calibrated action to build a truly synodal Church.

If the issue of clericalism is not addressed, the two-year-long process of the Synod on Synodality will end up being a waste of time, energy and money.

• First published in UCA News
• Rock Ronald Rozario is a journalist for UCA News. Based in Bangladesh capital Dhaka, he covers social, religious, political, and human rights issues in Bangladesh and Asia.

In his 5 November decree, McKnight wrote "It is now clear that an authentically synodal process of greater consultation did not occur prior to its promulgation".

He said he had ordered a "more comprehensive consultation with the relevant parties within the diocese" related to sacred music.

The move will now include the views of musicians, music ministers and "everyone else who has a perspective on the music used in liturgies across the diocese".

He is looking to have a decision by August 2025.

"I am excited about moving forward with an open mind and an open heart" McKnight says.

"Music is such an important part of who we are as Catholics … I am eager to hear from everyone, in a synodal process of deep listening, as we embark on this process together."

Through this, McKnight aims to determine how best to use sacred music to encourage active liturgy participation.

Forbidden hymns back for now

In his decree of October 24, McKnight listed a dozen commonly used contemporary hymns that were to be "absolutely forbidden" in the diocese after the end of the month.

He obtained that list from Father Daniel Merz, a diocesan pastor and chairman of the diocesan liturgical commission. After several years of research and consultations with priests ministering in the diocese, Merz recommended banning the hymns.

McKnight's new decree notes it is "important to recognise that some hymns in current distribution may not be appropriate for use in Catholic liturgies".

Unlike his October decree, the new one does not include the names of any of the previously banned hymns.

Instead, it describes the criteria set by the US bishops' Committee on Doctrine that must be considered when determining whether a hymn is suitable for the liturgy.

McKnight acknowledges the "spirited discussion" on social media and various media outlets following the publication of the banned hymn list.

Banned composers stay banned

The new decree retains a diocesan ban on the use of any music composed by persons who "have been found by his or her diocesan bishop or competent authority to be credibly accused of sexual abuse".

It specifically mentions hymns and music by David Haas, Cesaréo Gabarain and Ed Conlin.

"It is vital that we ensure the greatest care be taken to prevent scandal from marring the beautiful celebration of the Eucharist" McKnight noted.

Source

• CNA

This deficiency is starkly highlighted in paragraphs 26-28 of the Synod's Final Document.

The document equates Eucharistic and synodal assemblies as manifestations of Christ's presence and the Spirit's unifying work.

It also highlights "listening" as a common trait in both.

This creates a flawed equivalence that must be addressed before any working group defines the "celebratory styles that make visible the face of a synodal Church."

This simplification risks diminishing the depth of liturgical rites.

It can obscure their true ritual essence and misinterpret their theological meaning.

While linking synodality with the liturgy is invaluable, such parallels risk reducing the unique purposes of each.

The Eucharist is the focal point of sacramental unity and divine encounter, whereas synodal gatherings are primarily deliberative, geared towards consensus and the governance of ecclesial life.

Treating them as equivalents risks blurring their distinct theological identities, diminishing their respective roles as the lived expression of

• prayerful faith (liturgy) and
• the organisational manifestation of faith in action (mission and management).

Moreover, practical challenges, such as the diverse cultural interpretations of synodality and its application to liturgical practice, remain inadequately explored.

Responding to the "signs of the times" within a liturgical context means prioritising the centrality of the assembly meeting for worship (Synaxis).

It is the Synaxis that informs and underpins the synodal processes, not the other way around.

The liturgy derives its meaning from its direct relation to the Paschal Mystery, serving as its memorial in a liturgical context.

Unlike the synodal process, the liturgical Synaxis uniquely represents and re-presents this Mystery. So it is troubling, though not unexpected, that liturgical theologians are conspicuously absent from the synodal dialogue.

Consequently, significant sacramental and liturgical questions remain neglected, approached only from tangential perspectives.

This oversight occurs when auxiliary theological disciplines and Canon Law, a non-theological field, marginalise the primary discipline of liturgical theology.

The synodal discussions commendably focused on dialogue, inclusivity, and governance reform, have largely sidestepped the liturgy despite its pivotal role in Catholic life.

This sidestepping can be attributed to several factors.

The synodal agenda primarily addresses structural and cultural challenges within the Church, such as clericalism and lay participation.

These efforts are necessary for cultivating an inclusive Church that listens to and integrates the experiences of all its members, especially those who feel alienated.

Within this framework, liturgy often becomes a secondary concern, perceived merely as ritual or ceremonial, with little attention given to its deeper theological dimensions rooted in baptismal ontology.

Moreover, liturgical discourse is inherently contentious.

Decades of "liturgy wars" over issues such as the use of Latin, lay participation, and other practices have sown division between traditionalist and progressive camps.

This contentious history makes many Church leaders hesitant to reopen discussions that could reignite conflict and detract from the Synod's wider objectives of unity and reform.

The liturgy, firmly anchored in tradition and doctrine, presents a complex area for reform.

The Eucharist, as the "source and summit" of Christian life, is integral to Catholic identity. Therefore, conversations around liturgical change touch upon fundamental theological beliefs and ecclesial authority.

The spectre of perceived challenges to doctrine makes some prelates wary of undertaking such discussions, fearing potential disquiet among the faithful.

There are also voices within the Church who believe synodality, by influencing the values of unity and inclusivity in governance, will naturally extend these values into the liturgy without requiring direct liturgical reform.

This perspective avoids more profound theological questions of baptismal ontology, sidestepping the liturgical implications of issues like the ordination of women or blessings of non-canonical unions.

While the Synod's Final Document calls for the liturgy to embody the synodal principles of dialogue and inclusivity, it overlooks the pressing reality many parishes face: an "eucharistic and sacramental famine."

Even as synodal efforts remain focused on governance and pastoral strategies, the central Synaxis—the heart of ecclesial life—weakens under the weight of scarcity.

Many communities endure prolonged periods without access to sacramental celebrations due to an entrenched prioritisation of celibacy over Eucharistic necessity.

This imbalance has led to a phenomenon where clergy from Africa and Asia are brought in to sustain sacramental life, a practice that increasingly resembles a form of "reverse colonisation" with significant consequences already emerging.

In such a landscape, the liturgy is often appropriated as a stopgap solution, a practice born out of necessity when leadership fails to address these pressing realities adequately.

Addressing this issue is vital, for without a robust Synaxis, there will inevitably be no meaningful synodos.

• Dr Joe Grayland is priest of the Catholic Diocese of Palmerston North (New Zealand) for nearly 30 years. He is currently an assistant lecturer in the Department of Liturgy, University of Wuerzburg (Germany).
• A version of this opinion piece originally appeared on La Croix International.

The Pope took this and a number of issues off the agenda because he wanted the synod to focus on synodality and not be distracted by controversial and complicated issues.

Discussions about bishops

The Synod on Synodality is meeting in Rome during October, with bishops and lay people discussing how to make the Church more transparent and accountable and less clerical.

They are looking for ways to encourage respectful listening in the Church so Catholics can discern together where the Spirit is leading the Church.

The delegates, however, understand that synodality will not happen unless it is supported by bishops in their dioceses.

Too many bishops see synodality as a threat to their authority or simply a waste of their time. The transparency, listening and accountability required of synodality are time-consuming and don't allow bishops to do whatever they want.

A debated issue

The selection of bishops has been a debated issue since apostolic times. There is no perfect way to select bishops. Every procedure has its plusses and minuses.

In earliest times, the process was very democratic. When a bishop died, the faithful would gather in the cathedral, look around and ask, "Who will be our leader?"

In ideal circumstances, the people reached consensus in their choice of leader. But if there was no consensus, factions formed to support different candidates. That is an inevitable result of democracy.

Too often, in the early days of the Church, divisions in the community led to disagreements that became violent. In 217, pagan soldiers had to break up public brawls among the Christians in Rome fighting over who would be their bishop.

The soldiers arrested both candidates (Callixtus and Hippolytus) and sent them to the tin mines of Sardinia.

Eventually, to avoid the laity fighting over who would be bishop, the electorate was limited to the clergy or part of the clergy, for example, the cathedral chapter.

Pope Leo I (440-461) said that to have a legitimate bishop, he had to be elected by the clergy, accepted by the people and consecrated by the bishops of the region.

The clergy would meet in the cathedral and elect someone. They would bring him out to the people and if they cheered, the clergy could present him to the regional bishops.

If the people booed, the clergy would have to try again. If the bishops of the region refused to ordain him a bishop, the clergy would need to find a new candidate.

This was a checks-and-balances system that would have been loved by the writers of the Federalist Papers.

As the Church got richer, interference in the selection of bishops by kings and nobles became common. They would use the threat of violence to force clergy to elect their candidate, who could be a relative or political supporter.

The papacy also gave kings the right to appoint bishops in exchange for political or financial support. In a few instances, the kings used their power to reform the Church, but the usual result was a very corrupt episcopacy, which prepared the Church for the Reformation.

The great reform of the 19th century was to take the appointment of bishops away from political leaders and give it to the pope, who would be more concerned about the welfare of the Church than government officials. This was possible because Napoleon had destroyed most of the Catholic monarchies.

Leaving the selection of bishops to the total discretion of the Pope led to its own problems when the Vatican placed its interests over the needs of the local church.

After the Second Vatican Council, Pope Paul VI looked for pastoral candidates in the United States, especially ones who got along with their clergy. They contrasted with earlier bishops who were more like bankers and builders.

John Paul II, on the other hand, was shocked by the rejection of "Humanae Vitae," the 1968 encyclical forbidding artificial contraception, by many theologians and even some bishops.

