Synod

 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.