The Synthesis Report concluding the first General Assembly of Synod 2021-2024 was given a resounding ‘thumbs up’ by those participating. It took almost three and a half hours to read the text aloud in the Synod Hall, and another hour or so to vote on each of the document’s 273 sections one by one.
The vote in favour of each section, which was conducted by secret electronic ballot, never dropped below 80%. Almost all sections achieved as close to unanimous approval as made no difference. Those present who were sceptical about synodality found themselves in the ironic situation of using, and therefore in a sense endorsing, the synodal process to express their scepticism.
It could be argued that proposals in relation to controversial issues, such as exploring further the possibility of ordaining women as deacons and pastoral outreach to those who are gay, were modest enough, yet given the considerable ethnic, cultural and theological diversity in the synod hall, the level of consensus achieved even in regard to these issues is nonetheless extraordinary.
Several members from the Global South, for instance, viewed even the use of the term LGBTQ+ as a form of ideological colonisation.
Synodality: here to stay
All but 18 of the 344 voting members approved the following statement:
“It is clear that some people are afraid that they will be forced to change; others fear that nothing at all will change or that there will be too little courage to move at the pace of the living Tradition. Also, perplexity and opposition can sometimes conceal a fear of losing power and the privileges that derive from it. In all cultural contexts, however, the terms “synodal” and “synodality” speak of a mode of being Church that integrates communion, mission, and participation”.
Only 14 members opposed the view that, “with the necessary clarifications, synodality represents the future of the Church.” What this means is that the concept of synodality, as reinvigorated and developed by Pope Francis, is being received and accepted within the universal Church.
Key to Pope Francis’s reforms in regard to synodality is giving non-bishops, among them laity, religious, deacons and priests, a vote in general assemblies. Significantly, this initiative has won the support of the majority of bishops present.
We know this because the non-bishops with voting rights, 88 in all, constituted less than 25% of the members, and so, even if this group voted consistently in favour of every section, their votes couldn’t account for the overwhelming endorsement that Pope Francis’ synodal process received at the Assembly.
By the most conservative reckoning, at least two thirds of the bishops present have accepted Pope Francis vision of a synodal Church, probably many more. The most important ‘takeaway’ from Assembly 2023 is that synodality is here to stay.
Those holding back, therefore, in the hope that a new pontificate might embark upon a different course, need to reckon with this reality. These include a number of episcopal conferences, that sent only relatively ‘junior’ bishops to the Assembly, and whose stance could best be described as one of ‘hedging their bets’.
Most of the cardinals with a vote in the next conclave were either inside the synod hall or hovering nearby and up to 70 cardinals participated in the main liturgies; the ringing endorsement of synodality by the 2023 General Assembly will not have been lost on them.
There are a few points to bear in mind when assessing the Synthesis Report. The first is that it was necessarily written under time pressure, and so it is important not to get distracted by shortcomings in its formulation or editing.
The most important point is that the Report’s author, in a very real sense, is the Assembly itself. It pulls together some 175 group statements and several hundred individual interventions, as well as ca 1250 modifications to a version presented in draft form.
It is categorically untrue to claim, as some conspiracy theorists have, that the Report was composed before the Assembly commenced. On the contrary, many of those present were delighted to see that not only their viewpoints but in some instances also their actual words are recorded in the text. No one participating has claimed credibly that their viewpoint was not taken into consideration.
It is also important to bear in mind that this is an interim report. It is of its nature a provisional document. It summarises the deliberations of the first of two general assemblies, the second of which is scheduled to take place in October 2024.
What Synod 2021- 2024 is and is not about
The 2023 assembly did not set out to make a definitive statement on any matter but rather to open up issues that can be deliberated upon and deepened in the months ahead. In any case, the entire synodal process is consultative to the Pope.
It is to be expected that there will be an apostolic exhortation based upon Synod 2021-2024 sometime in 2025, which will form part of the papal magisterium.
It is also important to take into account what Synod 2021-2024 is not about. Its primary focus, for instance, is not the pastoral care of young people, or of those in irregular unions or same-sex relationships, despite expectations that were raised in this regard.
It is true that both of these issues featured prominently in the consultation phase nationally and regionally (for instance, in Prague). They were also discussed at the General Assembly. Given that there were some young members present, both clergy and lay, the issue of youth and digital culture, for instance, got a lot of attention.
Similarly, there was open, honest and prayerful deliberation upon the challenge of holding both truth and love together when it comes to accompanying those in extra-marital relationships. It has to be borne in mind, however, that in 2018 an entire synod was dedicated to “Young People, Faith and Vocational Discernment”.
The Synod identified practical pastoral strategies for engaging young people in the mission and life of the Church, many of them proposed by young people themselves whose voices were heard in the synod hall.
