Tomorrow the delegates at the Synod on Synodality vote on the final document which is the distillation of 4 years of hard work throughout the world.
They hear their finalized recommendations read out in the morning and then get to vote paragraph by paragraph in the afternoon. It will require a 2/3 In Favour vote for a paragraph to be approved.
The input and commitment has been enormous. The Synod started at parish and diocesan levels. That input went to the 2023 Synod on Synodality in Rome which also was nearly a month-long meeting. The Holy Father ordered detailed study on several subjects during the intervening year and those findings were presented to the 2024 meeting.
Typically a Synod is comprised of bishops, but in both Rome meetings the Holy Father changed the structure. This year there are 368 participants which included 96 ‘non-Bishops’ with full voting rights! Forty-five of the 96 are lay and religious women (which I misremembered as ~60 in the video clip below: sorry!)
There are also 16 “fraternal delegates”: representatives from other Christian Churches.
The 2024 Synod started with a 2-day retreat which ended with the novel Penitential Service. (There is a link to a full video in a previous CA article about the penitential service.) The participants started work in the early morning and continued into the evening…every day except for 3 days off! Not exactly a Roman holiday!
The initial structure was of 36 small tables with (apparently) people of diverse backgrounds speaking the one language. There were a few open sessions for reporters and other visitors, but mostly the discussions were in camera.
The delegates finalized their recommendations on the 22# and took amendments till noon on the 23#. I am not sure how amendments were accepted or rejected: in most organizations there would be a vote on each amendment. The final document was compiled Thursday and Friday.
Those section which are approved tomorrow will be incorporated into a final document to be presented to the Holy Father at a later date.
Click on image to link to video on X
The final document is likely to be quite dry as the likely contentious issues have been removed from discussion! (More on that later!) The Holy Father will take the Synod-approved finalized recommendations “under advisement.” He is at liberty to accept—or reject—any and everything!
The penultimate event of the Synod is a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for delegates, Sunday morning. Italians are very moderate with their alcohol intake, but perhaps there will be a few celebratory non-Italian headaches that morning!
Please all say a prayer tonight or tomorrow that the delegates make good decisions which will lead to the rejuvenation of the Church!
Kevin Hay
You can follow Kevin on 𝕏 / Twitter @ kevinhay77