by Bishop James Conley
On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Pope Francis convened the Synod on Synodality in Rome. This gathering of bishops, priests, religious and lay faithful from all over the world is the first of two upcoming global assemblies at the Vatican. The one that began this past week will conclude Oct. 28. The second phase of this initiative will take place next year, during the month of October 2024.
The word “Synod” comes from the Greek syn which means “together” and hodos, which means “traveling” or “journeying.” While synods or councils enjoy a long history in the Catholic Church, dating back to the early centuries, it has only been since the Second Vatican Council that the frequent gathering together in the Vatican of bishops and other Church leaders, to take up various topics in the life of the Church, has been a regular part of as the Catholic Church’s universal ministry. For example, the Synod of Hippo in North Africa in 393, led to the affirmation of the canon of Sacred Scripture. The Synod of Whitby in Great Britain in 664 determined the date for the celebration of Easter, in line with the Roman date, as opposed to the Celtic custom.
For centuries, synod gatherings have taken place at the diocesan level, as well as at the national level. Here in the Diocese of Lincoln, the last diocesan synod that took place was in 1996 and before that, there were diocesan synods in 1959, 1934 and 1917.
At the end of the Second Vatican Council in September 1965, Pope St. Paul VI issued a decree to establish a permanent Vatican office called the Synod of Bishops that would oversee and conduct periodic global synods, to continue the experience of the Second Vatican Council, and to help the Catholic Church confront the hopes and challenges of the modern world, as well as to foster a closer collaboration between the pope and the bishops of the whole world.
Pope Paul VI established three types of synods: ordinary (for matters concerning the good of the universal church), extraordinary (for matters of pressing concern) and special (focused primarily on the concerns of a region or continent). Over the past nearly 60 years there have been 15 ordinary synods, three extraordinary synods, and 11 special synods (most recently the Pan-Amazonian synod in 2019).
The Synod on Synodality which began this week is the 16th ordinary synod and will take up the topic of synodality itself. This is unique among all the previous synods since Vatican II in that this synod will strive to come to a deeper understanding of the concept of the word synod itself, of “journeying together.”
In a speech he gave Oct. 17, 2015, marking the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vatican office of the Synod of Bishops, Pope Francis spoke about the priority he is giving to the understanding of “synodality” when he said, “From the beginning of my ministry as Bishop of Rome, I sought to enhance the synod, which is the one of the most precious legacies of the Second Vatican Council.”
The Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021, is a multi-year, worldwide undertaking, during which Catholics were asked to submit feedback to their local dioceses on the question, “What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our ‘journey together?’”
Over these past two years, the faithful were invited to contribute their thoughts on what their primary concerns and experiences are within the Church. These responses were then collated by the various national episcopal conferences, which culminated in what the organizers of the synod call the “continental phase” of the synodal way. These collated responses were then forwarded to the Vatican and are to be the foundation for all of the discussions going forward.
I spoke about the local diocesan phase of this process here in the Diocese of Lincoln, in the Southern Nebraska Register Jan. 14, 2022, “Diocese of Lincoln launches local phase of two-year synod.”
For the first time since the synodal process was established in 1965 at the end of the Second Vatican Council, the synod that began this week will include voting delegates who are not bishops. Nearly a third of the 364 voting delegates were chosen directly by Pope Francis, which includes laypersons, priests, consecrated women and deacons.
Each national episcopal conference was invited to elect bishop-delegates to represent their national body. Last November, the US Bishops elected Archbishop Timothy Broglio, Archbishop of the Military Archdiocese and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops; Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York; Bishop Robert Barron, Bishop of Winona-Rochester Minn.; Bishop Kevin Rhoades, Bishop of Fort Wane-South Bend, Ind.; and Bishop Daniel Flores, Bishop of Brownsville, Texas, to be our elected representatives at the synod in Rome. I know these prelates well and I have the upmost respect for these five archbishops and bishops. They are not wallflowers. They will listen carefully to the deliberations and they will speak up when necessary.
There has been a lot speculation in the media about what might be discussed at the synod. We know that there are three overarching questions for the upcoming synod assembly as defined by the 2023 synod assembly’s guiding document called the Instrumentum Labores (working document). These questions are:
> How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?
> How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?
> What processes, structures and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?
It is well known that Pope Francis wants to hear all voices. We can presume that there will be discussion of a number of controversial topics. I would recommend that we receive our information about what is happening during the synod process, both for this October’s session and for the October 2024 session, from trusted and reliable sources, like the Southern Nebraska Register. Because of the instantaneous nature of social media and the lack of accuracy and reliability of personal blogs, social media commentators and digital pundits, misperception and misunderstanding is a real concern, and I would caution that we stay away from these news sources as much as possible.
The Lord promised that he would guide his Church until the end of time and that the gates of hell would not prevail against her. The Lord keeps his promises and we can trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit speaking through the Successor of St. Peter.
At the end of this whole two-year process, when the final report of the synod is finally submitted to the Holy Father, he will then prepare his own Apostolic Exhortation based on the findings of the Synod on Synodality. It is this document, and this document alone, that will constitute the Church’s authentic magisterium. At the very earliest this document will be published in the spring of 2025, and most likely, much later.
Let us pray for the success of the Synod on Synodality and let us trust in the guidance, protection and security of the Holy Spirit.
