Synod ends, Pope says document ‘can be a guide’

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This article was published 27/10/2024 (317 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

ROME — Pope Francis broke with papal tradition at the end of the final session of a month-long synod in Rome.

The Pope did not publish an exhortation — a stamp of approval — at the end of the gathering — as has been the practice of popes some days after other synods ended.

“What we have approved is enough,” he said. “There are already very concrete indications in the document that can be a guide for the mission of the Churches, on the different continents, in the different contexts. That is why I am making it immediately available to everyone.”

The synod’s work is not finished, he said.

“There are and there will be decisions to be made,” the Pope said.

This includes the work of the 10 study groups, including groups on the role of women in the church and LGBTTQ+ Catholics, that are to report to him next year. Those groups “must work with freedom to offer me proposals,” the Pope said, adding this was not a way of “postponing decisions indefinitely.”

Pope Francis’ remarks came at the end of the Synod on Synodality, a three-year process aimed to help the Church involve all Catholics in working together to address challenges facing them around the world.

It included tens of thousands of listening sessions at the parish and diocesan levels on every continent, along with two month-long gatherings of bishops and lay people — including women — in Rome. The second, and final, one ended Saturday.

The synod finished by releasing a 51-page document that, among other things, recommends changes to the ways future priests are trained, promotes greater lay involvement in selecting bishops, and mandates greater transparency and accountability throughout the church.

It also recommends the “increased participation of laymen and laywomen in Church discernment processes and all phases of decision-making processes,” including through things such as diocesan synods that can ensure “regular consultation between the bishop and his people.”

One thing the document does not recommend is for women to become ordained deacons, a subject of much controversy at the synod. At the same time, it does not close the door to the possibility, stating, “The question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open” and that “discernment needs to continue.”

The document acknowledged that while men and women are equal in the eyes of God, “Women continue to encounter obstacles” in the Church. It calls for the Church to implement all opportunities for involvement already available for women, adding, “There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles.”

The document does not mention a fuller welcome and affirmation of members of the LGBTTQ+ community. It does state that some Catholics “unfortunately” continue to experience “the pain of feeling excluded or judged because of their marital situation, identity or sexuality.” This exclusion prevents them from pursuing “real and meaningful relationships” in the Church, something that hampers the Church’s witness.

One topic that garnered much attention at the synod was what freedom local dioceses might have when it comes to enacting policies or practices that are appropriate for their local contexts or culture — things that are unique to them but not to Catholics in other places. For example, can German Catholics be more affirming of LGBTTQ+ since that is normative in that country, while some African Catholics can be more accepting of polygamous relationships that are more common on that continent? The document says more study is needed to decide those questions.

When it comes to liturgy, the document recommends a new study group to explore how church services can be more synodal by reflecting different local cultures and traditions. This would include adopting more “celebratory styles” of worship, along with exploring the role of preaching.

The document also calls for more training for those working with minors and vulnerable adults in order to improve the church’s safeguarding efforts.

The document notes the synodal process “does not conclude with the end of the current assembly.” Local churches are asked to continue “their daily journey with a synodal methodology of consultation and discernment,” identifying concrete ways to implement the synod’s findings in dioceses and parishes.

Or, as Pope Francis put it in his concluding remarks, the synodal Church now needs its words “to be accompanied by deeds.”

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