Does the Synod want to change doctrine?Keys and risks of a Synod that aims to involve the whole ChurchThe first session of the Synod Assembly concludes. "A joy that could be touched".The Catholic Church continues to work on the Synodal Path. As a latest development, the Vatican made public on March 14 several documents about the Synod. Among them is a letter sent by Pope Francis to Cardinal Mario Grech, Secretary General of the General Secretariat of the Synod. In the letter, dated the end of February, the Pontiff orders the creation of specific working groups to deal with certain topics that "by their nature, require in-depth study".
Specifically, the issues indicated by the Pope for these specialized groups to work on are:
- "Some aspects concerning the relations between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church". Eastern and Latin theologians and canonists will collaborate for this purpose;
- Poverty. This group will be coordinated by the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development;
- Digital Evangelization. In this case, there will be contributions from the Dicastery for Communication, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, and the Dicastery for Evangelization;
- "The revision of the 'Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis' in a missionary synodal perspective." This task will be coordinated by the Dicastery for the Clergy;
- "Some theological and canonical questions regarding specific forms of ministry". In this regard, the group will also delve into the female diaconate and ecclesial services that do not require the sacrament of Holy Orders;
- Relationships between bishops, consecrated life and ecclesial aggregations, reviewing the documents related to this theme in order to reach a synodal and missionary point of view. The Dicasteries for Bishops, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Evangelization, and for Laity, Family and Life will collaborate in this group;
- The figure and ministry of bishops in relation to the criteria for choosing candidates for the episcopate, the judicial functions of the bishop and the visitations 'ad limina Apostolorum'. This study will be divided into two other specific groups;
- The role of the Pontifical Representatives;
- The "theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment on controversial doctrinal, pastoral and ethical issues";
- The fruits of the ecumenical journey "in ecclesial praxis".
Synod Working Groups
To study these questions in depth, Francis entrusts the creation of working groups to the General Secretariat of the Synod. He asks that "pastors and experts from all continents" participate in the study work. He also encourages them to take into account the work already done on these topics and to follow "an authentically synodal method".
On the other hand, the Pontiff summarizes in his letter to the Secretary General the spirit of the next session of the Synod: "How can we be a synodal Church in mission?". Finally, he instructs the study groups to prepare a first report of their activities for the Assembly next October and asks the General Secretariat to draw up an outline of work.
A unique mission
Taking into account what Pope Francis expressed in his letter, the General Secretariat of the Synod has published a document in which it presents "Five perspectives for theological deepening in view of the Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops".
The text begins by affirming that "growing as a synodal Church is a concrete way of responding, each and every one" to the mission entrusted by Christ to evangelize. Precisely because this call is common to the whole Church, the General Secretariat wants to focus "on the theme of the participation of all, in the variety of vocations, charisms and ministries" that are part of the Catholic Church. Based on this, one of the objectives is to deepen "the contribution to the mission that can come from the recognition and promotion of the specific gifts of each member of the People of God".
Furthermore, the Secretariat indicates that "the dynamic link between the participation of all and the authority of some, within the horizon of communion and mission, will be deepened in its theological meaning, in the practical modalities of its application and in the concreteness of the canonical dispositions".
Elaboration of the "Instrumentum laboris
For a better analysis, the Secretariat provides for three "distinct but interdependent" levels: the local churches, the groupings of churches (at national, regional and continental levels) and, finally, the whole Church in communion with Rome.
In order to be able to draft the "Instrumentum Laboris" of the October Assembly, the Episcopal Conferences and the Eastern hierarchical structures will collect the contributions made at the local level. After the consultation period, both the conferences and the hierarchical structures will send the syntheses to the General Secretariat by May 15.
To these documents will be added other materials, such as "the results of the international meeting 'Pastors for the Synod' and the conclusions of a "theological study carried out by five working groups activated by the General Secretariat of the Synod". These latter teams will be composed of experts from various countries, of different sexes and ecclesial status. The analysis of three of the groups will focus on the three levels mentioned above, while the remaining two will carry out a cross-sectional study.