As a result, he looked for candidates who as bishops would enforce his positions on Church issues. Benedict XVI continued John Paul's policies. Loyalty took precedence over pastoral qualities.

Francis is once again looking for pastoral bishops, especially ones who are close to the poor. He is more comfortable with discussion and debate in the Church.

The current selection process is highly dependent on the nuncio, the pope's representative to the local church and government of a country.

He presents three candidates for an open diocese to the Dicastery for Bishops along with a report on the diocese and a dossier on each candidate. He ranks them first, second and third choice.

The nuncio can consult with whomever he wants about the candidates, including bishops, clergy and lay people. He uses a confidential questionnaire to gather information on the candidates.

The Dicastery for Bishops makes a recommendation, which the prefect, or head of the dicastery, takes to the pope. The pope can choose one of the three candidates or tell the prefect to come back with a new list.

No public discussion of candidates is allowed under this system, which makes it difficult to have much lay involvement in the selection process.

The hierarchy fears that public disclosure of the names of the candidates would lead to lobbying efforts and divisive campaigns, but keeping the laity out of the process is an example of clericalism and contrary to synodality.

The people of the diocese can be publicly consulted on what type of person they want, but they are forbidden to mention names publicly. This consultation is rarely done today, although it was more common in the time of Paul VI.

The description of the ideal bishop by the laity in most dioceses was often unrealistic. As one observer noted, "They wanted Jesus Christ with an MBA from Harvard."

Synodality

Synodality demands there be more transparency and consultation with the laity about the appointment of bishops. The Catholic Church could also learn by studying how leaders are chosen in other denominations. If other Churches can successfully choose leaders in a more public process, why can't the Catholic Church?

Although in many parts of the world (like China), lay and clergy involvement would be exploited for political ends, there are places where the church is free to experiment with new methods.

For example, the nuncio could ask the diocesan priests' council to submit three names to him as candidates for bishop. Or he could share the names of his three candidates with the priests' council and get their response. The same could be done with the diocesan pastoral council to involve laity in the process.

Involving more people in the selection process could be divisive. Those who think more democracy is needed in the Church need to recognize democracy does not always work that well in the political realm, even in America.

But including more people in the selection would result in bishops who are embraced by their clergy and people. There are risks in opening up the process, but they are worth taking.

Since no system is perfect, we need to find something with checks and balances like the system proposed by Pope Leo I that involved clergy, laity and the college of bishops under the leadership of the pope. Whether we have the spiritual maturity to pull it off remains to be seen.

Synodality has shown that if we respectfully listen to one another in a prayerful setting, we are more likely to see where the Spirit is leading the Church. It can also help us see who should be the best synodal leaders as bishops.

• First published by RNS
• The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS.

I'd love to tell you I know exactly what was in front of me October 2 at its reopening in the late afternoon, but that wouldn't be accurate.

For now, this synod seems like a blend between a traditional gathering of bishops and the Church's exploration of new communication techniques. It's as if Justinian were meeting a Silicon Valley "dialogue facilitator."

The synodal environment

Sitting with a few journalists in the balcony of Paul VI Hall, a few meters from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, I watch as Church leaders take their places around round tables.

According to the Holy See's communications office, there are 36 tables, though I count 38.

A few women and other "non-bishops" have been invited, but the assembly - 350 present out of 368 invited - remains largely composed of red (cardinals) and purple (bishops).

A touch of green: 12 plastic palm trees line the hall, like the Apostles.

The decoration and setup somewhat resemble a wedding.

Around an honor table, slightly elevated, sit a few high-ranking officials, including Maltese Cardinal Mario Grech (pro-secretary general of the Synod of Bishops), his Luxembourgish counterpart Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich (rapporteur of this Synod), the Pope, and Sister Nathalie Becquart (undersecretary of the general secretariat of the Synod).

One woman among these men, just like at each table in this "second session of the XVI Ordinary Synod of Bishops."

"The presence of members who are not bishops does not diminish the ‘episcopal' dimension of the assembly," said Francis.

Papal hopes

What does that mean? Listening to the Pope speak of "harmony" (he used the word 12 times on October 2), one might almost imagine the assembly breaking into song—a choir from around the world, searching, until October 27, for perfect harmony.

The image might not be so far off: in Paul VI Hall, each day begins with psalm singing, and there is caution not to confuse dissonances with the expression of differences: "We are asked to practice together in the art of symphony," said the Pope.

In the Byzantine era, "symphony" was an ideal of understanding between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Emperor, the first among the laity.

We are no longer there, but the synodality desired by Francis touches on a very ancient question in the Church's history: Who holds authority? The Pope or the Synod of Bishops?

Without hesitation, the Synod of Bishops answered a high-ranking Orthodox official invited as an observer during the first session in October 2023.

His reservations about the Roman Assembly were based on two aspects: first, the presence of laypeople (which helps explain the Pope's remark on the "episcopal" character); second, the fact that it is not "a deliberative assembly" but only consultative.

Who decides?

"The understanding of synodality in the Orthodox Church is very different from the definition of synodality given by your Assembly," said Archbishop Job Getcha, Metropolitan of Pisidia.

It's hard to imagine a bishop declaring that the Pope is just one voice among others, in this October 2024 setting in Rome, as happened at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, for instance.

The Vatican's communications office has not yet decided what to call the conclusions of this October session—a final document "which may not even be called a ‘final document,'" it said during a press conference.

There is but one certainty: at the end of the debates, the Pope will make the final decision.

• First published in La Croix
• Mikael Corre is a journalist and senior reporter at La Croix L'Hebdo

Sins against peace

Cardinal Oswald Gracias sought forgiveness "for the lack of courage, the necessary courage in the pursuit of peace between peoples and nations.

"Our sin is even graver if, to justify war and discrimination, we invoke the name of God" he said.

Sins against creation, indigenous peoples, migrants

Cardinal Michael Czerny spoke of "shame for what we, the faithful, have done to transform creation from a garden into a desert, manipulating it at will".

Exploitation damages "human dignity" he said.

He sought forgiveness for systems fostering slavery and colonialism, and for "the globalisation of indifference toward the tragedies" affecting many migrants today.

Abuse

Cardinal Sean Patrick O'Malley begged forgiveness for all forms of abuse.

He specifically sought forgiveness for the sexual abuse of minors and vulnerable people ... and "for all the times we used the status of ordained ministry and consecrated life to commit this terrible sin".

Subjugating others

Cardinal Kevin Joseph Farrell spoke "on behalf of all members of the Church, especially us men", acknowledging a certain contempt for the dignity of women, making them "silent and submissive".

He also said the Church sometimes neglects families' needs, judging and condemning rather than caring for them.

Hope and love have sometimes been "stolen from the youth" when "we failed to understand the value of love and hope" he said.

He also prayed for "those who are mistaken" and abandoned in prison or on death row.

Misusing doctrine

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández sought forgiveness for the misuse of Church doctrine.

"We, the pastors, tasked with confirming our brothers and sisters in the faith, failed to safeguard and present the Gospel as a living source of eternal newness."

He especially begged forgiveness for times when doctrine was used to justify "inhumane treatment" or "hindered legitimate inculturations of the truth of Jesus Christ", making it difficult to achieve "authentic fraternity for all humanity".

Sins against poverty

Cardinal Cristóbal Lopez Romero denounced the "culpable indulgences that take bread from the hungry".

He spoke of "feeling ashamed of the inaction that holds us back from accepting the call to be a poor Church of the poor", acknowledging through this "trying" the difficulty of admitting guilt.

The "seduction of power", the "enticements of first places and vainglorious titles" and the "ecclesial spaces sick with self-referentiality" stifle the mission to the "peripheries" dear to Pope Francis, he said.

Sins against synodality

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn highlighted the mindset necessary for a true synodal process.

He then asked forgiveness for the "obstacles we have placed in the way of building a truly synodal, symphonic church, aware of being the holy people of God journeying together, recognising its common baptismal dignity".

He also expressed shame "for all the times we didn't listen to the Holy Spirit, preferring to listen to ourselves... for all the times we turned authority into power, stifling plurality".

Source

• La Croix

Greater attention needs to be paid to the wider context of the synodal renewal, to the preconditions and consequences of this process.

It concerns a much larger and more demanding task than simply transforming a rigid clerical system within the Catholic Church into a net of flexible communication.

Synodality, the common way (syn hodos), is designed to renew, revive and deepen not only not only communication within the Church, but the Church's ability to communicate with other systems in society, with other cultures and religions, with the whole human family.

The synodality is to be an inspiring response to the question of how to overcome the crisis of globalization, how to transform a civilization of technological, informational and economic interconnection and, at the same time, dangerous divisions and tensions into a culture of coexistence in peace and justice.

Synodality is a way of developing the catholicity (universality) of Christianity.

Catholicity, as well as unity, holiness and apostolic character, was given to the Church as a gift and at the same time as a task for the journey through history to its eschatological goal.

The Second Vatican Council emphasized that the mission of catholicity includes ecumenical and interreligious cooperation.

Pope Francis enriches the understanding of catholicity and ecumenicity with an emphasis on ecological responsibility: care must be taken to ensure that the whole planet returns to being an "oikumene", a habitable space, a home for the whole human family and all life on earth.

Ecumenicity includes openness, welcoming, hospitality and inclusiveness - not a naive and uncritical conformity to the external world, but an openness and receptivity to the dynamics of the Holy Spirit.

The God we confess speaks in the polyphony of Scripture and tradition, through the teaching authority of pastors and theologians and through the non-conforming and often unwelcome voices of prophets and the mystics.

