The Synod on Synodality 2

If taken seriously, the synodal process could transform race relations in the US church (NCR)

Unfortunately, the Catholic Church in the United States has both perpetuated racial injustice and lagged behind the secular world in promoting equality... I recently completed a class on "The Distinctive Gifts of Black Catholic Spirituality" at Loyola Marymount University. I was struck by two realities. First, the participants' collective experience with racism and racial indifference in their parishes and dioceses, and second, their continued commitment to remain Catholic. Some consider it a miracle that any Black person is faithful to a church with historical and continued racial indifference, ignorance, and, at times, hostility. The writer of the letter to James told us two millennia ago, "these things ought not to be so" (James 3:10). Martin Luther King Jr. once asked, "Where do we go from here?" Community or chaos? Pope Francis' request that we become a "synodal church" could answer that question. We are in the midst of a multi-year listening and discernment session for the global Catholic Church. While the initial listening sessions are complete, there remain two more years of listening, summation and discernment. Beyond the sessions and reports, the pope asks we embrace synodality not as a one-time process but rather as a fundamental way of "being church." A serious embrace of synodality as an ongoing practice could significantly transform race relations in the Catholic Church...

I can't say I agree with the sentiments expressed by the late Cardinal George Pell in this article in a secular magazine, but nevertheless he represented a small but influential minority within the Church and so it's worth reading, if only to see where the dissenters are coming from. I feel the cardinal's reflection misunderstands and/or inadvertently misrepresents the Synod, which perhaps helps us to understand why its detractors oppose it. It's not what they apparently understand it to be. It's a listening and consultation exercise, not a doctrine-making body. Doctrine will be made by the bishops, as the late cardinal himself says.

The Catholic Church must free itself from this ‘toxic nightmare’ (Spectator)

Shortly before he died on Tuesday, Cardinal George Pell wrote the following article for The Spectator in which he denounced the Vatican’s plans for its forthcoming ‘Synod on Synodality’ as a ‘toxic nightmare’... The Australian-born cardinal, who endured the terrible ordeal of imprisonment in his home country on fake charges of sex abuse before being acquitted, was nothing if not courageous. He did not know that he was about to die when he wrote this piece; he was prepared to face the fury of Pope Francis and the organisers when it was published...

Pope announces Ecumenical Prayer Vigil for Synod (Vatican News)

Pope Francis announces an Ecumenical Prayer Vigil, to be held in September prior to the Synod of Bishops, so as to entrust the bishops' work to the Lord... Pope Francis looked ahead to the traditional Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which takes place each year from 18 to 25 January. This year's theme, he noted, is taken from the prophet Isaiah: "Do good, seek justice" (1:17). In light of this, Pope Francis asked that we each give thanks to the Lord "who faithfully and patiently guides His people towards full communion, and let us ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten and sustain us with His gifts"... Pope Francis went on to note that the path to Christian unity and the Church's synodal conversion are linked...

In Synodal Process, Catholics in West African Want “Church to redefine her values” (ACI Africa)

A section of Catholics in West Africa who have actively participated in the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality is advocating for the redefinition of Church values... “The people insisted that there is need for the Church to redefine her values and this redefinition of values in a changing world should be based on the word of God and the living tradition of the Church and not on feelings and sentiments.” Those who participated in sessions in preparation for the Synod on Synodality “said sociological and societal pressure should not push the Church to put away the word of God and rely on human wisdom as criteria for discernment and working together in synodality”... expressed reservations about the image of the tent that was used as the opening statement of the Document for the Continental Stage (DCS). Catholics in West Africa “prefer the image of the house where Jesus says ‘In my Father's house there are many mansions’; they prefer that to a tent,” the Secretary General of RECOWA said in reference to the image in DCS... “When we say the central idea is inclusiveness, they prefer a house where there are rules and principles and not just a tent where anybody can just come in... also want particular interest in caring for the poor. “They remarked that a majority of Christians are in the level of the poor people, so more efforts should be concentrated on this class of people,” he said, and added, “There is also the issue of the physically challenged that should also be accompanied properly by the Church”...

Synod on Synodality “great moment of ecclesial communion”: Catholic Bishops in CAR (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality offer an opportunity for “ecclesial communion” among the people of God in the Central African Republic (CAR), Catholic Bishops in the country have said. In a statement issued Sunday, January 15, members of the Central African Episcopal Conference (CECA) say the synodal process has helped the Church in CAR to seek a new beginning in Christ. “The synodal process initiated by the Holy Father and placed under the sign of communion, participation and mission, is a time of grace and a great moment of ecclesial communion for the Church in CAR,” CECA members say in the shared with ACI Africa. They add, “It is a question of forming ourselves more and more in synodality by promoting listening, dialogue, sharing of responsibility, mission and a better participation in ecclesial management”...

German Bishop Dismisses Vatican Concerns Over a Permanent Synodal Council (ACI Africa)

the president of the German Bishops’ Conference said he welcomed a new letter from the Vatican detailing concerns about the push for a permanent synodal council — a new controlling body of the Church in Germany. In a statement published on Jan. 23, Bishop Georg Bätzing of Limburg said the German diocesan bishops had discussed the letter and would seek to discuss the matter further “in the near future.” At the same time, Bätzing dismissed concerns that a German synodal council would have authority over the bishops’ conference and undermine the authority of individual bishops as “unfounded”...

African Synodality Initiative Unveils Groups to Participate in Planned Plenary Assembly (ACI Africa)

The African Synodality Initiative (ASI), a body facilitating Synodal conversations in Africa and Madagascar, has identified groups that will be representing the entire Church on the continent in the Plenary Assembly that has been scheduled to take place during the first week of March in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia...

Pope Francis Decries German Synodal Way as "neither helpful nor serious" (ACI Africa)

In an interview published Wednesday, Pope Francis decried the German Synodal Way as elitist, unhelpful, and running the risk of bringing ideological harm to Church processes. “The German experience does not help,” the pontiff told Associated Press when asked about the controversial process, explaining that dialogue should involve “all the people of God.” The 86-year-old pontiff contrasted the German event, which is not a synod, with the universal Church’s recently extended Synod on Synodality. Francis said on Tuesday that the global synod’s aim was to “help this more elitist (German) path so that it does not end badly in some way, but so is also integrated into the Church”...

African Working Group on Synod Commits to Deepen Understanding of Synodality Process

Members of the African Synodality Initiative (ASI) who are facilitating Synodal conversations in Africa have concluded their working session in Nairobi with a firm commitment to help deepen the understanding of the Synod process ahead of the planned Continental Synodal Plenary Assembly slated for early March in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia...

Reflect Anew on the Synodal Process through Spiritual Conversation, Says SECAM Secretary General

The Secretary General of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has called on the Catholic faithful to embrace the Spiritual Conversation Method and to understand the Synod on the Synodality path while expressing concerns about the challenges involved in the Synodal Process... “Some difficulties were noted especially in understanding the synod Process and how to use the method of spiritual conversation,” said Fr. Simbine...

Both from AMECEA.

For those who are not familiar with the African Catholic Church, AMECEA is the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa, and SECAM is the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar.

