Final Document from the
XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS
“For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission”
CA posted the link to the Final Document the day it was released, November 12, 2024. This was in the hope that people would read it for themselves, before they listen to any other opinion.
My bet is that the average reader gave up after scanning a few paragraphs. (I almost did!)
My plan was to read the whole document and then provide readers a summary for each of the 5 sections. The document is so vague and tortuous that I am unlikely to write the remaining four articles.
For a theologically untrained person, this document makes for horrible reading. There is little logical progression; every paragraph has a basket of ill-defined concepts and it meanders through the hodgepodge of ideas…with the evident presumption that we know what they mean! There is a scattering of Biblical events thrown in as if they support this concept of “Synodality.” For example, right at start of Part 1 [Para 1] there is reference to the discovery of the Resurrection, Easter morning:
Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved (Jn 20: 1-2).
The explanation provided is that: “Their dependence on one another embodies the heart of synodality.”
What? How??
Yes, the Saints were together — but where was the interraction of “mutual listening, dialogue, and communal discernment” which makes it Synodal? (Evidently, I am missing something fundamental.)
The DOCUMENT
The document is pushing 28,000 words, forming 155 main paragraphs in 52 pages of text. In addition to the Introduction & Conclusion, it has 5 main divisions:
Part I - The Heart of Synodality
Part II - On the Boat, Together
Part III - “Cast the Net”
Part IV - An Abundant Catch
Part V - “So I Send You”
Article on the Introduction & Part I:
This article attempts to tackle the Introduction & Part I. Part 1 of the document has 7 sub-divisions:
Called by the Holy Spirit to Conversion
The Church as the People of God, Sacrament of Unity
The Sacramental Roots of the People of God
Meaning and Dimensions of Synodality
Unity as Harmony
Synodal Spirituality
Synodality as Prophetic in Today’s World
The DEFINITION of SYNODALITY
As someone who likes to start from basics, I searched for the definition of “Synodality” in the hope of discerning the answers to the two main questions for the laity:
WHAT is Synodality?
and,
HOW do we do Synodality?
After 4 years of world-wide debate, I expected a beautifully-crafted, lucid definition.
The first I found is paragraph 28 appended below: 8-pages into the document! [Para 28 is in sub-division 4#: “The Meaning and Dimensions of Synodality.”]
“28. The terms ‘synodality’ and ‘synodal’ derive from the ancient and constant ecclesial practice of meeting in synods. According to the traditions of the Eastern and Western Churches, the word ‘synod’ refers to institutions and events that assumed different forms over time, involving a plurality of agents and participants. This variety notwithstanding, what unites them is gathering together to dialogue, discern and decide. Owing to the experience of recent years, the meaning of these terms has come to be better understood, and what they represent is more vibrantly lived. They have become ever more deeply associated with the desire for a Church that is closer to people and more relational – a Church that is God’s home and family. During the synodal journey, we have witnessed a fruitful convergence regarding the meaning of synodality that forms the basis of this Document. Synodality is the walking together of Christians with Christ and towards God’s Kingdom, in union with all humanity. Orientated towards mission, synodality involves gathering at all levels of the Church for mutual listening, dialogue, and communal discernment. It also involves reaching consensus as an expression of Christ rendering Himself present, He who is alive in the Spirit. Furthermore, it consists in reaching decisions according to differentiated co-responsibilities. Along these lines, we can understand better what it means to say that synodality is a constitutive dimension of the Church (ITC 1). In simple and concise terms, synodality is a path of spiritual renewal and structural reform that enables the Church to be more participatory and missionary so that it can walk with every man and woman, radiating the light of Christ.”
Four years of work for this?
The section on Synodal Spirituality states that “Synodality is primarily a spiritual disposition.”
It goes on to explain that “A synodal spirituality flows from the action of the Holy Spirit and requires listening to the Word of God, contemplation, silence and conversion of heart.” Also: “A spirituality of synodality also requires asceticism, humility, patience and a willingness to forgive and be forgiven. It welcomes with gratitude and humility the variety of gifts and tasks distributed by the Holy Spirit for the service of the one Lord (cf 1 Cor 12: 4-5). It does so without ambition, envy or desire for domination or control, cultivating the same attitude as Christ who “emptied himself, taking the form of a slave” (Phil. 2:7).” This seems to be a description of the ideal Catholic — which all of us should be trying to achieve in our spiritual journey.