He speaks through the daily practice of the people of God ("consensus fidelium") and through the "signs of the times" - through events in history, society and culture.

The seeds of his Word are richly scattered in the fields of different cultures, and are found in philosophies, religions and artistic creations all over the planet.

To embark on the path of synodal renewal requires the courage to be led across many boundaries by the dynamics of the Spirit, of whom Jesus says that "we do not know where he comes from or where he goes."

At the same time, the synodal journey must be a journey of spiritual discernment.

Jesuit spirituality in particular offers methods of spiritual discernment, for example in the form of "examen", a regular reflection on the contents of our minds, thoughts and emotions with which we respond to inner and outer stimuli.

One must carefully discern the Zeitgeist, which is the superficial "language of the world" (public opinion, advertisements, ideologies and the entertainment industry) from the signs of the times, which are the language of God through events in the world, through profound changes in society and culture.

The art of spiritual discernment is the fruit of a contemplative approach to reality, of contemplative prayer.

In the epoch of modernity, Christianity has lost its cultural-political role as a religion (religio) in the sense of integrating the whole of society (religio in the sense of religare - to bind together).

Synodal reform can prepare the Church for the role of religion in another sense, in the sense of the verb re-legere (to re-read or read anew).

The Church can be a school of "new reading", of a new hermeneutic, of a new, deeper interpretation of God's speech, of God's self-sharing.

This is one of the indispensable tasks of the Church of our time, and therefore of the synodal renewal: to be a school of a contemplative approach to reality.

The Church as the ongoing event of the resurrection

A contemplative approach to reality allows us to perceive the constant presence of God: to perceive our relationship with the natural environment as our relationship of cooperation and responsibility for the "creatio continua" (ongoing process of creation).

To understand the missionary task of the Church as a participation in the "incarnatio continua", in the inculturation of the Gospel into the ways of thinking and living of people (or as a responsibility for the "ex-culturation" of Christianity).

To consider the pains of the Church, of individuals and nations, as a "passio contitua", as participation in the cry of the Crucified and in the difficult silence of the Holy Saturday.

The Church participates in the drama of Easter not only through the liturgical celebration but also through the events of its history.

The Church also participates in Christ's cross, suffering and death through the death and extinction of its many forms - institutionally, doctrinally and spiritually, and through the individual and collective "dark nights of faith."

The mystery of the cross cannot be cheaply emptied; without death there is no resurrection.

Just as Christ's resurrection was not a mere resuscitation, a return to a past form, but a startling transformation, so it is with every awakening of the Church to new life. The Church is "ever renewing" (semper reformanda), but this "semper" (continually) has its own dynamics.

The history of the Church is not a one-way "progress" but an open drama.

The ongoing event of the Resurrection (ressurectio continua) happens in the stories of conversion, and not only in the lives of individuals. The present synodal renewal called for by Pope Francis is also a kairos, a time of opportunity - an opportunity for transformation, for renewal, for another of the many great conversions of the Church.

Synodal renewal and its obstacles

Synodal reform must be more than a mere continuation of the line of the Second Vatican Council. It is to open up space for the mission of the Church in a postmodern age of radical plurality.

Pope Francis identifies synodal reform as a program for the entire third millennium. Synodality is to be the permanent form of the Church throughout its future history - to its final eschatological consummation. It is a journey through history into the arms of God.

To regard any particular state of society and of the Church, of theological or scientific knowledge, as final, perfect and unchangeable is to succumb to the temptation of triumphalism.

Triumphalism consists in mistaking the present imperfect state of the Church in history (ecclesia militans) for its eschatological form, the perfect Church of the saints in heaven (ecclesia triumphans).

The heresy of triumphalism is often accompanied by paternalism, clericalism, fundamentalism and traditionalism.

Paternalism forgets that the teaching Church must always also be a learning Church; that in the Church there is one Father and one Teacher, Christ - and we are all brothers and disciples.

Clericalism is a manifestation of "worldliness" - it understands authority in the church as worldly power, not ministry.

The bearers of this ministry then behave like a "ruling class" or upper caste, separated in many of their actions and lifestyles from the whole of God's people.

Fundamentalism forgets that here we see and understand "only in part, as in a mirror and in riddles" (1 Cor 13:12).

The fundamentalist does not understand the images presented to us by Scripture and Tradition as icons for meditation, as means of adoration of the Mystery, but takes them as idols, idols that need no further interpretation.

Fundamentalism is guilty of idolatry, of objectifying and flattening the mystery of faith, of binding it into the shape of a closed ideological system.

Traditionalism is a denial of the meaning of tradition as a living, creative transmission of faith.

It is a heresy in the original sense of the word, an arbitrary selection - it takes a certain historically conditioned form of the Church or its doctrine out of context and absolutizes it.

Faithfulness to the content of the faith is a commitment to courageously, creatively, and responsibly revive and transform the forms of its expression so as to enable the content to be communicated in an intelligible and credible way.

Both the abundance of responsible theological reflection and the variety of practical examples of living the faith reveals the inexhaustible richness of the "treasure of faith" and the inexhaustible variety of its authentic interpretations.

The synodal development of the Church will show, in the words of Pope Francis, many new ways of being Christian, new - now unexpected - ways of being the Church in the world.

All attempts to shackle the freedom of the Spirit of God, to reduce the richness of his self-expression and to enclose it in a rigid, closed ideological system run the risk of the gravest sin: the sin against the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual accompaniment

The synodal reform of the Church is a long run; unrealistic expectations of major institutional changes immediately after the two synodal sessions in Rome must be tempered.

Nevertheless, the Instrumentum Laboris provides important suggestions that are already ripe for implementation.

In addition to the already established ministry of acolytes and catechists, the establishment of other ministries that do not require ordination is proposed.

One of these is certainly the ministry of spiritual accompaniment, which includes all the main elements of synodality - listening, openness to the action of the Holy Spirit, spiritual discernment and a common search for the right choice.

This ministry cannot be substituted by the sacrament of penance or by psychotherapy (although we may find some similarities or even partial overlaps).

It is a way of discovering God's presence in people's lives, even in the lives of "non-religious people" - to whom this ministry can also be offered.

It presupposes both the personal charisma, experience and appropriate personal qualities of the accompanying persons, as well as their competence in several theological disciplines and in the social sciences.

In addition to parishes, it will be necessary to establish centres of spirituality, spiritual exercises, spiritual accompaniment and pastoral counselling.

It is also in these centres that synodal groups should continue to meet on a permanent basis, sharing their experiences in an atmosphere of prayer and contemplation and seeking solutions to problems in their personal lives and in the Church.

Accompaniment as a political task of the Church

However, the ministry of spiritual accompaniment is not only about accompanying individuals.

The Church also has a "political", therapeutic and prophetic mission in the world.

The relationship between the Church and the world has been changing throughout history, and theology must constantly reflect this.

The synodal reform of the Church presupposes a reform of theological thinking: a shift from static thinking in terms of unchanging natures to an emphasis on the dynamics of relationships, on the need for their constant renewal and deepening.

At the centre of the Christian understanding of God is the Trinity - God as relationship, God's being as life in a relationship.

God created human beings in his image: the "human nature" is therefore a life in relationships, being with and for others, sharing in a common way (syn hodos).

The shift from thinking in terms of static, unchanging natures to an emphasis on the quality of relationships involves a renewal of both the understanding of the Church (ecclesiology) and of Christian ethics, including sexual and political ethics. In doing so, the findings of the natural and social sciences cannot be ignored.

The Church is to be a community of pilgrims (communio viatorum) in order to contribute to the transformation of the world, of the whole human family, into a community of journey, to help deepen the dynamics of sharing.

The Church is a sacrament, a symbol and an instrument of the unity of all humanity.

This unity is also to be synodal, not totalitarian.

This unity is also an eschatological goal - it cannot be fully realized during history, but it is necessary to work for its realization, to remove boundaries.

The process of globalization is necessarily incomplete.

It is in crisis mainly because technological, economic and informational interconnection has not been able to (and could not itself) create a consciousness of belonging and co-responsibility on a global scale.

No political regime, no ideology, no religion or theocratic state can offer an external framework for the co-existence of a multitude of such different cultures and civilisations, all clamouring for their own free development.

The political role of Christianity is not to offer or even impose Christianity in the form of an ideology or a theocratic state (the Russian Orthodox Church is a warning example), but through its synodal reform to inspire the quest for a new quality of relationship between people, cultures, religions and states.

The vision of the Second Vatican Council was dialogue - dialogue between the Church and the world, between churches, religions, cultures, peoples and civilizations.

But today, dialogue as a relationship between separate entities is no longer enough.

The Church and the world can no longer be seen as separate entities; the world is the internal structure of human existence, and the Church is always already thrown into the world before it is able to reflect on its relationship to the world. Civilizations and religions, states and nations can no longer be seen as separate entities.

We are interconnected - and we need to understand, develop and cultivate the way of this interconnection.

It is a challenge to and for all (per tutti) and all must be invited.

The synodal renewal of the Church is not meant to be a replication of the democratic system in the sense of majority rule, nor a replication of the type and state of democracy as we see it in today's political arena.

Rather, the principle of synodality could inspire a renewal of political democracy, a nurturing of what today's democracy lacks and why it is so vulnerable to populism and the attraction of authoritarian systems.

The Church must bring more than dialogue into the world today - namely, inspiration by the life of the Trinity.

Synodality, as a common journey, moves towards a deeper mutuality - that which the theology of the Trinity calls perichoresis, a mutual interpenetration that does not mean the destruction but the fulfillment of the identity of each of the participants in the process. By cultivating relationships with one another, by overcoming mental boundaries, we contribute - whether we are aware of it or not - to deepening our relationship to a common ground: to God, who is all in all.