Bangalore conference urged church leaders to embrace synodality, listening (NCR)

The incredibly beautiful campus of the Dharmaram Vidya Kshetram, a pontifical athenaeum for higher learning and formation in Bengaluru (Bangalore), India, hosted an important conference Jan. 12-15 about Pope Francis' ongoing three-year synod process. Roughly 250 international participants from more than 30 countries joined another 250 graduate students from the athenaeum to consider the theme "Towards a Synodal Church: Moving Forward." The conference signaled that the process of synodality — of the global church "walking together," as Francis has called for — is very much underway. And participants benefited from discussing the pope's vision and process in a very different location, with a range of representatives from universities across the world to report on how synodality is emerging, slowly but surely, in a variety of places...

Letter from Synod leaders highlights crucial role of Bishops in synodal process (Vatican News)

Cardinal Mario Grech and Cardinal Jean Claude Hollerich – respectively the Secretary General and the General Relator of the Synod – have addressed a letter to all the Bishops of the world in which they share “a few considerations for a common understanding of the synodal process, its progress, and the meaning of the current Continental stage.” The Cardinals begin by noting that, as Vatican II teaches, each Bishop has “responsibility” for their own particular Church as well as “solicitude for the Universal Church.” The very reason for the synod, they explain, is “to enable the exercise of the latter,” with the current synodal process making “the role of Pastors and their participation in the various stages even more crucial”...

Synod organizers Tell Continental Assemblies not to "impose an agenda" on Discussions (ACI Africa)

Cardinal Mario Grech and Cardinal Jean Claude Hollerich stressed that the Synod of Bishops is not meant “to address all the issues being debated in the Church.” “There are in fact some who presume to already know what the conclusions of the synodal assembly will be. Others would like to impose an agenda on the synod, with the intention of steering the discussion and determining its outcome,” the cardinals wrote. “However, the theme that the pope has assigned to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is clear: ‘For a Synodal Church: communion, participation, mission.’ This is therefore the sole theme that we are called to explore in each of the stages within the process.” The cardinals added that “those who claim to impose any one theme on the synod forget the logic that governs the synod process: we are called to chart a ‘common course’ beginning with the contribution of all”...

Sr Nathalie to Suva Assembly: ‘You are on forefront of synodality' (Vatican News)

Sr Nathalie Becquart provided a presentation on Becoming a more Synodal Church. She began by saying that all the bishops present are active participants in the synodal process. Synodality, she said, can be compared to a person who develops over time, but remains the person he or she is. She emphasized that synodality can only be learned by doing it together and that it is inherent in the Church’s identity. Therefore, she continued, the topic of the current synod is actually the Church’s identity. “You are on the forefront of synodality,” Sr Nathalie explained to the Bishops. The sea, she noted, is a changing, moving space, even when it’s quiet. People take risks when crossing it, and so people need to to figure out how to keep their balance in order to survive. She said this image can help us understand synodality, which is a dynamic, rather than a static, vision of the Church in history. The Church has similar aspects that endure through time and space; but the Church adapts with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, remaining ever faithful to its origins. And just as there is a “centrality of experience” of being disciples of Christ, each baptized Christian is also called to experience their own encounter with Christ whom he or she follows. Synodality “is the way of being the Church today,” Sr Nathalie said, referring to the Second Vatican Council. This is how the “Church answers God’s call” in every time and place. It is an experience of the Paschal Mystery, she explained, therefore, suffering and facing difficulty is an aspect of sydonality. "Are we led by our fears? Are we led by what we have discerned as the call of the Holy Spirit?" ...

What is synodality? New online course explores its history, theology and practice (NCR)

Boston College's School of Theology and Ministry has rolled out a series of online talks that will help theologians and informed lay Catholics better grasp what this synodal process is all about. The first set of video lectures focus on the history, theology and practice of synodality. And they are wonderful... Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, who serves as the relator general for the synod... begins by noting that we live at a time when "normal authorities are not accepted, especially authorities from above." And he asks, "How can decision-making, decision-taking happen in such a world that rejects authorities from above?" "Synodality is the answer to that question," he asserts. What is more, "synodality is a treasure of the church of old. Synodality brings the Holy Spirit again as an actor in the church." He mentions the Christocentrism that characterized Vatican II and invites us to consider now the role of the third person of the Trinity... for the Holy Spirit is always the Spirit of Christ. The cardinal adds that synodality is important not just for decision-making, but also "for the aspect of mission of the church. A synodal church is always a church in mission." He invited those watching to create not simply a theology of synodality, but "theologies of synodality," in the plural... Hollerich's introduction is astute and provocative, and it is certainly a challenge to those who think that doctrine does not develop and that they have mastered the riddles of salvation. I suspect most people find a lot of common sense in what he says...

Boston College's Rafael Luciani... begins by discussing the sensus fidei, the sense of the faithful, noting that it was invoked in the dogmatic definitions of the great Marian dogmas of recent times, the Immaculate Conception and the Assumption. "But today this is deepened in light of synodality and it is conceived as a spiritual dynamic that activates the co-responsibility of all the ecclesial subjects, the Christifidelis, all the faithful," he added. This emphasis on the spiritual dynamic is often missing from discussions of synodality, and it warrants continued focus because it puts the lie to the idea that this is simply "a meeting about meetings," a managerial exercise, the mindset of modern corporations invading ecclesiology. Later, Luciani quotes Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the Synod of Bishops, on the same theme of the spirituality involved in this process: "The strength of the synodal process lies in the reciprocity between consultation and discerning, and this will lead to future developments of synodality." Put differently, we listen to the Holy Spirit by prayerfully listening to each other, as well as to the Word of God and the teachings of the church...

Upcoming Addis Ababa Continental Synod Meeting to Contextually Reflect on the Working Document (AMECEA)

The upcoming continental synod meeting slated for next 1st to 6th March in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is set to engage delegates in a reflection from the local context of Africa on the working Document for the Continental Stage (DCS) which was availed by the Synod committee from Vatican last year. “There are quite a number of issues that have been raised by the local churches. Now we are to reflect together as a continent the product of what came from all dioceses in the world which was compiled together to produce the Document for Continental Stage,” Secretary General for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Fr. Anthony Makunde has said in an interview, two weeks before the meeting. “In a way, the local Church will be reflecting on the views from the Universal Church. This means the Church in Africa will meet to pray and discern together on the document but in view of our local context,” he narrated adding that, as other continents are also doing, “After reading the document, reflecting and praying for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we are going to look at the areas which we think have touched as most in our African context”... The assembly will comprise of 108 lay people who will be represented by 44 adults, 36 young people, five novices, and five seminarians. There will also be 32 priests, 10 Religious women, six Religious men, 13 bishops and 10 cardinals. Additionally, technical personnel will be represented by four members of the African Synodality Initiative (ASI) and 11 journalists from various Catholic media and communications agencies. The Secretary General for AMECEA region further stressed that the assembly is expected to bring together delegates from the entire continent of Africa and the Islands, and that it will use the method as proposed by the Holy Father, that is. spiritual conversation and listening to the Holy Spirit who is speaking to the Church in Africa through the representatives...

Vatican Wants Laity “to speak their minds” in Ongoing Synod on Synodality: Nuncio in Kenya (ACI Africa)

For the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality to bear fruits for the Church in Africa and the whole world, the Vatican would like that the Laity “speak their minds” without feeling “intimidated”, the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya has said...

