Saji Mathew Kanayankal CST

QUESTION: It is reported that the Vatican has announced a Synod in 2023 on Synodality and its preparatory document is published recently. What is the significance of a synod in the present scenario and how will it help the Catholic Church? – John Joseph

ANSWER: The Vatican published the preparatory Document on 7 September 2021, with the title ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,’ and a 42-page Vademecum – the handbook as the guidance for the upcoming synod. The whole process of the Synod will take place in three different phases. Cardinal Mario Grech, the secretary-general of Synod of Bishops stated that the proposed first phase is not a mere preparatory stage, rather it is the first part of the Synod. The preparatory document is “a tool to facilitate the first phase of listening to and consulting the People of God in the particular Churches” (D, 3). The title of the document is attractive and thought-provoking that reveals the new orientation and radical renewal. The document explains the vision and plan of the synod in four parts with the following titles: The Call to Journey Together, A Constitutively Synodal Church, Listening to the Scriptures, and Synodality in Action. The Vademecum includes prayers, a description of synodality, the objectives of the synodal process, and the main questions to which the local Catholic communities are asked to give feedback. It is released for a period of “pre-synodal discernment” that may lead to the formulation of a second draft before June 2023.
These publications address a fundamental question: “How is this ‘walking together’ carried out today at different levels that allow the Church to announce the Gospel, in accordance with the mission entrusted to her? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take to grow as a Synod Church?” (V, 5.3). The solemn opening of the Synod is scheduled on 10 October 2021 in Rome and on 17 October in the particular Churches and its conclusion will be with the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops at Vatican in October 2023.

Synodality: The Path of the Church
By releasing the document, Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission because, “it is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium” (D, 10). It is an integral part of her very nature (V, 1.3). According to him, ‘the form, the style, and the structure of the Church’ is synodality and it is taken from the model of Jesus Christ, who walked with the people. As Cardinal Grech told it is “the mature fruit” of the Second Vatican Council.
The term synodality is to be understood as the action of the Spirit in the Church that entails ‘receptivity to change, formation, and on-going learning’ (D, 10). It is a ‘journeying together’ of the people of God, with the spirit of listening, learning and discernment. The Synodal Process is ‘not a mechanical data-gathering exercise or a series of meetings and debates’ rather it is first and foremost a spiritual process (V, 2.2). Therefore “synodality, is much more than the celebration of ecclesial meetings and Bishops’ assemblies, or a matter of simple internal administration within the Church; it is ‘the specific modus vivendi et operandi of the Church,’ the People of God, which reveals and gives substance to her being as communion when all her members journey together, gather in assembly and take an active part in her evangelizing mission” (D, 10).
The main objective of this synod is “to provide an opportunity for the entire People of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term” (V, 1.3). It is also an invitation to each member of the Church to play his or her crucial role. In this journey, the local Church has a decisive role to play and the Church, as the People God, together is striving to find out prejudices and distorted practices that are not rooted in the Gospel. The purpose of the synod “is not to produce documents, but to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands” (D, 32). This journey is viewed to take place in different levels, from local to the universal which enables the Church to proclaim the gospel radically, listening to the need of the time.