• Mons. Tomáš Halík presented this text as a theological and spiritual introduction to the working meeting of the European delegates of the second session of the World Synod on Synodality in Rome. The working meeting took place in August 2024 at the Catholic University of Linz, Austria, with the participation of representatives of the General Secretariat of the Synod, CCEE (Council of European Bishops' Conferences) and COMECE (Council of Bishops' Conferences of the EU countries), bishops, theologians, representatives of religious orders and lay initiatives and movements.
• Mons. Tomáš Halík was entrusted (similarly to the European Continental Synod in Prague and the World Synod of Pastors in Rome) with the introduction and spiritual accompaniment of these synodal meetings.
• First published online in Catholic Outlook. Republished with permission.

The image made me sad, because it seemed to reflect what is going on in the Catholic Church and in other American Christian churches.

Many people are no longer coming to church or identifying as Christian, especially young people, and more especially women, who have long been the backbone of the church.

Politics, anticlericalism

In the 19th century in Europe, the Catholic Church lost men because of the church's opposition to liberal reforms: free press, free speech, freedom of religion, labor unions and democracy.

The Church's involvement in politics fed the flames of anticlericalism and drove men out of the Church.

Anyone familiar with this history should not be surprised that both the Catholic Church and evangelical Christian churches are losing members because of their Churches' political stances.

Sadly, I predicted this at the end of the 20th century in an article that appeared in the Jesuit magazine America in June of 1997, "2001 and Beyond: Preparing the Church for the Next Millennium."

Women are angry at the Church's opposition to abortion, in vitro fertilisation and birth control.

For decades, Catholic and evangelical leaders have made abortion the issue that trumped all others, which meant allying with Republicans, who otherwise voted against programs that would help women raise their children.

Women are also angry at not being treated as equals, not only in their being excluded from ministry, but in frequent encounters with male ministers who reeked of a patriarchal culture.

Women have advanced in education, politics, business and professions but are still treated as second-class citizens in the Church.

Add to this the sexual abuse of children and women by Catholic priests and evangelical ministers, and you have a perfect storm that pushed women to abandon their churches.

This is a disaster for the Churches because women have always done the heavy lifting in passing on the faith to the next generation as mothers and religious educators.

If women in the Catholic Church become anticlerical, don't expect their sons to become priests.

Fewer priests and religious

But for Catholics, the crisis is not only about women; it is also about the declining numbers of priests and religious.

In 1965, there were almost 60,000 priests and 178,740 religious sisters in the United States. In 2023 there were 34,092 priests and 35,680 sisters. Even many of these are elderly.

All over the country, seminaries and religious houses are closing or are half empty.

For priesthood, celibacy is obviously the problem. Protestant churches have comparatively little problem finding clergy. If you screen out women, gays and married people, you severely deplete the pool of candidates.

Maybe this is the only way to end clericalism in the Catholic Church: by eliminating the clergy. Maybe God knows what she is doing.

For a while, conservatives blamed the decline of Christianity on liberal reforms in the mainline Protestant churches. But the recent decline of the Southern Baptists has put this theory in the trash bin.

Nor did the conservative era in the Catholic Church under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI stanch the bleeding:

Those trained and ordained in seminaries filled with conservative faculties promoted under John Paul and Benedict show retention rates no better than those produced by earlier, more progressive faculties.

And little wonder. The conservative bishops appointed by these popes suppressed any creative thinking not in line with orthodoxy as they interpreted it.

Though they kept some of the external reforms of the Second Vatican Council, such as the vernacular liturgy, they extinguished the spirit of collegiality and free discussion released by the council.

Reviving the spirit

Pope Francis is trying to revive that spirit by allowing free discussion in the church and by encouraging synodality, reopening a window that was created by Pope John XXIII but closed by John Paul II.

I fear that, despite Francis' efforts, it may be too late. The damage has been done.

Francis has warned bishops and priests away from clericalism and invited them to synodality, but there is great resistance.

It will take decades to recruit new bishops who will appoint new seminary faculty who will educate a new generation of priests. Remember, John Paul and Benedict had almost 30 years to reform the reform. Francis has only had 11.

Hope

There is always hope.

In last Friday's reading from Ezekiel, the Israelite priest and prophet of the biblical book bearing his name, walked through a field filled with dry bones. He is told to prophesy, "Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord!"

The Lord God then says to these bones: "See! I will bring spirit into you, that you may come to life.

"I will put sinews upon you, make flesh grow over you, cover you with skin, and put spirit in you so that you may come to life and know that I am the Lord."

The Lord GOD continues: "From the four winds come, O spirit, and breathe into these slain that they may come to life." Ezekiel reports that "the spirit came into them; they came alive and stood upright, a vast army."

This prophecy was given to Israel because the whole house of Israel had been saying, "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off."

With a compassionate and loving God, hope is never dead. He breathed the Spirit into the church's dry bones at Vatican II.

He will do so again.

• First published by RNS
• The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS.

For the most part it's more sensible than previous stages of the synod. It clears the way to discuss how the church might be synodal in a more grown-up way.

Some people are peeved that it hasn't called for sweeping changes in church doctrine and discipline. They can't think why their opinions aren't driving the agenda.

Their synod experience has been similar for me, but not in the way you'd expect. Let me tell you my "consultation" story.

My story

In March 2024, a notice appeared in my Sunday parish bulletin, saying that my group of five local parishes had prepared a draft response to feed into the next stage of the synod. We were given three working days to comment on the draft.

Being a very regular mass-goer in this parish, I was surprised to learn that "we" had drafted anything. "We" must have been at it since October 2023, and it was now March 2024.

For some reason, "we" now had barely three working days to respond to a submission that none of us had seen.

I can never resist a challenge, so I emailed the man in charge, who I will call "Bernie." I got myself a copy for comment.

The draft contained factual errors and plenty of boilerplate: calls for married clergy, women deacons, changes to teaching to welcome non-heterosexual people and so on.

It was interesting to see how confidently the authors wrote about the needs and desires of Catholic youth, when I suspected they hadn't spoken to anyone at Mass aged under 40 for a long time.

There were no names on the draft, so I asked Bernie who wrote it. It turned out that Bernie and two other Boomer-age professional Catholic men, who I will call "Terry" and "Sean," had written it.

I then asked Bernie how they wrote it, who else from the five parishes had been invited to contribute to it and why. He sent me a list of dates of purported meetings, but no minutes.

The draft submission certainly didn't represent my views, nor the views of quite a few parishioners I know — none of whom had been included in this process.

Eventually Bernie told me that I should make my own submission to the relevant diocesan office, which I did on Monday 25 March, before the final deadline.

I also understood that I may as well have been pointing a radio telescope at a random part of the night sky and hoping to pick up a friendly wave from an alien civilisation.

I am still waiting for that office to acknowledge that they've received what I sent them. Actually, that's not true. I'm not waiting at all, because I know it will never happen.

Being ignored

Many parishes and dioceses have useful people like Bernie who enjoy this sort of work. They have found the synodal process very appealing.

These useful people are usually retired ex-professionals, well off and well educated. They love taking part in processes like this to produce the outcomes they think are best for the church.

This usually follows a predictable pattern: calls to change traditional teachings on sex and marriage, and trying to laicise the clergy and clericalise the laity.

The non-elect are lucky to get three working days in which to "comment" on decisions already made.

So when I read that some Boomers were displeased by the new instrumentum laboris because they felt their views hadn't been included, I'm sure you, and they, can forgive me for laughing out loud.

How does it feel to have the things that really matter to you—the things you wrote in a submission—completely ignored in a final document?

So while we're all checking our privilege for next time, please say some prayers for the synod. If common sense can prevail, it may do some good.

Remember that the synod has bigger and more important things to handle than affluent daydreams from a very small corner of the universal Church.

• First published in The Catholic Weekly
• Dr Philippa Martyr is a Perth-based historian, university lecturer and academic researcher who currently works in mental health services.

"The Holy People of God has been set in motion for mission thanks to the synodal experience," declared Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich S.J., General Rapporteur of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

Invited to exchange ideas using the method of spiritual conversations, clergy and laity have learned to listen to and freely share their vision of the Church.

This is undoubtedly the most significant outcome: the experience of living synodality.

These exchanges have highlighted the diversity of ways the same Christian faith is lived from one continent to another.

The Church has discovered itself to be plural in a unity that must be experienced differently.

How should we envision the Church's role in unity?

What authority should the Pope exercise and how? This question cannot be considered apart from the relationship between the Churches.

"Synodality and ecumenism are, in fact, two paths that proceed together, united by a common goal: that of communion, which means a more effective witness by Christians "so that the world may believe," the Pope said.

The blessing of homosexual couples

While the synodal method has proven fruitful, some unfortunate breaches have somewhat tarnished its credibility: such is the case with the promulgation of Fiducia Supplicans, a text that authorised the blessing of homosexual couples wishing to live together.

The issue had emerged from the initial consultations and was to be debated at the second synodal session. Rome preempted this discussion, which was regrettable.

Even more surprising was Pope Francis' "no" to the diaconate of women during an American TV interview May 21.

This public stance, outside the synodal reflection process, was very poorly received! On the highly sensitive issue, what is the Pope's real position? His hesitations are perceptible.

'De-masculinising' the Church

Since 2017, the Pope has striven to include more women in the Church's missionary fabric and continually repeated various calls to "demasculinise the Church."

He initiated two successive commissions to work on women's diaconate, which unfortunately did not succeed due to disagreements among members.

