Churches of the West: “A Synodal Church in Mission" issued after conclusion of initial synod meetings. The CNA report.

Churches of the West: “A Synodal Church in Mission" issued after conclus...: 

“A Synodal Church in Mission" issued after conclusion of initial synod meetings. The CNA report.

It's 42 pages in length, and in Italian, so a translation, which we'll link into, or report, will have to wait.  According to the Catholic News Agency by Jonathan Liedl. The most complete I could find.  All of the quotes contained here are from his article which is online. 

I suggest you read it.

If you read Italian, I suggest you read the original report.

The article notes that the report provides:

Entitled “A Synodal Church in Mission,” the 42-page summary report included notable proposals to establish new ministries for the laity, increase lay involvement in decision-making, create processes to evaluate bishops’ performance of their ministry, change the way the Church discerns “controversial” issues, and expand the footprint of synodal assemblies going forward. 

“The exercise of co-responsibility is essential for synodality and is necessary at all levels of the Church,” the final report stated. “Every Christian is a mission in the world.” 

The document also repeatedly sought to ground synodality in Scripture, tradition, and the teaching of Vatican II, while also affirming the need to further develop the often misunderstood concept itself and apply it more deeply to the Church’s theology and canon law. 

Digging deeper, there's a lot more there.

Also, there was an attempt to define Synodality, which CNA states:

The final report itself provided a comprehensive definition of the term. 

“Synodality can be understood as the walk of Christians with Christ and toward the Kingdom, together with all humanity; mission-oriented, it involves coming together in assembly at the different ecclesial levels of life, listening to one another, dialogue, communal discernment, consensus-building as an expression of Christ’s making himself present alive in the Spirit, and decision-making in differentiated co-responsibility,” it stated. 

It acknowledged, significantly, a massive level of non participation by Catholics.

The assembly also identified the need to determine why some Catholics did not participate in the synodal process, which was initiated by Pope Francis in 2021, and has included consultation at diocesan, national, and continental levels. Only 1% of Catholics worldwide took part. 

This does need to be discerned, in part, for an item noted below. Frankly, I don't find the low participation to be any kind of surprise, and I'm glad they recognized it.

All the proposals in the report received the necessary number of votes to make it in, however some received a large amount of opposition, something particularly significant in light of the low participation:

Two sections that received some of the most opposition concerned proposals related to the possible inclusion of women in the diaconate. 

Sixty-seven members voted against the proposal that “theological and pastoral research on women’s access to the diaconate should be continued,” taking into account the results of two commissions Pope Francis established to study the topic. “If possible, the results should be presented at the next Session of the Assembly,” the report proposed.  

Sixty-one members opposed a proposal that said a “deeper reflection” on the diaconate’s status as “a proper and permanent degree of the hierarchy” would “also illuminate the issue of women’s access to the diaconate.” 

With only 1% of Catholics having voiced an opinion, as this is a significant change, the decision to move forward under this level of opposition should at least raise questions about halting this topic.

And also:

Notably, the final text did not include the term “LGBTQ+ people,” after the phrase was included in the working document that guided assembly discussions. The summary report did, however, emphasize the assembly’s “closeness and support to all those who experience a condition of loneliness” as result of “fidelity to the Church’s tradition and magisterium in marriage and sexual ethics” and called upon Christian communities to listen and accompany those in these situations. 

However:

The assembly also proposed reconsidering the way the Church discerns “controversial” issues and “open questions,” a loaded topic that may raise concerns about the diminishment of the episcopacy’s charism for authoritatively teaching. 

“Some issues, such as those related to gender identity and sexual orientation, the end of life, difficult marital situations, and ethical issues related to artificial intelligence, are controversial not only in society but in the Church because they raise new questions,” the document stated. 

The report went on to suggest that the Church’s anthropological categories are sometimes “not sufficient to grasp” complexities that emerge through personal experience and scientific inquiry. 

As a response, the document called for the promotion of “initiatives that allow for shared discernment on doctrinal, pastoral and ethical issues that are controversial” in “light of the Word of God, Church teaching, theological reflection, and valuing the synod experience.” The text proposed that a confidential meeting of experts on these controversial issues, possibly with the inclusion of those who directly experience them, should be initiated, with an eye toward next October’s assembly. 

All of this is pretty significant.  If I understand this correct, the move to normalize homosexual unions, which some have been pushing, has basically been headed off in the main, but a "confidential meeting of experts" remains open, which is unfortunate.  I'd be curious to know how that came about, but I suspect it was a compromise to move the text forward.

Anyone familiar with experts should be very much aware that experts tend to express a certain liberal spirit of the day. It's discouraging that something wouldn't receive support, but then be left open for "experts", which itself seems contrary to synodality.

On a theological matter:

Relatedly, the document also said that “synodal processes” can verify when the faithful are in consensus (the "consensus fidelium") on a given issue, which “is a sure criterion for determining whether a particular doctrine or practice belongs to the Apostolic faith.” 