Listening, Learning and Discernment
The bishop of each diocese is the responsible person to coordinate the procedures of the Synod. During the diocesan phase, each bishop is asked to undertake a consultation process with the local Church from Oct. 17, 2021, to April 2022 and each diocese should organize local gatherings for ‘synodal consultation,’ which should enable individuals to give their feedback directly to the diocese.
To achieve the goal, the document proposes a model of listening, learning and discernment. The primary aim of this listening is to “tap into the richness of the lived experience of the Church in their local context” (V, 1.5). First and foremost, everyone is expected to listen to the Holy Spirit, who like the wind that “blows where it wills; you can hear the sound it makes, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes” (Jn 3:8). It is the Holy Spirit who prepares and guides the entire Church in this journey. Apart from confirming the continuity of the Gospel of Jesus, the Spirit will illuminate the ever-new depths of his revelation and inspire to take firm decisions necessary to sustain the Church’s journey.
The first phase of the synod is a wider process of listening, dialogue, and community discernment, in which every person can participate and contribute. It expands to different realms of the local Church spread in the entire world. It is a movement to go deep into the grass-root level with a broad consultation process to gather the wealth of the experiences of lived synodality, in its different articulations and facets. In the diocesan synod process “maximum inclusion and participation” among baptized Catholics are expected (V 1.5). It is also a long process of dialogue with the society and other Christian confessions. The multiple parishes can come together for these ‘synodal consultation meetings’ so that ‘a range of people from different socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities, age groups’ can take part actively in it (V 5.1).
In the listening process, voices of different spheres of life like religious, pious unions, federations of consecrated life, international lay movements, and Catholic universities are to be incorporated. Every voice, especially the voice of the women, the children, the discarded and the excluded, the minorities and the old should be heard, and an authentic style of communication is to be promoted in the community without duplication. Those on the margins should have the opportunity to express themselves and their voice is to be considered. In this process, not only those who are active in the activities of the Church, rather every voice of the faithful, including the voice of the dissent have to be listened.
It also should be a dialogue in dioceses, with neighbouring dioceses, with religious communities and movements, with other Christian denominations and movements, other religious traditions and even with non-believers, because it is impossible to think of “a conversion of our activity as a Church that does not include the active participation of all the members of God’s People” (D, 6). Thus, the synod may function as a window that opens towards the different cultures and brings to light ever new aspects of the inexhaustible mystery of Christ. Pope asks all bishops and all particular Churches to enter with confidence and courage into the path of synodality. This listening should be ‘without prejudice’ and the pastors need not ‘be afraid to listen to the flock, for in a synodal Church, each ‘has something to learn’ from the other. The people are encouraged to speak ‘with courage and parrhesia,’ because, at the basis of participation in every synodal process, a shared passion for the common mission of evangelization is visualised. (D, 14, 30)

Confrontation with the Reality of Today
This synod is not a static reality with certain structured formulations and pre-planned agendas. Rather it is a journey, which follows in the wake of the Church’s ‘renewal’ proposed by the Second Vatican Council. It is journeying together, a journey with the people of God in their joys, hopes and aspirations as well as in their sorrows, anxieties and concerns. This journey is a ‘gift and a task’ (D, 1). As a gift, it is an opportunity for the entire Church to confront the problems of today genuinely and to find new ways inspired by the Holy Spirit. At the same time, it is also a task, a task that recognises and appreciates the variety of charisms and examining the depth, intensity and sincerity of its articulation in the day-today experience of the people of God. It is also the task of the entire Church to overcome so many hurdles that hinder the rays of the Holy Spirit. The Vademecum identifies some possible pitfalls and temptations (V 2,4) that we should overcome in this journey as genuine People of God. In this task, the challenge before the Church is to accompany each individual and community to reread the experiences of mourning and sufferings, and to cultivate hope and faith in the creator.
The proposed questions and ‘the ten themes’ along with them for consultation are helping tools to guide the whole process (V, 5.3). The primary question addresses the modality of “walking together” in the particular Church. It further moves towards the questions concerning the joyful experiences as well as the various difficulties, obstacles, and wounds in the local Church. The local Church has an obligation to find out ‘those who walk together’ and ‘those who seem further apart.’ The way of God’s speech to us through voices, as well as the manner and the way we ignore it, are to be genuinely addressed. The attentiveness to the voice of the laity especially of the women and the young people are also a matter of concern. It is the duty of the local Church to find the means that facilitate or inhibit our listening. The relationship with the local media and its various dimensions become a part of search and study. All the more, the various hindrance of the baptized from being active in mission and the different areas of missions that are neglected by us are to be found out.
The process of the synod and its proposed methodology dream a radical renewal from the grass-root to the entire body of the Church. However, unless we take it seriously and go deep into its essence, there is the possibility to weaken it with certain external exercises. In the process, the voice of everyone, including the dissent in the Church as well as the voice of the people in the peripheries are to be heard properly, the different issues are to be addressed constructively with sincerity and openness, and every member in the Church should get a free and open atmosphere to share their joy and happiness as well as pain, concern and anxieties without fear or coercion. A blind Church may not see the realities, a stagnant Church will never grow and a barren Church will not produce new fruits. Different kinds of criticisms and varieties of life experience may enrich the vitality of the Church and the Holy Spirit will be active in an open Church. The different problems of the Church, especially the problems of the women, the oppressed, minorities, trans-genders etc are to be addressed genuinely. In short, the process should be transparent and sincere to the core as is visualized in the document. Fairness and transparency should be its base. If the process take place with all its seriousness and sincerity, we can hope for a rejuvenated Church with the spirit of renewal and conversion. If the process is hijacked by any kind of self-interest or the advantage of a few, it may end as a mere intellectual jerk without much fruit.