How both hurt and hope came out of the European Continental Assembly of the Synod in Prague (The Tablet)

The Zoom chat facility was turned off on the third day of the European Continental Assembly of the Synod, a hybrid gathering of 200 delegates in Prague and 390 online contributors spread across Europe. The organising body – the Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) – explained this was “to ensure that everyone feels welcome”. In the chat a minority of neo-traditionalists had identified themselves as “true” Catholics, imputing the infidelity of others. Shutting down the chat was a reminder that the Synodal process’s methodology of “spiritual conversation” emphasises listening above talking (or typing), discernment above democracy. It did, however, also shutdown fruitful sharing between the respectful majority of delegates from the continent’s 39 episcopal conferences who had been expressing their “joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties”... Disagreements broadly existed between Eastern and Western Europe, the former generally more “conservative” in doctrinal and social matters and the latter more “progressive” (though such dualistic terms lack nuance, and some participants on either side defied stereotypes)... Sadly, our diversity was not reflected in the optics of the gathering. On the opening and closing days only men sat at the dais in Prague, and it was hours before a woman’s voice was heard, despite repeated calls in the DCS for the increased valuing of women in the Church. Notably sparse in the assembly were young people, identifiably disabled people, or people whose ethnic origins were outside Europe. The European Union’s motto of Unity in Diversity was a recurring theme of the presentations and interventions. However, the assembly was clear demonstration that while Catholic culture is strong on unity (the synodal process tagline is Communion, Participation, Mission) we are not good at celebrating difference or knowing how to disagree well. This was confessed even within local Churches that have parallel Latin and Greek Catholic liturgical rites. Though the theme of the Continental Stage of the Synod is a biblical call for the Church to “enlarge the space of your tent” (Isaiah 54:2), the European assembly displayed a Church that is largely inward-looking. Calls for a renewed missionary spirit lacked specificity of action. Apart from one reference on the floor to Europe’s colonial legacy and historic domination of the wider Church, the assembly largely failed to “check our privilege”. Despite the fact that six other Continental Assemblies are taking place, hardly any mention was made to Europe’s relationship with the wider world (except predictable condemnations of “secular values”, or even to refugees dying on our shores. Some delegates acknowledged with shame how little attention has been given in the synodal process to the plight of the poor and of the planet, despite the best efforts of various participating NGOs and ecclesial movements with a focus on justice, peace, and integrity of creation... I never expected this assembly suddenly to resolve all the doctrinal debates of the Churches in Europe (everyone’s love of the Church was evident, but also divergent ecclesiologies)... Synodality is an ancient practice that we are rediscovering within Western Catholicism (the greater experience of Byzantine Catholic and Orthodox Churches was acknowledged, though more could have been made of the Reformed Churches) and while we have a destination in mind, it is the journey with Christ we must engage in. While some are sceptical of the process, most are encouraged by it, and one of the points of unanimity was the need for better formation to help us walk together.

Four Women Quit German Synodal Way, Say it Casts “doubt on central Catholic doctrines”

Ahead of the German Synodal Way’s final meeting next month, four prominent participants – all of them women – officially announced they were quitting the controversial process on Wednesday, February 22. The theology professors Katharina Westerhorstmann and Marianne Schlosser — together with the philosopher Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz and the journalist Dorothea Schmidt — raised fundamental objections about the direction and the conduct of the German event on February 22, reported CNA Deutsch, the ACI Group’s German-language news agency. The Synodal Way was “casting doubt on central Catholic doctrines and beliefs,” the women said in a statement published by the newspaper Welt. They also accused organizers of ignoring the Vatican’s repeated warnings and interventions... the four women on Feb. 22 said they could no longer in good conscience participate in a process that was “more and more” separating the Church in Germany from the universal Church...

Ongoing Diocesan Assembly in South Sudanese Diocese Keen on “strategic plans for future”

The ongoing Diocesan Pastoral Assembly of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek has participants keen on discussions that will result in some “strategic plans for the future” of the Diocese, the Local Ordinary of the South Sudanese Diocese has said... organized under the theme, “Walking Together as the Family of God”. The Pastoral Assembly that has brought together pastoral agents including Priests and Sisters serving in the 16 Parishes of the Diocese, heads of the Diocesan departments, and representatives of the Laity consisting of Catechists, women, and youth are to share about the activities of their respective contexts, Bishop Carlassare says... “The Assembly is not just a sitting place but a time when we journey together and choose concrete actions to bring peace and reconciliation in the country”... the Diocesan Pastoral Assembly that is happening in the context of the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality that is at the continental phase is important “especially in this time of the synodal process where we come together to share about the journey done in our Diocese.” “The Diocesan synod is very important because we look at the future to give more vision to the Diocese since it brings all of us together for a common goal,” Bishop Carlassare says, and adds, “It’s from the synod that we identify some issues facing the Diocese and take some steps to solve them.”

Both from ACI Africa.

African Panelists to Emphasize on Synod Working Documents at Continental Stage Prior to Meeting in Ethiopia (AMECEA)

The continental body of bishops in Africa known as the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has planned for a webinar on synodality with panelists from different countries within the continent to emphasize on the synod working documents at continental stage, in preparation for the upcoming continental meeting to be held in Addis, Ababa, Ethiopia. During the set meeting for Saturday, February 25, the Secretary General for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) Very Rev. Anthony Makunde who will be the guest speaker, will enlighten the online participants on the Document for the Continental Stage which is the fruit of the synthesis from the diocesan phase of the synod. Another panelist Fr. Michael Mensah from the University of Accra, Ghana will share his reflections on the biblical icon of the working document for the continental stage focusing on its relevance and impact in the continental stage. Consequently, one of the African Theologians Sr. Ester Lucas will explore the synodal journey “from diocesan synod to synod on synodality”, emphasizing more on the pastoral experience of communion, participation and mission which is the key theme for the three-year synodal journey...

Is the Holy Spirit leading you — or driving you — into synodality? (NCR)

Like Luke's version, Matthew describes Jesus being "led by the Spirit" into the desert, steered as if by a welcoming guide or companion. When I hear this story from either Matthew or Luke, I sometimes find myself picturing some kind of personified Holy Spirit holding out her hand to Jesus, clasping his and gently leading him into this hostile place where for 40 days and nights he will pray, reflect, discern and face temptations. While Matthew and Luke use the word "led" to describe what the Spirit is doing, Mark's account departs from this almost passive interpretation of the Holy Spirit's action. We read in this narration: "At once the Spirit drove him out into the desert" (Mark 1:12). The operative word here is "drove," which evokes for me a sense of nudging, pushing and insistence. You don't have to drive someone to do something if they are willing and able. In those cases, you would simply be able to lead them there...