Local level
The Secretariat's document specifies the points to be studied by the work teams at each level. Specifically, at the local level they will study in depth:
- "The meaning and forms of the ministry of the diocesan bishop" and his "relations with the presbyterate, the organs of participation, the consecrated life and ecclesial aggregations".
- Ways of verifying the work done by the diocesan bishop and "those who exercise a ministry (ordained or non-ordained) in the local Church".
- "The style and mode of functioning of the participatory bodies." They will also seek to encourage women to make decisions and "assume roles of responsibility in pastoral care and ministry".
- "The presence and service of instituted ministries and de facto ministries."
Level of Church groupings
At the level of church groupings, the Secretariat asks the task force to analyze:
- "The effective exchange of gifts between churches".
- The statutes of the Episcopal Conferences.
- "The status of the bodies that group together the local Churches of a continental or subcontinental area".
Universal Church level
Regarding the study from the perspective of the universal Church, the working group will delve into:
- The contributions that the Churches of the East can make "for a deepening of the doctrine of the Petrine primacy, clarifying its intrinsic link with episcopal collegiality and ecclesial synodality".
- Ecumenism
- "The role of the Roman Curia, as an organ at the service of the universal ministry of the Bishop of Rome".
- Collegiality from the perspective of a synodal Church.
- "The self-identity of the Synod of Bishops".
Four dimensions of the Synod
To foster the authentic fruits of the Synod, the General Secretariat encourages "meditation on Sacred Scripture, prayer and mutual listening". Thanks to this, says the document, four dimensions can be articulated: spiritual, institutional, procedural and liturgical. With these four aspects in mind, one of the working groups that will study in a transversal way will analyze:
- The relationship between "the liturgical and sacramental rootedness of the synodal life of the Church" and ecclesial discernment.
- "The configuration of conversation in the Spirit", starting from the diversity of experiences.
- The integration of theology with the human and social sciences through dialogue.
- "The criteria for theological and disciplinary discernment". The study will also attempt to clarify the relationship between the "sensus fidei" and the magisterium.
- The balance between the participation of all and the exercise of authority by some members of the Church when making decisions.
- "The promotion of a celebratory style appropriate to a synodal Church" that takes into account the diversity that exists within the Church.
The "place" of the Synodal Church
The document of the General Secretariat mentions very frequently the diversity within the Church, also with regard to the places where the People of God meet Christ. In this sense, it expresses that "human mobility, the presence in the same context of different cultures and religious experiences, the omnipresence of the digital environment, can be considered 'signs of the times' that need to be discerned".
Therefore, the fifth of the working groups will delve into:
- "The development of an ecclesiology attentive to the cultural dimension of the People of God".
- Consideration of the concrete places where evangelization takes place, in order to know how to adapt preaching.
- The impact of migration on communities.
- The impact of new technologies.
- The canonical and pastoral challenges produced by the migration of the Catholic faithful from the East to the territories of Latin tradition.
News and communion
The General Secretariat of the Synod insists on the importance of "discerning today's missionary challenges". Otherwise, they affirm that the proclamation of the Gospel will lose attractiveness. This is the reason why they insist on "attention to young people, to digital culture, and the need to involve the poor and marginalized in the synodal process."
On the other hand, the document emphasizes that all the baptized must participate in evangelization. Consequently, it is essential "the active exercise of the 'sensus fidei' and of their respective charisms, in synergy with the exercise of the ministry of authority by the bishops". In this way, as the Secretariat indicates, the ecclesial hierarchy and synodality never enter into conflict, but rather have a dynamic relationship.
The document also stresses that the local and the universal do not clash in synodality. On the contrary, this "constitutes the proper ecclesial context for understanding and promoting episcopal collegiality," pointing out the guidelines for achieving "unity and catholicity." The Secretariat affirms that "what we seek is an adequate way of living unity in diversity, experiencing interconnectedness without crushing differences and peculiarities".
The Synod as a spiritual path
Finally, the governing body of the Synod highlights "the exquisitely spiritual character of the synodal process." It explains that the Synod is not an end in itself, but a strategy for "understanding what the Lord is asking of us and being ready to do it."