While Catholic teaching affirms that the faithful cannot err in matters of belief when they manifest universal consent, many theologians and bishops warn about the inadequacy of attempting to gauge this through formalized consultation. 

In a move signaling openness to decentralizing the Church’s teaching authority, the document proposed further exploration of “the doctrinal and juridical nature” of bishops’ conferences, recognizing the possibility of doctrinal decision-making “in the local sphere.” The synod also proposed giving episcopal conferences more authority over liturgy. 

Alarm bells should go off with this.  If only 1% of Catholics worldwide participate, it's difficult to see how the synodal process can result in conssensu fidelium.  Indeed, the low level calls into question, pretty obviously, the findings of this synod.

Doctrinal decision-making at the local level also raises red flags.  Ironically, this was the polar opposite of the opinion of the Church in North America for eons, at least on less significant matters, as local Church control at the parish level at least was opposed.  

Also, this interestingly brings up the Orthodox topic of autocephalous churches, or may be spreading of "rites" within the Latin Rite, something the Latin Rite has long opposed and previously acted against.  Indeed, it's hardly recalled now that the Western Church once had quite a few more rites within it, and is now down to a handful.

On "new" ministries:

The Synod report included the recommendation to establish new Church ministries, or the expansion of existing ones. The ministry of lector, the document says, could become “a true ministry of the Word of God,” which, “in appropriate contexts, could also include preaching.” The document also proposed a ministry “assigned to married couples,” that would assist family life and those preparing for marriage. 

A “baptismal ministry of listening and accompanying” is also suggested at the end of a section emphasizing the importance of listening to groups that have been harmed by or excluded from the Church, including victims and survivors clerical sex abuse. 

“Authentic listening is a fundamental element of the journey toward healing, repentance, justice and reconciliation.” 

Lector was a church office at one time, and in the East it still is, requiring holy orders of a type.

Letting lectors preach would require some level of ordination, and frankly I don't think this proposal is a very good one.

I don't think additional ministries in general is a very good idea, personally, although it can certainly be debated. This once again gets back to the "time on your hands" phenomenon which his that a lot of people in the secular world you'd most want to do this, do not have time on their hands.  To give a minor example, I was once a lector, but it had required specialized training and ordination, I would have declined on the basis that I would not have had the time to do it.

Frankly, right now, the role of Extraordinary Minister is grossly overused in my opinion, and I'd prefer if some of the non-clerical ministries were reduced quite a bit. For that matter, I'd reduce the roles of deacons.  There are some really good ones, so I'm not radical about this, but I would.

Regarding the structure of the Church:

Perhaps the Synod’s most significant concrete proposals came in the form of calls for changes in ecclesial decision-making and the expansion of synodal assemblies and bodies in the life of the Church. 

The report called for continental assemblies to be canonically recognized, and for the implementation of “the exercise of synodality” at regional, national, and continental levels.  

One “issue to be addressed” was the revision of local Church councils to “realize through them a greater participation of the People of God.” The recent plenary council in Australia, which include bishop and non-bishop participation, was highlighted as an example to follow. 

The Synod assembly also proposed formally reconsidering the composition of the Synod of Bishops itself. 

In the section on “The Synod of Bishops and Ecclesial Assemblies,” the document said that changes to this year’s synod — most notably, the full participation of non-bishop members, including laymen and women — “were generally welcomed” by the assembly. While “preserving its eminently episcopal character,” the 2023 synod also reportedly “made tangible” the link between the participation of all the faithful, episcopal collegiality, and the primacy of the Pope. 

“The synodal process was and is a time of grace through which God is offering us the opportunity to experience a new culture of synodality, capable of guiding the life and mission of the Church.” 

The text did note, however, that some members raised concerns that the equal participation of non-bishops in an episcopal body could lead to the “specific task of the bishops” not being “adequately understood.” 

“The question remains open about the impact of [non-bishops’] presence as full members on the episcopal character of the Assembly,” the synod document noted. 

The report suggested three options for the arrangement of future global synods: bishops-only, both bishops and non-bishops, or an assembly of non-bishops followed by an episcopal assembly. 

The “urgent need to ensure that women can participate in decision making processes and assume roles of responsibility in pastoral care and ministry,” was also cited. The document referenced Pope Francis’ recent appointment of several women to positions of responsibility in the Roman Curia and stressed that “the same should happen at other levels” of the Church, and that canon law be adapted accordingly. 

Well, more to follow when an English translation emerges.  My initial impression is that the Synod turned out not to produce the radical results that some feared, that in one area there seems to have bee a push to achieve a radical result which failed, and the backers of that kept it alive for "expert" study.

So far so good in a way, but I also predict that a restructure of the church that somewhat recalls its earlier days is likely to occur.  As the elimination of various Rites occured for a reason, that ought to be pretty cautiously approached.