Catholic Church’s lengthy journey to the future coming to a close

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This article was published 24/10/2024 (371 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROME — More than four years after it began, the Roman Catholic Church’s Synod on Synodality ends Saturday.

On March 7, 2020, Pope Francis announced the process that began with worldwide listening sessions leading to two month-long assemblies in Rome, one in October 2023 and the second this month to discuss the future of the Church.

The past week has been one of long days as delegates pored over a draft of the final document, making more than 1,000 suggested revisions.

Throughout the years-long process, there have been controversies, such as whether the synod intended to seriously discuss an expanded role of women. But there has also been praise for the way Pope Francis solicited opinions from the whole Church, not just the clergy, and for how he purposefully involved lay people, including women, in the assembly discussions.

Although delegates were instructed not to talk to the media, some participants told reporters the meetings went well, with people able to talk candidly about issues.

And yet, it was two issues that didn’t make it to the assembly floor that sparked the most controversy.

One was over whether individual dioceses around the world might have the freedom to interpret faith in their own unique cultural and contextual ways over things such as same-sex relationships. This is an issue for Catholics in predominantly secular societies where people identifying as LGBTTQ+ and same-sex marriage are accepted as normal. Would they have the freedom to be more welcoming and affirming?

For a Church that prizes unity, one where some believe that Catholic doctrine is divinely instituted to be above and beyond context and culture, that is a challenging notion. It was also the subject of critique from some Church leaders in Africa where, in some countries, same-sex relationships are not only disapproved of, but illegal.

The second issue was about the role of women, and whether or not the Church was really open to discussing whether they could be more fully involved as ordained deacons — a position that is seen by some as the first step towards priesthood.

While delegates reportedly differed on the topic, there seemed to be general agreement that the Vatican handled the issue poorly. There was a lack of transparency over Study Group 5, created to examine the question, which led to distrust over the process.

That was exacerbated when it was learned the group was not like the other study groups, with their mix of lay people and clergy, but was made up of Vatican officials who may have already made up their minds against discussing the idea even before the synod assembly began.

Some suggested the opaque nature of the process about ordaining women undermined the credibility of the conference, the goal of which was to promote honest and open dialogue. For some Catholic women, it may have even undermined their faith in the Church as a whole.

Ultimately, the success or failure of the conference won’t be known for a long time. Will it stem the tide of Catholics leaving the Church in North America and Europe? Will it energize and mobilize Catholics in places such as Africa, where the Church is growing rapidly? In Canada, will it promote greater reconciliation with Indigenous people? And will it enable the Church worldwide to do more to address existential problems, including poverty, war and climate change?

As the formal session comes to an end, it will soon be over to the Church’s almost 1.4 billion members, including 270,000 in Manitoba, to see how synodality — the process of journeying, listening and learning together — can be put into practice at diocesan and parish levels.

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