Four times since the end of the first synod session, the Pope has taken the initiative to bring women into the C9, his private council of cardinals.

He entrusted the organisation of these meetings to Linda Pocher, Salesian sister and theologian, professor of Christology and Mariology at the Auxilium in Rome.

At her request, a first meeting focused on an aspect of the theology of Hans Urs von Balthasar: the Marian principle and the Petrine principle, which he used to exclude the ordination of women.

The three theologians present demonstrated the inadequacy of this aspect of von Balthasar's theology regarding the potential ordination of women.

What did the Pope take from this?

He prefaced the book Women and Ministries in the Synodal Church that recounted this meeting, stating:

"These reflections (...) aim to open rather than close; to provoke thought, invite seeking, and help in prayer (...) the final outcome is in God's hands."

At risk of schism?

Archbishop Jean-Paul Vesco of Algiers reflected: "The first reason is the Pope's responsibility as the ultimate guardian of the Church's unity.

It is his role to assess the Church's "elasticity" in its vast geographic, historical, cultural, and ideological diversity.

The awareness of diverse approaches to Christian life in a globalised Church has created tensions, and the role of women, in particular, is perceived very differently depending on the country.

Can the Church as a whole calmly accept a modification of its ecclesial status? Hence the este momento, no va (not now) from Pope Francis."

Indeed, the risk of schism cannot be excluded, but isn't immobility already generating one?

Besides the mass departure of women from the ecclesial fabric, we cannot ignore the presbyteral ordinations of women by Catholic bishops, disobeying the Pope in several regions of the world.

This revolt must be taken seriously.

The question then arises: how to live this "equality" between men and women that is at the heart of the Gospel message and which the Church's mission needs today?

We need "a deep reflection on the sacrament of orders.

Is everything about it intangible, fixed for eternity?" Archbishop Vesco suggested.

Christ was not a priest; he left the Church to organise the spiritual service of God's people without giving a rule other than love.

The hierarchical triad of deacon, priest, and bishop has structured the Church's organisation for two millennia, but it is merely a framework that can and must evolve.

Habits of the old Church

Jesuit theologian Christoph Theobald, who teaches theology in Paris, explained this, clearly emphasising how much the hCurch needs a synodal theology and ecclesiology .

As the early Church spontaneously lived, it is from the spiritual needs of God's people and the various charisms given by the Spirit to the baptised that ecclesial responsibilities, entrusted ministries, and necessary authority ensuring the unity of the Eucharistic Body of Christ must be adjusted.

In conclusion, the current synod is a process; the people of God are on the move.

They need to convert to listening to the differences among their brothers and sisters. They need theological reflection rooted in the heart of the Christian message.

They need pastoral imagination to invent ways to reach God's people in the diversity of their needs. Everything is connected!

But we are only beginning to recognise this civilisational change that is shaking the old Church's habits.

As the Pope invites us, we must be pilgrims of hope, confident that the Holy Spirit guides the Church, provided we are receptive to God, with open hearts and minds to God's light, with humble patience, Adsumus!

• First published in La Croix
• Christiane Joly, is a member of the Apostolic Community of Saint Francis Xavier, author of the French work Sent Together! The Role of Women in the Church's Mission, for a Synodal Reflection

Those engaging with the survey were asked: "Do you believe that synodality as a path of conversion and reform can enhance the mission and participation of all the baptised?"

The users were asked to provide a "Yes" or "No" response.

News reports say during the 24- hour poll, 88 percent of responders said "No" and only 12 percent "Yes". When that count was made, 6,938 people had voted on the X platform and fewer than 800 on Facebook.

It is unclear who participated in the social media poll and precisely what motivated the strongly negative response.

The Vatican Synod office hasn't commented on the potentially embarrassing poll response.

The Synod on Synodality

Synodality is at the heart of the consultation process which Pope Francis launched in 2021 to help establish the Church's future.

It is currently preparing for the Synod on Synodality's final session this October.

The controversial synod involving consultation throughout the world is a legacy-defining event for Pope Francis, many say.

What's the problem?

From the beginning, the Synod on Synodality was a difficult sell for many faithful. CruxNews reports that the concept of "synodality" was abstract and difficult to define.

"Synodality is generally understood to refer to a collaborative and consultative style of management in which all members, clerical and lay, participate in making decisions about the Church's life and mission."

Organisers insist the synod aims to make the Church a more open and welcoming place, driven less by a clerical power-structure and more on collaborative leadership.

Could timing be an issue?

Despite CruxNow reporting that social media online polls generally last for 24 hours, some media are suspicious - one critic says the poll closed ten minutes early.

Whether that's the case is not clear. CruxNow states that results were still coming in seven minutes before the poll closed.

In an ironic public post on X, one Catholic television and streaming site asked "In the name of true Synodality, why delete the tweet?

"This goes against everything Pope Francis has been trying to do on this synodal journey.

"If 7,001 people voted and the result was the other way round, this tweet would not have been deleted. Have some credibility and stand by your convictions - you either want to hear people's opinions or you don't."

Siphoning controversial concerns

The global consultation has stirred controversy. Discussions about married priests, women's ordination and welcoming LGBTQ+ individuals have become conversational flashpoints.

While these topics were included in the official working document for last October's Synod and were said to be "among the most emotional and contested points of discussion", the summary document barely mentions them.

They are almost absent from the working document for this year's synod.

The reason for this is that the Pope has set up working groups in the Roman Curia dedicated to studying these and other topics, CruxNow says.

This will free-up synod participants so they can focus on implementing synodality rather than getting bogged down or sidetracked on single issues.

Source

• CruxNow
• katholisch.de

The agenda

The working document, or Instrumentum Laboris as it is officially known, sets the agenda for the next iteration of the synod.

The first convening occurred last October after a worldwide consultation with listening sessions aimed at surfacing concerns people have about the Catholic Church.

Much of the working document presents a theological justification for synodality. Whether it will convince people who oppose the process remains to be seen.

The working paper insists that "Synodality is not simply a goal, but a journey of all the faithful."

The goal is for the whole people of God to become an agent of the proclamation of the Gospel.

"Through his Church, guided by his Spirit, the Lord wants to rekindle hope in the hearts of humanity, restore joy and save all, especially those whose faces are stained with tears and who cry out to Him in anguish."

Synodal process

The synodal process began with a listening phase, which was followed last October by discernment in prayer and dialogue to discover what steps the Spirit is asking us to take.

This was followed by further consultations to discover "How to be a synodal church in mission."

The objective of the consultation was "to identify the paths we can follow and the tools we might adopt in our different contexts and circumstances in order to enhance the unique contribution of each baptised person and of each Church in the one mission of proclaiming the Risen Lord and his Gospel to the world today."

Time for a cup of coffee. Just kidding.

The vision

The vision of a synodal church presented in the Instrumentum Laboris is beautiful, but it is terribly abstract.

We need to experience synodality to truly understand it, just as we need to experience love to understand it.

A philosophical dissertation on love does not cut it. Talking about synodality does not cut it; we need to experience it.

Those who have experienced synodality speak highly of it, especially "conversations in the Spirit," where small groups (around 10 people) listen and share their experiences, views and hopes for the church.

In preparation for the second session of the synod, the focus was on "how can the identity of the synodal People of God in mission take concrete form in the relationships, paths and places where the everyday life of the Church takes place?"

Under the direction of Pope Francis, all the hot-button issues surfaced at the first session of the synod have been sent to committees for further study. He wants the second session to focus on "How to be a synodal church in mission."

As a result, the Instrumentum Laboris presents the theological foundations of the vision of a missionary synodal church promoted by Pope Francis.

"In Christ, light of all the nations, we are one People of God, called to be a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity," explains the working document.

"We do this by walking together in history, living the communion that is a partaking in the life of the Trinity, and promoting the participation of all in view of our common mission."

Synodality involves a style of being church that includes "listening to the Word of God, listening to the Holy Spirit, listening to one another, listening to the living tradition of the Church and its Magisterium."

Such a vision requires rethinking how we present the Gospel in today's context. Old theological arguments are unintelligible to contemporary people.

A synodal church also calls for a renewal of liturgical and sacramental life "starting with liturgical celebrations that are beautiful, dignified, accessible, fully participative, well-inculturated and capable of nourishing the impulse towards mission."

This would include "the use of language that is more inclusive and to a range of images from Scripture and Tradition in preaching, teaching, catechesis and the drafting of official Church documents."

Different perspectives

The foundational section is followed by "three closely interwoven sections, which illuminate the missionary synodal life of the Church from different perspectives":

• from the perspective of the Relationships — with the Lord, between brothers and sisters and between Churches — which sustain the vitality of the Church in ways more profound than the merely structural;
• from the perspective of the pathways that support the dynamism of our ecclesial relationships;
• from the perspective of the places that are the tangible contexts for our embodied relationships, marked by their variety, plurality and interconnection, and rooted in the foundation of the profession of faith, resisting human temptations to abstract universalism."

Time for another cup of coffee.

Relationships vs structures

What the working document is trying to say is that the Church is more about relationships than structures, which are only there to support relationships.

What is desired is a "Church less focused on bureaucracy and more capable of nurturing relationships with the Lord, between men and women, in the family, in the community, and between social groups."

The synod has been asked to encourage the full participation of women, young people and the marginalised in parishes, dioceses and other ecclesial realities, including positions of responsibility.

Although the synod will not consider the possibility of married priests or women deacons and priests, it is open to greater involvement of laity in church ministries.