I do see something of a parallel for the whole church as we continue to engage in the global process of synodality. The Holy Spirit is clearly at work, inspiring not just Pope Francis in calling for a synod of bishops on synodality, but also in all people of faith who are participating in the synodal sessions and engaging in the process of listening, learning and prayer. For many people who are able and willing, it is as if the Spirit were gently leading them into this synodal place. As new and unfamiliar as it may seem at times, these people see hope and possibility, even if the process can be messy and the ultimate outcome remains uncertain. They recognize this synodal experience is the work of the Holy Spirit who accompanies and empowers the body of Christ throughout the journey. Like Jesus emerging from the wilderness, those who are led by the Spirit into synodality know that things will be different and they will be changed, but they trust in God who continually sends the Spirit to "renew the face of the earth" (Psalm 104). But there are also those who are feeling driven into what they might describe as the desert of synodality. Some in the church are scared, defensive and critical of the synodal process. Such folks are convinced that the process of listening to experiences of the people of God would somehow threaten the tradition and stability of Catholicism (at least as they conceive of it). Like those led by the Spirit, those driven by the Spirit will have to confront their own demons in the wilderness and face multiple temptations. Key among these, in my view, is the temptation to deny that the Holy Spirit is the primary force at work in the synodal process. The naysayers want nothing to do with where the Holy Spirit is steering them and the rest of the church. They want stasis and predictability and control that are antithetical to how God actually works and has always worked in relationship to the world...

What Cardinal Robert McElroy's critics get wrong (NCR)

Cardinal Robert McElroy delivered a major address at Sacred Heart University... McElroy made clear that his observations grow out of the synodal process and the reports that have come both from the U.S. synthesis and from the worldwide Working Document for the Continental Stage, drafted at Frascati, Italy. And he pinpointed a pastoral need many bishops have expressed to me: how to keep the energy the synodal listening sessions unleashed going while the process itself continues to unfold.

"The finalization of our national report on the synod must not be seen as a time to pause meaningful listening, discernment and encounter on these questions, but as a signal that our continued willingness to confront them is a sign of our trust in God and the life of the church," he said. The synodal process "must always point to the missionary nature of the church which looks outward rather than becoming preoccupied with internal division," McElroy said. "At the same time, we must continually recognize that this missionary nature proceeds from unity in the church." This point can't be emphasized too much: The issues at stake in the discussion about inclusiveness are ecclesiological, not just moral. Our Catholic understanding of what is just is determined not only by some abstract consideration of the strength of the arguments but by patiently engaging the tradition, consulting the sensus fidei and discerning the call of the Holy Spirit. McElroy continued this focus on the relationship between synodal dialogue and ecclesiological unity. "Part of building such a consensus lies in understanding that the pathway toward greater inclusion and shared belonging is a gradual one, not a revolutionary one in which one side wins and one side loses," he said. "Reform must nourish the unity of the church, not weaken it"...

Scheduled SECAM Plenary Assembly to “prepare draft of African Synod Document”: Official (ACI Africa)

The Plenary Assembly of members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) scheduled to take place during the first week of March is to “prepare the draft of the African Synod Document”... “The Continental Assembly is a continuation of the Two Working Sessions held in Accra, Ghana and Nairobi, Kenya to prepare the draft of the African Synod Document,” SECAM leadership says in reference to working sessions held in December 2022 and January 2023... “The Assembly, which is guided by the Synod’s call to the Universal Church to communion, mission and participation aims at engaging the delegates from the Church in Africa”...

Three articles from the Tablet this week:

Controversy over synodal path overshadows German bishops' plenary

Controversy over the Synodal Path initiative for Church reform has overshadowed the German bishops’ spring plenary, which began in Dresden on 27 February. Shortly before the conference met, five delegates of the reform initiative resigned, among them the city dean of Bonn, Fr Wolfgang Picken, the Cologne archdiocesan clergy’s representative in the Synodal Path. At the opening of the plenary, the apostolic nuncio to Germany, Archbishop Nikola Eterovic, informed the German bishops that he had been officially commissioned to define more precisely the Vatican’s “no” to the German Synodal Path’s plans to establish a “synodal council”, in which bishops and lay persons would share in decision making. “If the 16 January letter is interpreted correctly, not even a diocesan bishop can establish a synodal council – not at the diocesan nor at the parish level,” Eterovic emphasised...

Church of Asia 'has a lot to give', synodal assembly told

As the three-day Asian continental assembly on synodality concluded in Thailand on Sunday, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, secretary general of the general secretariat of the synod, told delegates from the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences (FABC) that “the Church of Asia has a lot to give to the world”. He added: “If we do not serve the world, nobody will believe in our proclamation of the Gospel”...

North American synod team prepares response to send to Rome

Eight bishops, two women religious, three laywomen, two priests and two laymen gathered in Orlando, Florida for a week to begin the drafting process...

Church in Africa “needs to continue to be open”: Catholic Priest on Synodal Process (ACI Africa)

The Church in Africa “needs to continue to be open”, reaching out to the people of God on the periphery, a Catholic Priest has said in his reflection on the ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality that is at the continental phase. In his presentation in a webinar Fr. Michael Mensah reflected on the Biblical icons of the Document for the Continental Stage (DCS), described as “a synthesis of the reports that the universal Church submitted to the General Secretariat of the Synod in Rome”... “The three dimensions of the tent, the tent cloth, the rope, and the tent pegs present the architecture of the Church,” he said during the February 25 virtual event that was organized by Paulines Publications Africa to raise awareness about the Continental Stage of the Synodal process. The Ghanaian Catholic Priest added, “The other aspect of the tent cloth is the ability to stretch outwards and this is important because if the tent is able to stretch outwards, it's almost unlimited in its ability to expand, and to include and to bring other people into its fold.” “One of the things that DCS says about the tent cloth is the fact that it seems to be sometimes not so close and open so there is this ability for people to keep coming, and going openly as it were and that, you know is an image also of the openness of the Church to embrace as many people as possible,” he further said. The member of the Clergy of Ghana’s Accra Archdiocese continued, “The Church in Africa is supposed to be like one that protects and, of course, in Africa, we can speak endlessly about those who are vulnerable.” The tent cloth, he said, “is very important as an image for us and then the fact that the Church needs to continue to be open. Pope Francis has increasingly spoken about the Church being able to reach out to the peripheries”...

German Bishops’ Plenary underway on "Synodal Path" and World Synodal Process (Vatican News)

German bishops gather in Dresden to discuss the next stage of the national “Synodal Path”, the war in Ukraine, the upcoming World Youth Day in Lisbon, and abuse in the Church...

Let’s Enlarge “space of our tents” for Growth, Salvation: SECAM Official on Synodality (ACI Africa)

There is need for the people of God in Africa to enlarge “the space of our tents” to give room for God in the spirit of the Synod on Synodality that is at the continental phase, the first Vice President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has said...

“There is no Synodal Church without Conversation”, Says Cardinal Hollerich (AMECEA)

During the opening Mass of the Continental Synod Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, at De Leopole Hotel, Cardinal of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Cardinal Hollerich opined in his Homily that “there is no Synodal Church without conversation”, adding that it is not about democratic patches but it is about the Holy Spirit. “There is no synodal church without a synodal conversation. So, the synod is not about power. It’s not about democratic patches, it is about the Holy Spirit. A church that is open to the world, and its mission to all humanity. It is a church that knows how to pray. It is a church in line with the Holy Spirit". He further said that a Synodal church is a church that prays for the assistance of the Holy Spirit, adding that we need Holy Spirit and without the Holy Spirit it would be a mess. "Without the help of the Holy Spirit, it would be a mess, our Church politics has to be destroyed – progressives and conservatives, and even one continental church against one other continental church. Now we need the holy spirit and the holy spirit stirs up our deep desires that are deep in our heart”...

