Synod 2021 - 2024

We stand before You,
Holy Spirit,
as we gather together
in Your name.
With You alone to guide us,
make Yourself at home
in our hearts;
Teach us the way we must go
and how we are to pursue it.
We are weak and sinful;
do not let us promote disorder. Do not let ignorance
lead us down the wrong path
nor partiality
influence our actions.
Let us find in You our unity
so that we may journey
together to eternal life
and not stray
from the way of truth
and what is right.
All this we ask of You,
who are at work
in every place and time,
in the communion
of the Father and the Son,
forever and ever. Amen.

Stay up-to-date on the synod at

synodresources.org

synod.va

The 16^th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is scheduled to convene in Rome on October 4-29, 2023. The Instrumentum Laboris (working document or agenda) for the Assembly can be found HERE. The Instrumentum Laboris was drafted on the basis of all the material gathered during the listening phase beginning in 2021, and in particular the final documents of the Continental Assemblies (the North American document can be found HERE. This is not the final magisterial statement; rather, it outlines an initial understanding of the synodal dimension of the Church on the basis of which further discernment can (and almost certainly will) be made. The theological vision undergirding the document is a Church founded upon the common dignity of Baptism, which humbly listens, encounters, and dialogues; lives in a diversity of contexts, seeking to manage tensions without being crushed by them; aware of its incompleteness and seeking to discern the way forward in the Holy Spirit.

Three priority issues have surfaced, each of which is treated in five separate worksheets:

• A communion that radiates: How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?
  • Service of charity, commitment to justice, care for our common home;
  • Welcoming the divorced and remarried; LGBTQ+ people; those affected by tribal, racial, ethnic, class, or caste-based discrimination; persons with disabilities; the poor; survivors of abuse;
  • Deeper ecclesial communion between local Churches, especially between East and West;
  • Greater attention to the sense of the faith as a gift of Baptism, calling forth both ecumenical cooperation and interior reform;
  • Dialogue with local cultures and other religions;
• Co-responsibility in Mission: How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?
  • Renewal of the liturgical life of local Churches; closeness to the poor; unconditional service; digital evangelization;
  • Mission and ministry of all the baptized, not merely of the ordained or consecrated religious, which is reflected in local Churches;
  • Greater recognition and promotion of the baptismal dignity of women;
  • Renewal of ordained ministry in proper relationship to baptismal ministries in a missionary perspective;
  • Renewal of the ministry of Bishops in a missionary synodal perspective;
• Participation, governance, and authority: What processes, structures, and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?
  • Fostering attitudes of service and not of power or control; increased transparency; a capacity for and competence of vision, discernment, inclusion, collaboration; and delegation; the ability and willingness to listen, all of which requires special formation;
  • Decision-making processes based upon discernment and listening to the People of God;
  • Concrete structural reforms at all levels to promote the above;
  • Renewing the structures of the grouping of local Churches;
  • Strengthening the Synod as an expression of episcopal collegiality.

During February and March, assemblies of bishops, priests and laity met in seven continental regions. The addressed three questions from paragraph 106 of Enlarge the Space of Your Tents, the working document from the first, global stage of Synod 2021-2024 on Communion|Mission|Participation (see link below). The questions are:

• After having read and prayed with Enlarge the Space of Your Tents, which intuitions resonate most strongly with the lived experiences and realities of the Church in your continent? Which experiences are new, or illuminating to you?

• What substantial tensions or divergences emerge as particularly important in your continent’s perspective?What are the questions or issues that should be addressed and considered in the next steps of the process?

• Looking at what emerges from the previous two questions, what are the priorities, recurring themes and calls to action that can be shared with other local Churches around the world and discussed during the First Session of the Synodal Assembly in October 2023?

The final documents from each continent are available online.

Continental Assemblies - Final Documents

The next phase of the synodal process is drafting a preparatory document for the 1st Session of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October, 2023.

The Working Document for the Continental Phase:

Enlarge the Space of Your Tent - Isaiah 54.2

Reflectionson the spirituality emerging from the process:  

Towards a Spirituality of Synodality