These could include "the ministry of co-ordinating a small Church community, the ministry of leading moments of prayer (at funerals or otherwise), the extraordinary ministry of communion, or other services not necessarily liturgical."

The working paper notes that in the Latin Church, laypeople can be delegated to do baptisms and weddings. Church rules could also be changed to allow laypeople to preach at Mass.

In other words, lay men and women could be allowed to do everything that deacons can do without worrying about ordination.

The working document encourages formalising the ministry of catechists, which has been so successful in Africa, where there are few deacons. It also proposes a new "ministry of listening and accompaniment."

These ministries would not include ordination, but they could be officially recognised and empowered by the Church.

Quoting Vatican II, the working paper says, the task of pastors is "to acknowledge their (the faithful's) ministries and their charisms, so that all may cooperate unanimously, each in her or his own way, in the common task."

The synodal way

Such a vision of the church moves "from a pyramidal way of exercising authority to a synodal way."

This "path will entail a new way of thinking about and organising pastoral action, which takes into account the participation of all baptised men and women in the mission of the Church, aiming, in particular, to bring out, recognise and animate the different baptismal charisms and ministries."

These positive relationships and ministries require "a deeper formation in the knowledge of how the Spirit acts in the Church and guides it through history," including "formation in listening" and discernment.

The purpose of this formation is to form "men and women capable of assuming the mission of the Church in co-responsibility and cooperation with the power of the Spirit (Acts 1:8)."

The working document calls for "the participation of women in formation programmes alongside seminarians, priests, religious, and lay people."

While emphasising the role of consultation and discernment, the Instrumentum Laboris also affirms "ultimately the responsibility of the competent authority" for decisions.

"The authority remains free from a juridical point of view since the consultative opinion is not binding." However, "if a general agreement emerges, the authority will not depart from it without a convincing reason."

The working document sees the exercise of authority as "a moderating force in the common search for what the Spirit requires, as a ministry at the service of the unity of the People of God."

But this also requires transparency, accountability and even a process for evaluating the use of authority in the church. The working paper acknowledges that "the lack of transparency and accountability fuels clericalism."

All of this happens in unique communities rooted in a place and a culture.

"The variety of liturgical, theological, spiritual, and disciplinary traditions demonstrate how much this plurality enriches the Church and makes it beautiful." The church must avoid the temptation of "an abstract and homogenising universalism."

Today, place cannot not be understood in purely geographical and spatial terms. "Rather, it points to our belonging to a web of relations and a culture that is more dynamic and mobile than in the past."

The working document concludes by noting the existence of parish, deanery and diocesan councils as well as episcopal conferences, which act as instruments for the consultation, planning and decision-making as envisaged by existing canon law.

With the appropriate adaptations, they could prove to be even more suitable for giving a synodal approach a concrete form.

"These Councils can become subjects of ecclesial discernment and synodal decision-making and places for the practice of accountability and the evaluation of those in positions of authority."

Episcopal conferences could also be given more authority, even "doctrinal authority," to respond to sociocultural diversity of the Church with "liturgical, disciplinary, theological, and spiritual expressions appropriate to different socio-cultural contexts."

In short, the October synod is being asked to reflect on "how to be a synodal Church in mission; how to engage in deep listening and dialogue; how to be co-responsible in the light of the dynamism of our personal and communal baptismal vocation; how to transform structures and processes so that all may participate and share the charisms that the Spirit pours out on each for the common good; how to exercise power and authority as service."

The challenge will be to answer these questions by pointing to paths and tools that are helpful in fostering relationships and discernment in churches in different places, while avoiding abstractions that will put people to sleep."

• First published in RNS
• The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS.

Instead, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops put its time, effort and money into a national programme called the Eucharistic Revival.

Eucharistic Revival

It was not impossible to do both programmes, but as any pastor will tell you, doing two major programmes at once in a parish is very difficult. It is hard enough to do just one program while keeping all the other parish activities rolling along.

With a little bit of effort, the two programmes could have complemented each other instead of being in conflict.

After all, synodality makes for a better Eucharist, and the Eucharist creates and nourishes synodality.

Both are about communion, participation and mission.

"In its broadest sense," according to the synthesis report from the October 2023 meeting of the synod, "synodality can be understood as Christians walking in communion with Christ toward the Kingdom along with the whole of humanity."

"Its orientation is towards mission," says the report, "and its practice involves gathering in assembly at each level of ecclesial life.

It involves reciprocal listening, dialogue, community discernment, and creation of consensus as an expression that renders Christ present in the Holy Spirit, each taking decisions in accordance with their responsibilities."

Revival is different from synodality

A central part of the parish and diocesan phase of the synodal process is "conversation in the Spirit".

In this, participants in groups of ten listen to each other about issues facing the Church. The process builds communion and encourages participation in the mission of Jesus.

It is easy to see how this process could translate into participation in the Eucharist, the sacrament of Communion that empowers the Christian community to participate in the mission of Jesus of spreading the good news of the Father's love and our responsibility to love all our brothers and sisters.

But the Eucharistic Revival has a completely different focus. It is more about Benediction, where the consecrated bread is worshipped, than the Eucharist, where the community is fed.

The impetus for the Eucharistic Revival came from the bishops' fear that the faithful no longer believe in the real presence in the Eucharist.

In fact, many Catholics do not even understand what the Church teaches about it.

Research findings

According to the Pew Research Center, "More than four-in-ten Catholics in the United States (45 percent) do not know that their Church teaches that the bread and wine used in Communion do not merely symbolise but actually become the body and blood of Christ."

Pew found that Catholics believed that the bread and wine were only symbols of Christ's presence.

"Nearly seven-in-ten Catholics (69 percent) say they personally believe that during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine used in Communion ‘are symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ,'" according to Pew.

"Just one-third of U.S. Catholics (31 percent) say they believe that ‘during Catholic Mass, the bread and wine actually become the body and blood of Jesus.'"

Others, including the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, have challenged Pew's research.

But Pew's findings caused a panic among the bishops that resulted in them budgeting $28 million for the Eucharistic Revival, although the budget was later reduced to $14 million.

From its inception, the Eucharistic Revival was about the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist and the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Christ.

The revival included Eucharistic processions and Benediction in parishes and dioceses and culminates with a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis from July 17-21, where thousands from all over the country are expected to attend.

But, I repeat, the revival is more about Benediction than the Eucharist.

Benediction is not Eucharist

Benediction is all about worshipping Jesus.

The Eucharist is about worshipping the Father and transforming the community into the Body of Christ. Christ is not made present on the altar table so that we can worship him. He is present so that we can eat him and become what we eat.

The revival focuses on individual rather than community.

It focuses on me and Jesus rather than the communion of Christians. It focuses on what happens to bread and wine rather than what happens to the community. It focuses on personal experience rather than mission.

Let me make clear.

There is nothing wrong with Benediction, but it is not the Eucharist. Jesus did not institute the Eucharist at the Last Supper so that we could worship him. His focus was always on the Father, not himself.

If we listen to the Eucharistic prayer as recited by the priest for the community, we give praise and thanks to the Father for all he has done for us, especially for sending Jesus with the good news of the Father's love and compassion for us.

We pray not to Jesus but "through him, with him and in him in the unity of the Holy Spirit" to the Father.

We remember Jesus' life, death and resurrection.

During the Eucharistic prayer we ask for the Spirit to transform us into the body of Christ so that we can continue his mission of bringing justice, peace and love to the world.

Synodality is about communion, participation and mission; so, too, is the Eucharist. Too bad the Eucharistic Revival is not.

• First published in RNS
• The Rev. Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest, is a Senior Analyst at RNS.

Bishops, priests, and laypeople will vote on new consultation and decision-making processes in the Catholic Church.

The working paper, Instrumentum Laboris, is the crucial guideline for this process and is expected to be available soon.

The Synod Secretariat announced at the end of June that the working paper should be available from the beginning of July.

It will serve as the basis for the reform debates needed across the Universal Church, and the decisions made then will serve as a foundation for the Pope's decisions that follow.

Once the Working Document is available, it will have undergone several consultation stages with bishops' conferences across the globe.

Hopefully, the bishop's consultation reflects their local consultations with parishioners and clergy.

From June 4 to 16, twenty theologians from four continents gathered in Rome to compile the Working Document, based on feedback from more than 100 bishops' conferences, so it is clear that not every bishop's conference has taken the opportunity to participate.

In addition, the consultation material was sent to around seventy people worldwide who represent the diversity of the positions.

This group included priests, religious, laypeople, and theologians.

The last part of the preparation is reviewing the current draft document by the Council of Cardinals. After the Synod Council reviews the Cardinal's feedback, the final draft version of the document will be submitted to the Pope for approval.

Consultation and feedback

Consultation with parishioners, religious and a wide range of church groups was crucial in the first round of the synodal process.

Various methods were used, and specific vital sometimes challenging ideas emerged internationally, such as

• Gay rights and participation in the Church,
• priestly celibacy and lifestyles, and
• the admission of women to the ordained priesthood.

In many countries, these issues were backgrounded by the clergy abuse scandal and the episcopal avoidance of responsibility over many decades.

The lack of clergy feedback prompted this year's meeting with parish priests from April 28 28 to May 2 near Rome.

This meeting's focus was parish life, with particular attention on mission, participation and discernment as aspects of parish life and renewal.

The feedback from the English-speaking participants (Parish Priests for the Synod - Group 7 Report, April 30 2024) reported the participants "renewed understanding that the Synodal Church is the community of all believers open to transformation and change, which happens through the reciprocal accompaniment and confident acceptance of the journey we are already walking with the Risen Christ and each other."

