Given the often exaggerated expectations, reading the Synthesis Report of this First Session of the Synod could be disappointing, to say the least. Many expected from the work of the Synod a doctrinal revolution - strongly feared by some and long hoped for by others - which is certainly not the content of the Report we have been given.
Is it time, then, for some to breathe a sigh of relief and for others to be overwhelmed by yet another disappointment? In this article, I will attempt to provide some clarity.
The real goal of the Synod
The synodal meeting that has just ended was only one phase of a longer synodal journey that will end next year with the final session.
Even more important is the fact that what is taking place is a Synod on synodality. Although the redundancy may sound unpleasant, this means that what is being considered is a theological and practical reflection on the synodal dimension of the Church. Not, therefore, a panacea for all thorny unresolved issues, but an effort to find new ways of being Church to then address all those issues with synodal approaches.
Unfolding Synodality
But what does the word 'synodality' mean? It is certainly not enough to limit oneself to even enlightening etymological explanations to understand how to put this concept into practice. However, the reassuring aspect here is that this very question serves as the gateway to the Synthesis Report. It signifies that even though we have made significant strides in comprehending synodality, our task is to persist in delving deeper into its significance, making it accessible and practical for all of God's people.
The participants in Rome were keen to point out that synodality is not simply representative democracy nor a subterfuge to change Church teaching. A good starting point would be to see it as the fact that the voice of every baptised person really counts in the Church. Indeed, every Christian can be an expression of the Holy Spirit, who guides us all towards communion.
Starting from what unites us
This communion of views - an expression of the same faith that unites us - was certainly not foreign to this Session of the Synod. The Report, in fact, is divided into 20 chapters devoted to different issues; for each chapter, issues to be addressed and proposals to guide action/reflection in the coming months are presented.
However, even before that, the most substantial part of each chapter is dedicated to the so-called "Convergences", referring to those fixed points of the Tradition that are the cornerstone from which to start and on which everyone agrees. A synodal Church is not a Church destined to fragment in the relativism of opinions, but a Church where everyone walks together starting from the faith that must unite everyone.
A Church made of listening and questioning
At the same time, the presence in these chapters of questions to be addressed and concrete proposals also shows us another face of this synodal Church that we want to build. Even a quick reading of the document immediately reveals to us how many times it invites the opening of further commissions of theological study and dynamics of listening to the people of God to deepen those delicate questions that we all know and for which some expected a definitive response from this Session.
However, the purpose of this assembly was not to say “yes” or “no” to the female diaconate or to abolish priestly celibacy, but to help build a Church where these questions that touch the hearts of many believers can and must be asked. All this must be given due importance, and let it be the listening to the Spirit and not our respective ideologies that guide us together towards concrete solutions. This also entails recognising the limits of certain current positions that require precisely a more mature discernment: ‘Sometimes the anthropological categories we have developed are not able to grasp the complexity of the elements emerging from experience or knowledge in the sciences and require greater precision and further study’. (Chapter 15 - G).
This Session has already been a kind of dress rehearsal of this synodal approach; as the Pope commented on this month's work: ‘Everyone could talk about everything in complete freedom’.
Listening first and then everything else
The message that emerges most clearly is that of the need to place listening as the principle of all ecclesial action. Listening first of all to the Word of God to remain faithful to God. Listening to all the baptised to discern what the Spirit is genuinely communicating to us through them. Finally, listening also to those who are far away, remembering that ‘Christians must always show respect for the dignity of every person’. (Chapter 16 – H).
It is only with this approach that all those who feel marginalised and wounded by the Church will be able to return home without feeling judged a priori, and thus be able to grow in reconciliation with God and in the realisation of that plan of love that God has for each and every person.
‘Listening requires unconditional acceptance. It does not mean compromising proclamation of the Gospel or endorsing any opinion or position proposed. Jesus opened up new horizons and pathways for the people to whom he listened unconditionally, and in order to share the Good News of salvation with those we encounter we are called to do likewise’. (Chapter 16 – L).
Picture: Richard Steenvoorde