Scheduled for October 2023, the Synod on Synodality is perhaps the most closely watched event in the life of the Church, comparable in significance to the Second Vatican Council. The idea of ‘synodality’ has been in circulation for over two years now. Yet many religious are still asking what it really means and more essentially what it means for them.
With the global convocation of this synod on synodality, Pope Francis set in motion an unparalleled consultative process on change, unlike anything the world has witnessed before. The most recent instance the Church said it was going to make changes was back in 1965 at the Second Vatican Council. The puzzling question is why no meaningful changes occurred then despite the pressing need for them.
Sr. Joan Chittister OSB believes that the two thousand plus bishops around the world who attended the Second Vatican Council “voted yes for all of its documents, but once back on home soil, many simply ignored them.” This is where the present synod on synodality sets itself apart. This time, through the insight of Pope Francis, there was a clear intent to involve the entire Church and laity themselves in the process of shaping the agenda even before the synod was convened.
While Synods of bishops have been around for over fifty years, it is Pope Francis who has made them into focal points of his more co-creative approach of leadership, thus transforming them from being ceremonial ‘rubber stamp’ gatherings. Under his leadership, notable synods have been convened on various significant themes, including family matters (in 2014 and 2015), youth engagement (in 2018), and the encompassing challenges of the pan-Amazon region (in 2019).
Br. Sunil Britto CFC
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