“Rooted in African anthropological principles”: SECAM President on Synodal Process (ACI Africa)

The ongoing preparations for the Synod on Synodality is consistent with the social networks typical of the people of God in Africa, the President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has said... this synodal process confirms the Church's way of doing things in Africa,” Cardinal Ambongo said... “Indeed, rooted in African anthropological principles, especially the palaver, Ubuntu and Ujamaa, which emphasize community spirit, sense of family, teamwork, solidarity and conviviality, the Catholic Church in Africa has grown as a Family of God”... “The privileged place to experience family spirit and synodality is the Small Christian Community.” He explained, “In many parts of the continent, the Small Christian Communities (SCCs) are the manifestation of the Church in Africa and constitute the space where the faithful are renewed and confirmed in their baptismal ministry and where they experience and live Synodality as mission, communion and participation”... “Small Christian Communities foster strong interpersonal relationships, deepen their sense of community, and promote the active proclamation of the Gospel of the Risen Lord.” SCCs “provide opportunities for common prayer, interaction, collaboration and reflection, welcoming and celebrating the unique gifts and charisms of each member,” the Cardinal said. “The Papal initiative to undertake this synodal journey came at the right time as an invitation to all members of the Church-Family of God in Africa and the Islands to pause and evaluate their journey as a Family,” he said... He said that with the Synodal process, the people of God in Africa are given “courage to evaluate our faith and to speak with freedom, courage and charity about the challenges we face in Africa, both in the Church and in society, and to engage deeply with these challenges in order to respond to them through concrete transformations.” “We are so grateful to the Holy Father for this pastoral initiative to call the whole Catholic Church to rediscover the precious value of Synodality”...

'Africa is a synodal continent' says assembly (Tablet)

Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo called the continental assembly “a Kairos for renewal of the Church in Africa”... African bishops said that synodality “has confirmed the Church’s way of doing things in Africa” following a reportedly “tense” final session of the continental assembly in Addis Ababa... They spent Saturday 5 March in efforts to whittle their respective priorities down to five, but eventually reached a consensus on eight points. These included a call for renewed pastoral care for families, focusing on broken marriages, re-married couples and single parents, a call for liturgical renewal to encourage participation in worship, and a commitment to fight the exploitation of natural resources and to promote ecological stewardship. The assembly also called on the Church to consider “communitarian culture as expressed in philosophies such as Ubuntu, Ujamaa, Indaba and Palaver where co-responsibility and subsidiarity are key principles”...

“The Church is Going Back to Her Roots,” Muslim and Presbyterian Delegates at Continental Synod Assembly (AMECEA)

Delegates from other faiths and religion who attended the just concluded continental synod assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia have appreciated their involvement in the Catholic synodal process noting that the Church is going back to her roots... “When I think of the roots of the Church, I think of myself visiting with friends and foreigners the different cathedrals and the Carthage that used to exist in the past centuries,” Bourial recounts his early years adding that being part of delegates in Ethiopia, “Gives me a feeling of how the people were living in this early church that we call in Tunisia Paleo-Christian where we have so many artifacts connected to the early church, especially tombstones. So, being included in such a group, it means a lot to me because it is a way of including the people who are not of the same community.” Mr. Bourial has appreciated the fact that the Catholic Church is liberal and open to whoever can contribute towards the good of the ongoing synod saying that “this is how we can work together and build peace and understanding and also involve people in a construction process.” He acknowledged the methodology used in the synod process which is spiritual conversation that allows individuals to reflect and share thoughts freely...

“Abstract topic”: Archbishop, Others on Initial Misconceptions about Synodality in Africa (ACI Africa)

When Catholic Bishops and Priests in Cameroon heard about the Synod on Synodality, which Pope Francis launched in October 2021, some of them flatly opposed it... Those who did not want anything to do with the Synod on Synodality said that Cameroon had “more important” issues to talk about, including the Anglophone crisis and the country’s economic crisis that had resulted from the violence in the country’s English-speaking region... Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of the Catholic Archdiocese of Bamenda in Cameroon said that some members of Clergy in the Central African nation saw the Synod on Synodality as “an abstract topic”, and that it had taken continuous training of the Clergy to create a significant understanding of a Synodal Church in the country. “When Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality, the first thing that the Bishops in Cameroon did was to ask about its relevance. They said that Cameroon was facing more serious issues and couldn't afford to waste time on a topic they said was abstract,” Archbishop Nkea said... The concept of listening, communion and participation was alien to the Church which had, for long, been clerical in nature, he said... some members of Clergy, at the beginning, had expressed fear that the Synod on Synodality had come to transfer “their power” to the Laity... He underlined the need for the Clergy and Laity to understand that no one in the Church is too illiterate to air their views in the Synod on Synodality, which he described as “a time for those who have been silent for too long to speak out for the first time”...

Edited to add: Africa’s Synodality Resource Team to Develop Training Module for Deeper Engagement (ACI Africa)

The newly constituted Synodality Resource Team (SRT) for Africa has started developing a manual to be used in various training activities to deepen the understanding of “a Synodal Church”. In 2018, the International Theological Commission defined Synodality as “the action of the Spirit in the communion of the Body of Christ and in the missionary journey of the People of God”... “Not everyone understands what the Synod on Synodality is about. There is a need to help everyone to understand what it means to be a Synodal Church”...

“Not everyone understands what the Synod on Synodality is about. There is a need to help everyone to understand what it means to be a Synodal Church.” That is seen perhaps even more so in the USA, where according to at least one US LT member there has been a distinct lack of understanding, resulting in apathy and even antipathy towards it.

This article is a few months old, but its headline makes an important and valid point, as does the quote from Pope Francis: "What is under discussion at Synodal gatherings are not traditional truths of Christian doctrine. The Synod is concerned mainly with how teaching can be lived and applied in the changing contexts of our time".

Bishop McGuckian on the Synod: Church teaching won’t be changed, we will (CatholicNews.ie)

Bishop McGuckian stressed that the ongoing Synodal Pathway “is vitally important at this moment in the history of the world.” He reiterated that the “challenge of Pope Francis to the Church is: will we simply mirror the culture? Will we become polarised, demonising those who are different, demonising each other?”... "I know that some people have been reluctant to be involved fearing that the Synodal process is a path towards changing the Church’s teaching. Pope Francis is quoted in the book Let us Dream saying: ‘What is under discussion at Synodal gatherings are not traditional truths of Christian doctrine. The Synod is concerned mainly with how teaching can be lived and applied in the changing contexts of our time’”... Speaking to the current divisions within the Church, The Bishop of Raphoe continued, “It goes without saying that there are divisions of opinion among Catholics even about Church teaching. Where there is division there will be tension which is often unpleasant. However, the invitation and the challenge to us who believe that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ is the following: If we walk together, if we speak the truth in love to one another and if we listen with love to others who think differently to us, then the Charity of God, the Holy Spirit will be among us and there will be change. Ultimately it is not the teaching of the Church that will be changed. It is we who will be changed. We will become more fully the Mystical Body of Christ”...