In the section on The Meaning and Dimensions of Synodality there is a description of “three distinct aspects of the life of the Church” which are abbreviated below.
a) “the particular style that qualifies the life and mission of the Church, expressing her nature as the People of God journeying together and gathering in assembly, summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel…”
b) “(i)n a more specific sense, which is determined from a theological and canonical point of view, synodality denotes those structures and ecclesial processes in which the synodal nature of the Church is expressed at an institutional level, but analogously on various levels: local, regional and universal…
c) “the programme of those synodal events in which the Church is called together by the competent authority in accordance with the specific procedures laid down by ecclesiastical discipline, involving the whole People of God in various ways on local, regional and universal levels, presided over by the Bishops in collegial communion with the Bishop of Rome, to discern the way forward and other particular questions, and to take particular decisions and directions with the aim of fulfilling its evangelising mission” (ITC 70.c).
Vague, but this seems to imply that there should be collaboration with the laity at parish, diocesan and universal Church levels, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit “to discern the way forward.”
Nice idea, if problematic.
So much for the definition of Synodality: the answer as to ‘how we do Synodality’ must be contained in the remainder of the document.
THE INTRODUCTION
When I read the Introduction I got a strong sense of being emotionally blackmailed into accepting the thesis of the document. For example, we are again told that we now have a slew of ‘group-sins.’ (CA readers may recall that these were confessed on our behalf during the Synodal Penitential Service.)
In addition, we must embrace the modern themes of Climate Change and Social Injustice…or else we are not “in harmony.”
The ‘group sin’ includes:
“…against peace, against Creation, against indigenous peoples, migrants, children, women, and those who are poor, in our failure to listen and to seek communion.”
The modern themes start with the charged topic of “terrorised children” and moves to climate change and “social injustice” (mirroring the WOKE Social Justice movement in post-modern society?)
“Instead, it opens our eyes to the suffering of those around us, and we are pierced: the faces of war-stricken terrorised children, weeping mothers, the shattered dreams of so many young people, refugees who face terrible journeys, the victims of climate change and social injustice.”
The thrust of the Introduction means it is easy to discount dissenters as being closed to the Holy Spirit through pride; lack of charity; impatience; an unforgiving nature; ambition; ignorance or a desire for domination. (Mea Culpa?)
Summary
The Synodal document is written in a way which easily allows for misinterpretation. The benefit is that the Magisterium can then pick and choose whatever meaning they see fit!
A word which sticks out for me is “co-responsibilities” — it pops up in the document, is ill-defined but seems to have great significance in relation to Synodal decisions.
The phrase “Reaching consensus as an expression of Christ” and moving to be a Church which is “more participatory and missionary” seems problematic in light of the power structure within the Church.
The Church is not a Democracy. The Laity have NO power, except for the option to withdraw. Parish Priests control their Parish; the Bishop controls the Diocese and the Holy Father rules over the whole Catholic Church. Clearly, if we do not come to the ‘right’ conclusion, all Synodal input is for nought: the German Synodal Way found this out the hard way!
As I laboured through the document, I wondered if it will be used as a sneaky way to introduce more difficult liberal changes such as the ordination of women as deacons and an increased acceptance of LGB lifestyle under the flag of “Social Justice.”
Call for Authors
The more I read the Document, the more I recognise that I should not have embarked on this review. I do not have the expertise — nor the fortitude! — to properly review such a document.
This is a call to possible authors — perhaps with Theological training — who are able to explain it in simple terms to CA readers. If you are interested in writing about the Final Document for Catholic Arena, please DM me on 𝕏 or email the Editor. (Contact information below.)
Thanks.
Kevin Hay
Please use @kevinhay77 to DM Kevin on 𝕏 / Twitter, or [editor@catholicarena.com] for email.