Where this is true, the practice of synodality, as the shared participation and collaborative voice of all the baptised in the life of the Church, will go a long way toward fulfilling Vatican II's liturgical precept of Active Participation, which was affirmed in the Novus Ordo but missing in the performance of the 1962 Rite.

The parish priests wrote of their "excitement" in participating "in Christ's saving mission present and fulfilled in a renewed culture/mindset, attentive and inclusive of all people, their diverse gifts, needs, cultural backgrounds and life situations."

Here is an apparent reference to the purpose of the synodal process and an antidote to a harking back to a past ideological or idealised age that is counterproductive to the spread of the Gospel today.

Synodal consultation

The synodal process's use of consultation as a critical platform for ecclesial change is only sometimes well-defined.

Synodal consultation has four characteristics:

• dialogue
• discernment
• decision-making, and
• communication, which are elements in the more extensive process of ecclesial change.

In his work, 'I and Thou,' Martin Buber describes dialogue as the prerequisite of an authentic relationship between people, humanity, and God.

Buber characterises "true dialogue" as open, honest and mutual. Vatican II also emphasised dialogue with the world, other Christians and political authorities.

In the English translations, the Latin words colloquium, meaning discussion and dialogus, meaning dialogue these terms became fused.

Physicist David Bohm wrote of dialogue as a conversation between people that explores their assumptions on meaning, values, society and communication.

In this process, the participants do not debate but seek to listen and consider what they hear.

An authentic dialogue starts with a question and the intention of discovering the answer.

Dialogue is inclusive and, at times, time-consuming.

Finding the answer to the question in dialogue also means that the answer is not a single given but a response to various influences.

Dialogical answers are not set in stone but will be further discussed as situations and needs change.

Discernment, as in the Ignatian concept, is a process of contemplation, meditation and prayer, individually and in groups, to consider if the one calling to change is the Holy Spirit.

Discernment is judging between right and wrong, truth and error.

It involves making careful distinctions, not only in significant matters but also in seemingly insignificant areas. It concerns paying attention to the small things, inner peace or disquiet, and external realities as positive or negative influences.

Discernment enables an individual or a group to evaluate information, test it against God's Word, and make wise choices that honour God and, in doing so, guide us in the journey of holiness.

The first phase of the synodal process firmly focused on discernment, which surprised many participants.

Still, in preparing for October's Working Document, there has been very little communal discernment at the parish and diocesan levels.

Synodal decision-making is about power-sharing, but unfortunately, these are not always free from power games!

Consultative decision-making models in the Church tend to drift between being

• a consultative conversation with the laity and priests, where the bishop listens to the opinions of others and then makes his decision, and
• a consultative decision-making process, where the bishop and others jointly discern, decide and share the responsibility for the decision's outcomes.

The tension is between a pastoral view of the world and a clericalist one.

Parishioners and clergy get caught in the middle of this process, as the common-sense world says the clergy are not skilled to make all parish decisions, and the clericalist view says that clergy are ordained to make decisions.

In New Zealand, this is further confused by the discrepancy between the parliamentary establishment of the dioceses, where all the goods and wealth of a diocese and its parishes are invested in the person of the bishop and the Church's Canon Law that separates the rights, ownership and decision-making between a bishop, a parish priest, a diocese and a parish.

Consequently, decision-making through power-sharing is complex in highly clericalised, hierarchical institutions such as the Latin Rite and Catholic Church, where so much of the historical lived Tradition.

The dogmatic formulations support a particular worldview where decision-making is a function of the ordained clergy.

It is not easy when partners are not seen as equal, and in this context, shared decision-making based on shared power almost always fails.

Consultation is a form of communication.

Communication is about sharing information and providing opportunities to include voices.

It is more than just giving information about events; it is about engagement.

Communication is the first job of any management group in the Church; indeed, the sacraments themselves are forms of communication that we revere, but they are, as the Second Vatican Council teaches authoritatively, not the only form of communication.

Synodal communication processes seek to communicate and engage the baptised through dialogue, discernment and decision-making in difficult conversations about how we live our Christianity in our current, unique contexts.

Communication opens up conversations on complex issues but does not resolve them or shut down irritating conversations.

Communication is about giving people a voice and allowing different opinions to be heard, except those opinions framed in hate language or ideological rhetoric.

According to Cardinal Grech, Secretary General of the Synod, the purpose of the synodal process is "not about solving individual problems" in each country or every instance.

Instead, it is about achieving synodality as a form of being Church.

The object of the exercise is to move away from being a clericalist or clericalising church to a church that talks and decides together.

Thus, a Synodal Church doesn't want to be a clericalist church.

As a result, its management functions (parish, diocese, bishops' conference) also want to be consultative at their core.

This means reshaping decision-making, management, communication, and pastoral dialogue processes to reflect this change.

Where this is possible (where it is wanted), it will provide what Cardinal Grech describes as "a dynamic of pastoral conversion."

Consultation frees us from the bind of "knowledge is power", and that power belongs to some and not others because they have the power to know and decide.

• Dr Joe Grayland is a Liturgical Theologian and is currently a visiting professor at the University of Tübingen (Germany). He has been a priest of the Diocese of Palmerston North for nearly thirty years. His latest book is: Catholics. Prayer, Belief and Diversity in a Secular Context (Te Hepara Pai, 2021).

They say the hot-off-the-press document will be released sometime today, New Zealand time.

The document

Entitled "The Bishop of Rome - Primacy and Synodality in Ecumenical Discussions and Responses to the Encyclical Ut unum sint", the new document from the Pope's ecumenical office continues from a Pope John Paul II 1995 encyclical.

The Vatican says the magisterial text was groundbreaking for Christian unity at the time.

The Vatican press office explained that the document held out the prospect of a new self-image and a different way of exercising the papacy, particularly with regard to the churches of the East.

When the John Paul document was being explored, he had invited other Christian churches to seek ways in which the papal office could be understood as a "service of mercy" to all churches in a "fraternal, patient dialogue" with Rome.

The Vatican's ecumenical department subsequently set up its own dialogue forums with several churches. They deliberated for decades and the results of those deliberations are now available.

Pope Francis supported the project from the outset when he defined himself first and foremost as the Bishop of Rome.

He also decreed the revival of the historic title"Patriarch of the West" which had been cancelled by his predecessor Benedict XVI.

Renewed form of the papal office?

The Vatican press office also points to the Pope's aim to give the Catholic world Church a "synodal" constitution.

His interpretation of synodality means the Pope alone would no longer makes decisions from above.

Bishops, theologians and lay people would be involved in consultations on fundamental Church issues.

This would make the Catholic Church more similar in its structure and functioning to the churches of the East. These have always had a synodal organisation, along with communities that emerged from the Reformation.

The Vatican describes the new document on the papacy as a "study document" which the Pope has approved.

Its purpose is to bring together the responses to "Ut unum sint" and the ecumenical dialogue on primacy and synodality.

It will make a proposal for a renewed form of papal office that can also be recognised by the other churches.

Some in the Vatican believe the proposal could see the Pope have regular and equal-footing meetings with other patriarchs and church leaders.

Source

• katholisch.de

The International Meeting "Parish Priests for the Synod", and the dialogue with all of you who have taken part, provide me with the opportunity to pray for the parish priests the world over.

To all of you, I address these words with great affection.

It is so obvious as to sound almost banal, but that does not make it less true: the Church could not go on without your dedication and your pastoral service.

So before all else, I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the generous work that you do each day, sowing seeds of the Gospel in every kind of soil (cf.Mk4:1-25).

Parish priests and synodality

As you have experienced in these days of sharing, the parishes in which you carry out your ministry vary widely.

These range from those on the outskirts of great cities - as I know personally from Buenos Aires - to those in sparsely populated areas that are the size of vast provinces.

They range from those in town centres in many European countries, where ancient basilicas house dwindling and aging communities, to other quite different environments.

There, celebrations are held beneath the branches of great trees and the songs of birds mix with the voices of small children.

Parish priests are well aware of this, since they know from within the life of God's People their joys and hardships, their resources and their needs.

For this reason, a synodal Church needs its parish priests.

Without priests, we will never be able to learn how to walk together and to set out on the path of synodality, "the path which God expects of the Church of the third millennium".[1]

Synodal and missionary

We will never become a synodal and missionary Church unless parish communities are distinguished by the sharing of all the baptized in the one mission of proclaiming the Gospel.

If parishes are not synodal and missionary, neither will the Church be.

The Synthesis Report of the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is very clear in this regard.

Parishes, beginning with their structures and the organisation of parish life, are called to think of themselves:

"primarily as being of service to the mission that the faithful carry out in society, in family life and the workplace, without concentrating exclusively on their own activities and their organizational needs" (8.1).

Parish communities increasingly need to become places from which the baptized set out as missionary disciples and to which they return, full of joy, in order to share the wonders worked by the Lord through their witness (cf.Lk10:17).

Accompanying communities

As pastors, we are called to accompany in this process the communities that we serve.

At the same time, we are called to commit ourselves with prayer, discernment and apostolic zeal in ensuring that our ministry is suited to the needs of a synodal and missionary Church.

This challenge is set before the Pope, the bishops and the Roman Curia, and it is also set before you, as parish priests.

The Lord who has called us and consecrated us asks us today to listen to the voice of his Spirit and to advance in the direction that he points out to us.

Of one thing we can be sure: he will never leave us without his grace.

Along the way, we will discover how to set our ministry free from the things that wear us down and rediscover its most authentic core, the proclamation of God's word and the gathering of the community for the breaking of bread.

I encourage you, then, to accept this, the Lord's call to be, as parish priests, builders of a synodal and missionary Church and to devote yourselves enthusiastically to achieving this goal.