Laity in Africa Cautioned against Fostering Clericalism, Elevating “the Clergy too much” (ACI Africa)

Clericalism is not just a problem of the Clergy, members of the newly constituted Synodality Resource Team (SRT) for Africa have said, and called on the Laity to play their role in de-clericalizing the Church... the phenomenon of clericalism had surfaced prominently in synodal conversations. They described clericalism in various ways, including members of the Clergy abusing their positions, the Clergy feeling that theirs is the final word, as well as refusing to share out roles that the Laity can perform... “Priests who do things that can be done, even in a better way, by the Laity.” Fr. Marcel Uwineza highlighted a role such as financial administration of the Church, noting that any Catholic Church professional can handle church finances... “There are Priests who don't take breaks from work for fear of losing control”... It was observed that parishioners in some places are usually frustrated when they meet to discuss matters of the Church, knowing that it is the Priest who has the final word, whatever they come up with in those meetings. Clericalism is also seen in a Priest’s abuse of position, thinking that they are better than everyone else, “When they feel that they are super humans,” Fr. Uwineza said, and added, “I always tell students at Hekima to never forget that their calling to Priesthood doesn't make them better humans than anyone else.” According to Bishop Willybard Lagho of Kenya’s Malindi Diocese, clericalism is also brought to the fore in the internal conflicts between members of the Clergy who, sometimes, engage in power struggles. “When a Priest is transferred and finds a project in progress, ignores it and starts a totally new project, forgetting that it is the same Christians who contributed towards the project he ignored, that is Clericalism”... the Clergy are not solely to blame for clericalism in the Church. “Sometimes, it is the laity who elevate the Clergy too much that clericalism starts manifesting itself”... According to Dr. David Kaulem of Arrupe Jesuit University, the Laity advance clericalism when they fail to perform their roles in the Church, leaving everything to the Priest. “I believe that it is us lay people who are more Clerical in terms of engaging and participating. There are many things we can do as men, women, youth and children in the Church but we don't do them,” Mr. Kaulem said... de-clericalizing the Church requires formation...

Resource Team for Africa Proposes Synodality as Way to Heal Africa’s Deep-seated Wounds (ACI Africa)

Synodality, an invitation for the people of God to journey together irrespective of their differences, which the International Theological Commission defined as “the action of the Spirit in the communion of the Body of Christ and in the missionary journey of the People of God” can facilitate the healing of Africa’s deep wounds, member of the resource team that is working to deepen synodal engagements have said...

Call for lay and Religious to be involved in priestly formation (Tablet)

Contributions from Religious to the Synod contained a “powerful and fearless critique” of clericalism and a “clear call” for lay people and Religious to be involved in the formation of seminarians, according to a member of the group charged with drawing up the summary...

North American synod focuses on abuse scandals, inclusivity, and a ‘missionary’ Church (CNA)

The need to rebuild trust in the wake of abuse scandals, the need to be inclusive and welcoming while faithful to Church teaching, and the need to approach the synodal process as “a missionary movement” were on the minds of American and Canadian Catholics who participated in the North American phase of the Catholic Church’s synodal process...

Holy Spirit is 'at work' in Catholic Church in North America (Tablet)

The Holy Spirit is “truly at work” in the Catholic Church in North America a senior bishop has said as discussions about the forthcoming Synod on Synodality lead to the final document. The U.S. and Canadian bishops’ conference jointly issued the final document for the North American Continental stage of the Synod on Synodality. The 36-page text was the result of a series of regional listening sessions, most often virtual sessions, with delegates selected by diocesan bishops, culminating in a weeklong, in-person meeting with a smaller group tasked with synthesising the responses and drafting the document...The document mentions a variety of tensions within the Church. In one paragraph, it notes that those who are divorced and remarried often suffer because they have been excluded from full participation in the life of their parishes, and that those fond of the pre-Vatican liturgy also registered a similar experience of woundedness. The text also noted that “the synodal process of discernment in North America has revealed that the Church, like the larger society, is experiencing polarisation and a strong pull towards fragmentation”. It called for further “formation in synodality”...

Edited to add: The complete document can be found here.

Cardinal Tobin calls for unity, not just inclusion, in synod process (NCR)

The main points of Tobin's lecture were about grounding the synodal process in a rediscovery of "two past connections to the activity of the Holy Spirit." The first was the "double miracle at Pentecost." The first miracle is well known: "People hear the Good News in their own language, that is, in what makes them, 'them,' " Tobin said. The second is "subtler" and is often overlooked and unremarked: "Somehow, the hearing and subsequent belief in the Good News does not homogenize the disciples into a sort of featureless ecclesial 'porridge,' " Tobin explained. "Rather than eliminating cultural differences, the Spirit leads the disciples to a unity that is more profound and respectful than a minimalist notion of 'inclusion.' " Tobin said that the ongoing diversity of the early Christian community is evident from the fact that "the first conflicts were ethnic, cultural and theological." But the unity forged at Pentecost is greater still. Those at the first Pentecost, "will discover a principle of unity that, while not denying culture, gathers them together and makes reconciliation possible … the Holy Spirit," Tobin said...

Pope Francis gives women right to vote in bishops’ meeting for first time (Guardian)

Pope Francis has decided to give women the right to vote at an upcoming meeting of bishops, an unprecedented change that reflects his hopes to give women greater decision-making responsibilities. Francis approved changes to the norms governing the Synod of Bishops, a Vatican body that gathers the world’s bishops together for periodic meetings, following decades of demands by women to have the right to vote. The Vatican on Wednesday published the modifications he approved, which emphasise his vision for the lay faithful taking on a greater role in church affairs that have long been left to clerics, bishops and cardinals... under the new changes, five religious sisters will join five priests as voting representatives for religious orders. In addition, Francis has decided to appoint 70 non-bishop members of the synod and has asked that half of them be women. They too will have a vote. The aim is also to include young people among these 70 non-bishop members, who will be proposed to the pope by regional blocs, with Francis making a final decision...

Laypeople to Vote in Synod on Synodality Assembly: Vatican (ACI Africa)

The Vatican announced Wednesday that there will be laypeople participating as voting members in the Synod on Synodality’s October assembly, a break with past custom, which allowed laypeople to participate without the right to vote. Pope Francis will also approve every member in advance...After the vote on a final document for the assembly, the pope alone decides whether to take any actions based on the recommendations in the final text or whether to adopt it as an official Church document... The biggest change announced Wednesday was the removal of the “auditor” role. In past synods, auditors included priests, religious, and laypeople, who did not have the right to vote in synod deliberations. Now, these 70 members, who may be priests, consecrated women, deacons, and laypeople, will be able to vote. They will be chosen by the pope from among a list of 140 people selected by the leadership of this year’s continental synod meetings. According to the synod leadership, it is requested that “50% of the selected people be women and that the presence of young people also be emphasized”...

MALAWI: Church Invites Ex-Seminarians to Rise to the Occasion (AMECEA)

In the wake of responding to the call “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission” the Church in Malawi invites all ex-seminarians to feel part and parcel of the Church. Speaking during the double launch of Seminary Day and Seminary Fund on 28 May 2023, the Chaplain of National Association of Ex-Seminarians at the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) Rev. Fr. Henry Chinkanda said that ex-seminarians should not feel bitter for any reason but take it that it is the way it is that they are called on the other side, which is critical for the growth of the Church. “Come out and participate in the Church activities. Do not hold any grudge against any one about what happened for you to leave the seminary. I will give my own example. My dad was an ex-seminarian but he had me, his first-born son as a priest; my sisters produced priests as well. What would it be if my dad became a priest? We would not be talking of three priests in our family for sure. This why we call upon you all ex-seminarians to be present in the Church and accept the vocation you are in,” advised Fr. Chinkanda...

