2023-06-20 19:31:00
June 20, 2023 / 12:31 p.m.
Before the next Synod Assembly in October 2023, a new document of the Vatican published this Tuesday, June 20, outlines the key issues of what promises to be a broad debate on Pope Francis’ vision of a more inclusive, decentralized and “listening” Church.
The expected text, known as Instrument of Labor or “working instrument” for the upcoming 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, marks the beginning of a new phase of the Synod of the Catholic Church on Synodality.
Building on listening sessions already conducted around the world at the diocesan, national and continental levels, it covers topics such as the possibility of women’s access to the diaconate, priestly celibacy or care for “LGBTQ+ people””. In addition, it highlights the desire for new institutional bodies that allow greater participation of the “People of God” in decision-making.
At the same time, some of the issues he raises for discussion allude to possible major changes in the functioning of the Church around the world, through the adoption of an open “synodal” process that involves ongoing dialogue and discernment.
The text also outlines a “synodal method” of spirituality centered on listening to the Holy Spirit and “discerning the signs of the times”.
The 50-page document was drafted by a committee of 22 people in April and May, and was subsequently approved by Pope Francis. The text itself emphasizes that “it is not a document of the Magisterium of the Church, nor the report of a sociological survey”, nor does it “offer the formulation of operational indications, goals and objectives, nor the complete elaboration of a theological vision”, but which presents the “priorities that have emerged from listening to the People of God” in the global synodal process to date.
He Instrument of Labor will guide the debates of the Synodal Assembly, which will last almost a month, and which will be held in the Vatican. This meeting will bring together bishops, priests, religious and lay Catholics from around the world.
Delegates for the October this year session of the Synodal Assembly have not yet been announced. For the first time, about 21% of the voting delegates in the Synod of Bishops will not be bishops, and 70 delegates will be chosen directly by the Holy Father from a list of 140 lay people, priests, consecrated women and deacons selected by the leadership of the continental synodal meetings held during this year.
The main objective of this first session in October 2023, according to the Instrumentum Laboris, will be to “outline the paths of deepening that must be carried out in synodal style, indicating the issues that must be dealt with and the ways of reaping the fruits.” , to allow the discernment to be completed in the second session, in October 2024”.
The final consultative document at the end of the process, in 2024, will be voted on by the participants in the Synodal Assembly and presented to Pope Francis, who may decide, if he wishes, to adopt the text as a papal document or draft his own at the conclusion of the Synod.
Underlining the possible scope of the Assembly’s debates, the document stresses that the reappearance of issues already addressed in previous Synods “should not be dismissed hastily”, noting that a synodal Assembly is “a privileged forum” to re-debate these issues and referring at the same time to the existing “teaching and theological development”.
It also suggests that if there are obstacles along the lines of “grasping the implications of the documents for specific situations or recognizing oneself in what they propose”, a “synodal path of effective appropriation” could be an answer.
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In addition, new concerns could arise that require a deeper reflection on “the Deposit of Faith and the living Tradition of the Church,” the document adds.
The role of women, inclusion, priestly celibacy
The Instrumentum Laboris is divided into two sections. The first summarizes the ideas of the continental assemblies and outlines what a synodal Church is and how it should proceed. The second is a series of 15 worksheets with questions for discernment.
The worksheets will be used to guide small group discussions during this year’s October Assembly. The small groups, also called “Minor Circles”, will alternate with plenary sessions in which all the Synod participants will be together.
The last part of the October 2023 meeting will focus on deciding the next steps for the Church and “the necessary insights, above all theological and canonical, with a view to the second session of the Synodal Assembly in October 2024.”
“The October 2023 Synodal Assembly will be asked to listen deeply to the situations in which the Church lives and carries out its mission,” the document states.
“What it means to walk together acquires its missionary urgency when this question is posed in a concrete context, with real people and situations in mind,” he continues. “What is at stake is the ability to announce the Gospel by walking together with the men and women of our time, wherever they are, and by practicing the catholicity that comes from walking together with the Churches that live in conditions of particular suffering.”
