Pope Francis initiated a Synod on Synodality in 2021,
calling on the leadership to organize listening sessions for all members of the
Catholic Church and even those outside the Church. The Pope was especially concerned
with those who felt out on the margins, including immigrants, the disabled and
women. The Synod, which is to be held in October 2023, is a point in a process
that has already started and is supposed to continue from now on. The home page
of the website for the Synod presented a photo of persons on a wooded path that said “Let’s Walk Together as a Church with the Holy Spirit.” The link is
HERE. (The home page has since been re-designed for the next "Continental Stage.")
The Synod committee has provided, through a Boston College
website HERE, videos by various speakers about how to conduct a Synodal Church,
including common discernment, decision making, conflict resolution and other
subjects (it was given as a course in summer of 2022, but the videos are still
there as of this writing).
There are many subjects and thoughts that can flow from this
whole synodality movement. Though unable to
attend a “listening session” myself, I have been interested to read some
comments by those who did.
The USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops)
recently released a document which is a compilation of the input from all the
US Dioceses. It is called: National Synthesis of the People of God in the
United States of America for the Diocesan Phase of the 2021-2023 Synod: For a
Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission. The 16-page document
can be found at the USCCB website HERE. The links to PDF files in English and
Spanish are given at this connecting webpage. The introduction to the document is signed by the
Most Reverend Daniel Flores, STD (Doctor of Sacred Theology).
The introduction to the paper states that hundreds of
thousands of persons have given input through this process. Though many
participants were skeptical at first, they were surprised to find much in
common when they listened to each other. An important aspect of synodality is
for people with various opinions to be able to approach our problems reasonably
and “without intense debate or fear.”
As I understand it, the paper encompassed about 67 million
US Roman Catholics (Eastern Orthodox Catholics reported directly to Rome). An
estimated 700,000 persons participated, so about one per cent of Roman
Catholics took part in this diocesan phase of the synodal process. Though the
percentage seems small for the synodal method, the actual number of people
involved is still impressive, and I think many who did not attend would say
similar things to what were expressed.
The paper reports that participants gave glowing reviews of
the Church as well as criticisms. Catholics love their God, the Church and
fellow Catholics. Many persons said they desire more communion among Catholics
and more personal interaction with priests.
On the other hand, criticism was evident as well. One was
lack of transparency from the leadership of the Church, an obvious example
being the way the sexual abuse scandal was dealt with. The entire laity, not
only those directly affected, have been hurt by the breakdown of trust that has
come from the whole situation.
Though the idea of the Synod at the laity level is for these
Catholics to be able to express feelings freely without harsh criticism, there
are critics of the “synodal” concept who have made negative comments through
the media, if not by other means. Of course, if one disagrees with the
nay-sayers, it is inevitable to be critical right back.
Christians are called to love each other, which includes
patience for differences. I believe that over time this synodal process has
potential, through the Holy Spirit, to lead us to better understanding of each
other. One person expressed that in this process they felt “heard” (by Church
officials) for the very first time. Even more importantly, I think it can lead
to better discernment of God’s plan for the collective Church in certain
things, such as evangelization by laity in the face of waning faith in the West.
It may be optimistic, but I hope all Catholics will give Church Synodality a chance and then
not give up on it too soon.
Update: I just discovered there will be an additional session in 2024 with an open plan to continue even further into the future.