An interesting little vignette. Long gone are the days when people who left the seminary (and indeed priests who moved on from the priesthood) were reviled as "spoiled priests", thank God! Their commitment, training and experience can still be of great benefit to the Church and the world, and in many parts of Africa (and hopefully elsewhere) the Church still finds an active role for them.

Balancing solidarity and subsidiarity in the synodal process (Tablet)

Pope Francis has always spoken of the synods as part of the journey of the Church. It is a metaphor that has obvious appeal for the first Pope from South America, a metaphor that has been put to work for the people of the Amazon, for families and for young people. For the Synod on Synodality the journey is a voyage in time as much as space; we are travelling back as much as forward – to the early Church and the Council of Jerusalem to rediscover the Church we were called to be. Synodal journeys are as much about revisiting where we have come from as finding new places to pitch our tent. Journeys start at a precise point and move in a determined direction. They have a goal, an endpoint. They have purpose and develop consequences not always envisaged at the start. Journeys have a habit of taking longer and revealing more than was anticipated. Journeys take us to places that we did not imagine and reveal aspects of our nature that can surprise and delight...

The report* expounds on seven key tensions: the relationship between proclaiming the truth of the Gospel and witnessing to God’s infinite mercy, the articulation between fidelity to tradition and aggiornamento, the liturgy in the life of the Church, the pluralism of understanding mission, the ability to exercise the co-responsibility of all in the light of the diversity of charisms and ministries, the forms of exercising authority in a synodal Church and the articulation and unfolding of diversity and unity and the local-global dynamic...

* The final document of the Continental Assembly of the Synod, which was held in Prague from 5 to 9 February 2023, is available on the Assembly website (https://prague.synod2023.org/en/) and the website of the Council of the European Bishops’ Conferences (https://www.ccee.eu).

I posted an article here but on second thoughts moved it to the Current Catholic Issues thread.

"Instrumentum laboris' calls for welcoming Church that embraces diversity (Vatican News)

The General Secretariat of the Synod publishes the “Instrumentum laboris”, the document that will guide the work of the two-part General Assembly that will meet in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024. A document of some sixty pages that incorporates the experiences of local Churches in every region of the world – Churches that are experiencing wars, climate change, economic systems that produce “exploitation, inequality, and ‘waste’.” Churches whose faithful suffer martyrdom, in countries where they are minorities or where they are coming to terms “with an increasingly driven, and sometimes aggressive, secularisation.” Churches wounded by sexual abuse, or abuses of power and conscience,” whether economic and institutional – wounds that demand answers and “conversion.” Churches that are fearlessly confronting the challenges by engaging in the synodal discernment, without trying to “resolve them at all costs”: “Only in this way can these tensions become sources of energy and not lapse into destructive polarisations”... Deliberately conceived as a starting point and not a point of arrival, the Instrumentum laboris brings together the experiences of dioceses around the world over the last two years...

The document itself, XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS FOR A SYNODAL CHURCH: COMMUNION, PARTICIPATION, MISSION INSTRUMENTUM LABORIS For the First Session (October 2023), can be found here

Edited to add: Synod document sets the stage for ground-breaking summit (Tablet)

Bishops, priests, religious and lay people will be asked to consider a series of questions as part of the global synod process, including the ordination of married men, greater acceptance of LGBTQ+ Catholics, reform of governance, the selection of bishops and lay leadership. An overhaul of the seminary system to ensure that clergy are trained in a synodal manner is also mentioned repeatedly. This reflects a concern that some priests, particularly those ordained in recent years, have resisted or ignored the synod process. Speaking at a press conference to launch the synod document in the Vatican, Cardinal Mario Grech, the leader of the Holy See's synod office, said some people had claimed that the "People of God" cannot contribute to a synod process. The cardinal described this as an "insult." A section of the document is devoted to the “promotion of the baptismal dignity of women”, a topic which emerged as an urgent priority during the initial synodal dialogues worldwide. Pope Francis has ruled that, for the first time, women will take part in the October assembly as voting members. Participants in the synod will be asked to address “women’s participation in governance, decision-making, mission and ministries at all levels of the Church” and how this can be supported through appropriate structures, including “new ministries”. The document also explains that all synod reflections have called for “women’s inclusion in the diaconate” to be considered. “Is it possible to envisage this, and in what way?” the document asks. The presence of women deacons in the early Church is not disputed, although those opposed to reinstating them argue they were not ordained and only carried out tasks related to women...

Having “clear understanding” of Synod Working Document among Aims of Planned SECAM Seminar (ACI Africa)

Having “a deep knowledge and clear understanding” of Instrumentum Laboris, the working document for the XVI Ordinary Assembly of the Synod of Bishops popularly known as the Synod on Synodality, is one of the aims of a planned seminar targeting African delegates... “Through this seminar, we hope to help SECAM delegates achieve many things. First, to acquire a deep knowledge and clear understanding of the Instrumentum Laboris for the Synodal Assembly and its implications for the Church in Africa... to deepen the use of the conversation in the Spirit, drawing on the experiences from the African Synodal Continental Assembly, in order to foster meaningful and inclusive conversations, and active listening and dialogue as essential elements of synodality... to review and reflect on the African Synodal Document, which was adopted as the official document for the African Church during the Continental Assembly, in order to deepen delegates' familiarity with its content and recommendations and to ensure its integration into their contributions and conversations during the Synodal Assembly... to reflect on critical and important African issues to be shared during the Synod, including unique challenges, aspirations, and contributions of the Church in Africa, thus enabling the African delegation to speak with a united voice and effectively address the concerns of the Church in the African context”...

Vatican's Latest Document on Synod on Synodality: Here is What You Need to Know (ACI Africa)

What is the Synod on Synodality?... What does synodality mean?... What are the documents of the Synod on Synodality?... How will the Instrumentum Laboris be used in the October synod assembly?... What are the main questions that the Synod on Synodality will try to answer?... What are some of the topics that could be addressed in the synod assembly?... How does the Synod on Synodality differ from past synods of bishops?... What other events are happening leading up to the October Vatican assembly?... How is the participation in the Synod on Synodality?... Who are the key organizers of the Synod on Synodality?... What has Pope Francis said about the Synod on Synodality?... Is there a prayer for the Synod on Synodality?...

Synod on Synodality: Delegates Representing Africa (ACI Africa)

From the full list of some 364 participants in the October 4-29 Synod on Synodality in Rome, who include Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, women and men Religious, and Laity, 67 of them are from Africa...

Pope Francis’ picks for the synod are in—and suggest this will be a Vatican meeting like no other (America Magazine)

The Synod on Synodality is officially the 16th ordinary assembly of the synod of bishops, but it promises to be radically different from any of its predecessors. Having reported on all the synods since 1985, I have come to believe that this synod—articulated in two sessions—could well be the most transformative event in the Catholic Church since the Second Vatican Council...

