United States Bishops' Spring Plenary ConcludesInstrumentum laboris" for the next Synod assembly publishedThe U.S. bishops welcomed the publication of the Instrumentum Laboris for the first session of the XV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held in October 2023. Bishop Daniel E. Flores, Bishop of Brownsville and coordinator of the synodal process in the USA, said that the Instrumentum "offers the People of God an extraordinary opportunity to reflect on what we have learned so far about the nature of a synodal Church and ways to embrace it more fully".
Bishop Flores, who is also President of the Doctrinal Committee of the North American Episcopal Conference, pointed out that the objective of this document is to present the basis for discernment and urged everyone to read, pray and discuss this document. The prelate also invited everyone to reflect on the text, putting it in perspective with the synodal consultations that were held locally, nationally and continentally.
National Summary
In September 2022, the National Synthesis was published in the USA. The document summarizes the common hopes and wounds expressed in the synodal consultations. The synod process in the United States received more than 22,000 reports from parishes and individual groups from 700,000 participants. Most participants expressed gratitude for the opportunity to be heard and for the spirit of openness.
The synodal consultations highlighted the importance of lay participation in the Church and allowed hundreds of Catholics to resume the practice of meeting to pray together and listen to one another. In this regard, the Synthesis indicates that "the People of God desire to come closer to God and to one another through a deeper knowledge of the Writingprayer and sacramental celebrations, especially the Eucharist".
The three wounds that the participants pointed to are three problems that have affected the church, with long-term consequences: the sexual abuse crisis in previous decades, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the polarization that exists in North American society and that also affects the Church in the country.
