Having concluded the third phase of the Synod of Synodality, now comes the preparation of the topics to be addressed at the final Assembly to be held in Rome in October 2024. These themes, which will be decided by the Pope, refer to those whose competence belongs to the universal Church. For example: the relationship between religious congregations and bishops, the formation of priests, the meaning of the diaconate or whether women can be deaconesses.
Once the pope approves the topics he wishes to be studied in depth, in January, experts from around the world will be convened to study these issues together with the competent dicasteries.