Asked at a recent gathering of clergy, however, why Synod 2021-2024 devoted so little time to young people, I responded by asking if anyone present could name the exhortation that followed the synod on youth (Christus vivit or “Christ lives”). No one could.
Similarly, the concerns that have arisen in the context of Synod 2021-2024 in regard to the accompaniment and inclusion of the divorced and remarried and those in same-sex partnerships have, for the most part, already been addressed in Amoris laetitia (The Joy of Love), the exhortation that followed the two synods on marriage and the family that took place in 2014 and 2015.
The reality is that the carefully thought-out position on these matters contained in that document, which is part of the magisterium, is not going to be advanced upon by the current synod, which has a different focus, namely, the embedding of synodality itself in the day to-day life of the Church.
Yet, to my knowledge only a dozen or so episcopal conferences worldwide, of which there are 112, have issued guidelines for the implementation of Amoris laetitia in their territories.
For the most part it has been ignored because some, perhaps many, bishops do not agree with it. Had the 2016 exhortation been embraced and acted upon I believe that at least some of the hurt of exclusion expressed as part of the consultation process for Synod 2021-2024 would have been alleviated.
The issue of the role of women, however, featured prominently at Assembly 2023 not least because it is recognised that unless the issue of the role of women in the Church is addressed satisfactorily synodality is going nowhere.
Though it may seem like a small step, the fact that 54 of those appointed to Synod 2021-2024 are women, serving as members, facilitators and experts, was widely accepted as a move in the right direction.
The challenge now, however, is to address meaningfully the role of women in the Church while accepting that ordination to priesthood is not on the agenda. If there was any doubt about this, the Vatican’s Secretary of State, Cardinal Parolin, has clarified it in his strongly worded letter to the Catholic Church in Germany on Oct 23rd.
It would seem very clear that as far as Pope Francis is concerned, ordination to the diaconate is also off the agenda because of the unity of the sacrament of orders. Reserving ordination to men has nothing to do with equality, as far as Francis is concerned; it is baptism that confers dignity and equality before Christ. Ordination has to do with function only, and as we rid the Church of clericalism, he believes, and increase co-responsibility between laity and the ordained, this will become much clearer.
Acting now
Almost definitely Synod 2021-2024 will recommend changes to Canon Law that will require local Church structures to reflect the restored reality that all the People of God, laity, religious, deacons, priests and bishops, are co-responsible for the Church’s mission and ministry.
It would be a mistake, therefore, to wait until the synod concludes before setting about discerning changes and innovations that can and should be taken now that embed this sense of co-responsibility at local Church level.
It is likely, for instance, that diocesan and parish pastoral councils, currently optional, will be made mandatory. Why not proceed on this basis now? It is also likely that local Churches will be invited to discern lay ministries that should be instituted on a stable basis in their communities, ministries that would put co-responsibility for mission and ministry into practice.
Among possible ministries mentioned at the General Assembly was that of catechist, as well as a role for married couples who would accompany those preparing for the sacrament of marriage and offer on-going support to families.
There was also mention of lay Ministers of the Word who could preach on special occasions, of young people who could serve as digital missionaries, and of a special ministry of listening and accompaniment to serve those who currently feel excluded from the Church.
Mention was also made of the fact that Pope Francis has already appointed lay people, among them many women, to senior leadership positions in the Roman Curia and that therefore this can also happen now at national and local levels as well.
Proposals along these lines can be taken forward now if even only on an ad experimentum basis and without awaiting further instructions from Rome; indeed, it could be useful to the General Assembly 2024 to hear reports not only of experimental successes but even of possible failures. Much can be learned from both.
Conversation in the spirit
Meanwhile, episcopal conferences could hold a ‘conversation in the spirit’, the methodology used at the Assembly, for themselves. Topics could include how well bishops individually and as a conference are adopting a synodal style of governance, the introduction of performance reviews for bishops, a development specifically mentioned in the Synthesis Report, how local Churches are welcoming and integrating migrants who worship according to other Catholic Rites, and so on.
The need to review seminaries and formation programmes for deacons also featured prominently at the General Assembly. There is no reason why this could not begin straight away, as well as consideration of the how formation will be provided to all those who are called to exercise leadership co-responsibly in the Church.
The key point here is that the remaining months to the second general assembly should be a time of deepening discernment and decision-taking leading to the entire local Church being placed on a missionary footing.
It is not just the Synthesis Report that offers a sense of direction in this regard but also the diocesan and national syntheses, which should not be overlooked. It is not overstating things to say we are already two synods behind when it comes to implementation.
Let’s not make it three in a row.
Eamonn Conway is a priest of the Archdiocese of Tuam and Professor of Integral Human Development at the University of Notre Dame Australia. Pope Francis has appointed him as an expert to the XVI Synod of Bishops.