To this end, I would like to offer three suggestions that can help to inspire your lifestyle and activity as pastors.

Suggestions

1. I ask you first to live out your specific ministerial charism in ever greater service to the varied gifts that the Spirit sows in the People of God.

It is urgent to "discover with faith, the many and varied charismatic gifts of the laity, be they of a humble or more exalted form" (Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Ministry and Life of Priests Presbyterorum Ordinis, 9), which are indispensable for evangelizing any number of human situations and contexts.

I am convinced that in this way you will bring to light many hidden treasures and feel less alone in the demanding task of evangelization.

You will experience the joy of being true fathers, who do not dominate others but rather bring out in them, men and women alike, great and precious possibilities.

2. With all my heart, I suggest that you learn to practise the art of communal discernment, employing for this purpose the method of "conversation in the Spirit", which has proved so helpful in the synodal journey and in the proceedings of the synodal Assembly itself.

I am certain that you will reap from it many good fruits, not only in structures of communion such as parish councils, but in many other fields as well.

As the Synthesis Report makes clear, discernment is a key element in the pastoral activity of a synodal Church:

"It is important that the practice of discernment be exercised also in pastoral settings, in a way adapted to differing contexts, in order to illumine the concreteness of ecclesial life.

"This will help to recognise better the charisms present within the community, to distribute wisely different responsibilities and ministries, and to plan in the light of the Spirit pastoral projects that go beyond the mere programming of activities" (2.1).

3. Finally, I would like to urge you to base everything you do in a spirit of sharing and fraternity among yourselves and with your bishops..

This is something that emerged forcefully from the International Conference for the Permanent Formation of Priests, on the theme, "Fan into Flame the Gift of God that You Possess" (2 Tim1:6).

The conference took place last February here in Rome, with over 800 bishops, priests, lay and consecrated men and women, engaged in this area and representing some 18 countries.

We cannot be authentic fathers unless we are first sons and brothers.

And we cannot foster communion and participation in the communities entrusted to our care unless, before all else, we live out those realities among ourselves.

I am quite aware that, amid the constant call of our pastoral responsibilities, this commitment may seem burdensome, even a waste of time, but the opposite is true.

Indeed, only in this way will we be credible and our activity not end up scattering what others have already gathered.

Missionaries of synodality

It is not only the synodal and missionary Church that needs parish priests, but also the ongoing process of the 2021-2024 Synod "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission".

We are currently looking forward to the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in the coming month of October.

In order to prepare for it, we need to hear your voice.

For this reason, I invite those who have taken part in the International Meeting "Parish Priests for the Synod" to be missionaries of synodality, among yourselves and, once you return home, with your fellow parish priests.

I ask you to encourage reflection, with a synodal and missionary mindset, on the renewal of the ministry of parish priests.

I also ask you to enable the General Secretariat of the Synod to gather your distinctive contributions in view of the preparation of the Instrumentum Laboris.

The purpose of the present International Meeting was to listen to parish priests, but that cannot finish today: we need to continue to hear from you.

Entrust ourselves to Our Lady

Dear brothers, I am at your side in this process, in which I myself am taking part.

I bless all of you from the heart, and in turn, I need to feel your closeness and the support of your prayers.

Let us entrust ourselves to the Blessed Virgin MaryHodegetria, Our Lady of the Way.

She shows us the way; she leads us to Jesus, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

FRANCIS

Saint John Lateran,
Rome

2 May 2024

__________________________________

[1]Address for the Commemoration of the Fifteth Anniversary of the Establishment of the Synod of Bishops, 17 October 2015.

[00737-EN.01] [Original text: Italian]

Source

• Vatican Press

He wants more synodality in the universal church. He wants clericalism replaced with pastoral care and equality, a katholisch.de article says.

That has led the Pope to rethink his ways too.

Francis has decided not to admonish or exhort priests any more. Those aren't synodal ways.

Pope demonstrates synodality

To enact the synodal reforms Francis himself has set in motion, he is modelling a new way of relating to priests.

It involves participation instead of exhortation, katholische.de says.

The news outlet reports that, since November, Francis has had regular meetings with the priests of his own diocese.

Last Friday, he spoke for two hours with about 100 priests in a basilica in central Rome.

The participants were "very satisfied" a priest later told the Vatican News portal.

Pope's pastoral tips

During last Friday's meeting, Francis gave the priests "useful advice" for pastoral care.

The priests say his attitude was "fatherly" and the atmosphere "cordial". They discussed city centre parishes' potential rather than problems.

"The mood of this meeting immediately turned into gratitude and prayer for the Pope" one priest says, adding that it was a great moment of community.

It was "a journey that we have travelled side by side. That gives us new impetus for our service not only to the Catholics of the historic centre, but to the whole world that we encounter here every day in the faces of tourists and pilgrims".

Vatican demonstrates synodality

The quest for synodality is also influencing the way the Vatican listens to the world's 400,000 priests.

To set the ball rolling, the synod secretariat recently invited over 200 priests from across the world to attend a Rome-based conference.

The conference aimed to discuss everyday pastoral life and to gather new ideas about synodality. The discussions would then be incorporated into the working paper for the Synod on Synodality in October.

The "Pastors for the Synod" initiative follows indications from last October's first Synod on Synodality, the secretariat says.

Parish priests were not represented at that synod and their voices were needed "more clearly and more loudly".

Global improvement

The priests said they were satisfied with the gathering, which included a meeting with the Pope.

Many said they felt privileged, encouraged in their parish life and that their outlook about being Catholic had been broadened.

Unity is the centrepiece of the synod, one commented. "We can't move forward if we are divided."

The greatest challenge will be to win the faithful over to the synodality project despite their initial reservations, another noted.

"This is what it means to be missionaries of synodality: sharing projects to build better communities" one priest said.

Another added that "a new way of being pastors that frees us from clericalisation" is necessary.

Source

• katholisch.de

In his prepared text, Pope Francis told group members that theology is "a significant and necessary ecclesial ministry".

This is because "it is part of our Catholic faith to explain the reason for our hope to all those who ask".

Hope is Jesus Christ

Pope Francis noted three reasons why theology is important today.

First, "It is part of our Catholic faith to explain the reason for our hope to all who ask".

The Pope noted that this hope is not an emotion but the very Person of Jesus Christ.

Then, the "epochal changes" faced by an increasingly pluralistic society must be "critically assessed" to foster human fraternity and care for creation.

Third, there is the rapid progress of science and technology.

The pope used artificial intelligence (AI) as an example.

He wrote AI raises questions about "what it means to be human, what is worthy of our nature as human beings, what aspect of our humanity is irreducible because it is divine, that is, made in the image and likeness of God in Christ.

"Here, theology must be able to serve as a companion to the sciences and other critical disciplines, offering its specific sapiential contribution to ensuring that different cultures do not clash but become, in dialogue, symphonic" he wrote.

Cross-disciplinary approach

Francis further stressed the importance of a cross-disciplinary approach.

He highlighted the reciprocal relationship between theology and other fields of knowledge, where Christian wisdom enriches and informs scientific inquiry.

The pope emphasised the collaborative nature of theological inquiry and called for collegiality and synodality.

He recognised the shared responsibility of theologians and scholars in navigating the complexities of the contemporary world.

Pope Francis concluded that a 'theology of love' must be marked by charity.

"Because 'whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love'" as the First Letter of John says.

Sources

UCA News

Vatican News

America Magazine

CathNews NZ

The gathering, which included an audience with Pope Francis, focused on fostering open dialogue and empowering individuals to take responsibility for their parishes and communities.

In five sessions, 20 internationally composed working groups collected answers to the question of what synodality meant for the Church in general and at parish and diocese level. The results were recorded and presented to the entire group. However, the group did not formulate a final, common document.

For many Catholics, synodality remains an abstract concept. It's often explained as ‘journeying together', after two Greek words (syn meaning ‘with' and hodos meaning ‘journey'). The word ‘synod' derives from this.

Speaking to Vatican News, Fr Stefan Ulz from the Austrian Diocese of Graz-Seckau expanded on this definition.

Synodality, he says, means recognising that "the Holy Spirit speaks through everybody, not only through the Pope, bishops and priests."

Synodality misrepresented by media

During the meeting, Reverend Clinton Ressler from Texas highlighted the misrepresentation of synodality by some media outlets.

He said the media often portray the synod not as open dialogue which the pope intended but as an effort to change church doctrine.

"When it's presented that way, I think it's often disturbing, scary, unsettling" Ressler told Vatican journalists.

"I think that's an unfair representation of what the synod actually is.

"It's a much more practical, I'd say grassroots level way to teach people how to do communitarian discernment and take responsibility for their parish and community."

Following the meeting, participating priests expressed a renewed commitment to promoting synodality in their communities.

They acknowledged the challenges, including feelings of burnout and isolation. However they emphasised the importance of unity and communal discernment in addressing these issues.

Additionally, the meeting addressed controversial topics such as the involvement of atheists in church bodies and differing perspectives on homosexuality.

Participants reflected on the need for inclusivity and open dialogue within the Church. This echoes Pope Francis' message of welcome to all individuals, regardless of background or belief.

The Synod on Synodality began in October 2021, calling for Catholic communities worldwide to ask themselves what most concerned them.

It's the largest consultation of Catholic faithful in history, involving bishops, cardinals and ordinary faithful from the diocesan level to "continental assemblies" that have refined the questions for the synod meetings in Rome.

New Zealand's Fr Craig Butler attended the meeting.

Sources

Religion News

Katholisch

National Catholic Reporter

Vatican News