Among the priorities outlined in the text is the role of women in the Church. One of the included “worksheets” suggests the following discernment question: “The majority of the Continental Assemblies and the syntheses of various Episcopal Conferences ask that the question of the inclusion of women in the diaconate be considered. Is it possible to foresee it and in what way?
The synodal document also proposes, as suggestions for prayer and preparatory reflection, the following questions: “How can we create spaces where those who feel hurt by the Church and rejected by the community can feel recognized, welcomed, not judged and free to ask questions? In the light of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation The joy of love¿what concrete measures are necessary to reach people who feel excluded from the Church because of their affectivity and sexuality (e.g., divorced and remarried, people in polygamous marriages, LGBTQ+ people, etc.)?”
Another question recommended for prayer and reflection refers to the discipline of priestly celibacy. “As some continents propose, could a reflection be opened on the discipline of access to the priesthood for married men, at least in some areas?”, the document asks.
The text makes repeated references to the “tensions” that have arisen throughout the synodal process, but points them out as a positive and necessary part of discerning the path of the Church.
“We must not be frightened by them, nor try at all costs to resolve them, but commit ourselves to permanent synodal discernment,” the document states. “Only in this way can these tensions become sources of energy and not decay into destructive polarizations.”
Authority in the Church
The “exercise of authority in the Church” is one of the main themes of the Instrumentum Laboris, since the word “authority” appears more than 50 times in the text.
“At all times, the exercise of authority and responsibility within the Church is influenced by the management models and imaginaries of power prevailing in society,” the text observes. “How can we become aware of this and exercise evangelical discernment about the practices in the exercise of authority, in force in the Church and in society?”
A proposal for discernment from the Synod of Bishops asks: “What can we learn about the exercise of authority and responsibility of other Churches and Ecclesial Communities?”
Another question asks:How can cases in which the authority considers that they cannot confirm the conclusions reached in a community discernment process be dealt with constructively? and make a decision in another sense? What kind of restitution should that authority offer to those who participated in the process?”
It also asks: “What encouragements from indigenous minority cultures and the oppressed can help us rethink our decision-making processes?”
The text also proposes to discern how the awareness that a synodal Church needs co-responsibility and transparency can “serve as a basis for reforming institutions, structures and procedures, in order to consolidate change over time”.
“Conversation in the Spirit”
The document devotes significant space, including a full-page illustration, to the concept of “conversation in the Spirit,” which it calls the “synodal method.”
Conversation in the Spirit, which appears 23 times, it is described as a process of personal prayer, listening, sharing, giving space to others and to the Holy Spiritand group discernment in an atmosphere of prayer.
“It is not a conversation in the Spirit – the document points out – if there is not a step forward in a precise direction, often unexpected, that points to a concrete action”.
He Instrument of Labor It calls for “training in this method” for all the baptized and the training of “facilitators” who can accompany the communities in their practice.
“The formation for conversation in the Spirit is formation to be a synodal Church”, he assures.
One of the questions is whether the conversation in the Spirit can help “the renewal of decision-making processes in the Church” and whether canon law should change to facilitate that process.
The document calls for revamped Church seminary curricula to include greater emphasis on “a synodical style and mindset,” as well as changes to the language used in liturgy, preaching, catechesis, art sacrum, communication and the media.
It emphasizes the formation of each Catholic as “the indispensable means to make the synodal way of proceeding a pastoral model for the life and action of the Church.”
“Formation for a synodal spirituality is at the heart of the renewal of the Church”, indicates the text.
Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, who holds one of the key positions in the Synod on Synodality, said in an interview with Vatican News in April that discernment at the Synod is a “spiritual process.”
“And that is why we have this spiritual conversation, or rather this conversation in the Spirit: it is a way of listening and entering into dialogue, not with an attitude of opposition, to reach a common conclusion.”
“It is clear – Cardinal Hollerich added – that in this process there is always a need for conversion: sometimes it is the bishop who must convert, sometimes it is the laity who must also convert.”
The “spiritual conversation”, which has been mentioned in other documents related to the Synod, comes from Ignatian spirituality and is linked to the Spiritual Exercises.
Translated and adapted by ACI Press. Originally posted on CNA.
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