Edited to add:Synod on Synodality: Vatican Publishes Full List of Participants (ACI Africa)

The Vatican published Friday the full list of participants who will take part in the upcoming Synod on Synodality assembly in October. Nearly a third of the 364 voting delegates in the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops were chosen directly by Pope Francis, including the American Jesuit Father James Martin, a frequent commentator on LGBTQ outreach; former prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller, and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago. For the first time, laypeople will not only participate in the Synod of Bishops assembly, they also will be full members, with the ability to vote on a final document at the end of the process in October 2024...

The full list can be found here

Lay synod member Catherine Clifford praises Pope Francis' method of dialogue, participation (NCR)

After nearly two years of parish listening sessions and consultations at the regional, national and continental levels, theologian Catherine Clifford said she thinks Catholics the world over are beginning to understand synodality. "This is like a long kind of apprenticeship," said Clifford, who teaches systematic and historical theology at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Canada. Catherine Clifford, a theologian in Canada, is one of 10 non-bishop delegates from North America who will participate as members at the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops on synodality in Rome. Clifford is one of 10 non-bishop delegates from North America who will participate as members at the Oct. 4-29 Synod of Bishops on synodality in Rome... Described by some observers as the largest consultative exercise in human history, Pope Francis has made the synod on synodality a key initiative in his decadelong papacy. The pope has said that synodality is what "God expects of the church of the third millennium." Francis has sought to use the synod's three-year global effort at listening and dialogue to model a synodal church where all the baptized — lay and clergy — journey together. In that church, bishops still govern their dioceses but they consult the faithful and listen to their lived experiences on a regular basis...

The synod will meet in a different Vatican hall. This could be groundbreaking (NCR)

While the synod hall utilizes stadium-style seating, with cardinals on the first rows, followed by bishops and then priests and with lay theological experts typically seated furthest back, this October's meeting on the future of the church will take place in the larger Pope Paul VI audience hall. The space that can hold over 6,000 pilgrims for papal audiences during colder temperatures will be transformed into a venue for small-group, roundtable discussions — though there are still discussions inside the Vatican these days on how the "dignity" of the cardinals will be represented in this new arrangement... And if one can pinpoint any major motivation for these sweeping synodal changes, one needs to look no further than a November 2021 meeting in Mexico, marking the first ever ecclessial assembly of the Latin American church, which served, in part, as a laboratory for what might play out here in Rome this fall. It was organized by the Latin American bishops' council, known as CELAM. No longer just an assembly of bishops, over 1,000 delegates — a mix of virtual and in person, and including lay men and women — gathered just north of Mexico City at the pope's initiative with what one of the participants, Austen Ivereigh, described as "in a synodal way, with the people of God as the protagonist." On hand for the occasion were also top officials from the Vatican's synod office, who got a firsthand look at what the pope's idea of synodality might look like in action. Emilce Cuda, an Argentine theologian who serves as secretary of the Vatican's Pontifical Commission for Latin America, told me that "the ecclesial assembly of Latin America should not be considered as an isolated event but as the result of a long process that began with the Second Vatican Council" — as, indeed, is Francis' prioritization of the synodal process as his major vehicle for implementing church reforms...

At the Catholic Church's worldwide synod, the deacons are missing (NCR)

In addition to Pope Francis, among voters and non-voters alike there will be some 273 bishops, 67 priests, 37 non-ordained men and women religious, 70 other lay men and women, and one deacon, Belgian Deacon Geert de Cubber... There were several deacons in the various synod processes, from parish and diocesan efforts to the national and continental levels, but that there is only one deacon in the entire assembly speaks volumes. After all, carrying the Gospel is a major diaconal task both literally and figuratively...

Catholic Bishops in Africa to Focus on “practical experience of Synodality” on SECAM Day

Members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) are expected to deliberate on the “practical experience” of the Synod on Synodality on the occasion of the annual SECAM Day... “This year we are celebrating SECAM Day with the theme: SECAM, a practical experience of synodality,” Catholic Bishops in Africa say... They add, “The ongoing synodal journey in the Universal Church motivates us to rediscover the treasure behind the formation of SECAM.” “In the mind of the Founding Fathers, this Symposium exists to preserve, foster and promote communion, joint action and collaboration among all the Episcopal Conferences of the entire Africa and Madagascar,” they say in their message. The Catholic Bishops in Africa note that “the walking together that the synodal process is inviting us to now, has been a reality that SECAM has sought to live since its foundation.” “By choosing the word Symposium, the Founding Fathers of SECAM wanted to emphasize their desire of communion and fellowship,” they say, and continue, “The bonds of communion, familyhood, teamwork, community sharing, and togetherness, which has characterized SECAM since its foundation, led to the choice of the image of the Church as the family of God.” SECAM members further say, “The Fathers of the Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops recommended the image of the Church as the family of God, because this image emphasizes care for others, solidarity, warmth in human relationships, acceptance, dialogue and trust.” “If we talk about collegiality and communion in the Church, it makes sense that it should first exist and operate at local levels, which includes the continental level, for it to be meaningful at the universal level,” SECAM members say. They continue, “The universal Church is too big to offer an experiential sense of what it means to be in communion and solidarity. A meaningful universal communion is better mediated through a continental body like SECAM”...

Vatican and German Bishops Discuss Theological Questions from Synodal Way

German bishops and representatives of the Roman Curia met in the Vatican on Wednesday to continue discussions started last year about the German Synodal Way. According to a joint statement from the Vatican and the German bishops’ conference, the July 26 meeting took place in a “positive and constructive climate” and will be followed by other encounters. The meeting was convened, the brief statement said, following the German bishops’ November 2022 ad limina visit, when “it was agreed that the theological and disciplinary issues that emerged in particular in the ‘Synodal Way’ would be further discussed.” The Synodal Way, which began in 2019, is a collaborative effort between the Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK) and the German bishops’ conference... While the Germans pushed forward with these controversial measures, the assembly held back from crossing a line laid down by the Vatican concerning the establishment of synodal councils at the national, diocesan, and parochial levels. The Vatican has said the synodal council model, which involves shared governance between bishops and the laity, is not consistent with Catholic ecclesiology. Pope Francis and the Vatican have intervened repeatedly in the Synodal Way, as have a large number of bishops and theologians, both from Germany and around the world, raising serious concerns about many aspects of the process...

Both from ACI Africa. Worth repeating, perhaps, that the German Synodal Way is not formally part of the Synod on Synodality, athough of course its methodology and model is indeed synodal.

Archbishop Malcolm McMahon on how the synod can bring about a ‘revolution’ (Tablet)

Archbishop McMahon said he believed the Church’s synod process points the “way forward” and spoke about the synod that had taken place in Liverpool diocese. He said it led him to introduce a new advisory council of lay people and priests strongly emphasising social action. He said a “revolution” in the Church would come about when the structures in the Church are populated with people who have become “synodal”, meaning they can listen, discern and encourage greater participation among Catholics...

African Pre-Synodal Seminar Lauded as “opportunity to set priorities” ahead of Rome Synod (ACI Africa)

Delegates representing Africa in the October Synod on Synodality assembly in Rome have concluded their preparatory seminar in Nairobi Kenya, describing it as timely, and an opportunity to focus on what they will be presenting at the assembly...

Firebrand Texas Bishop Strickland says Rome synod will reveal 'true schismatics' (NCR)

In a new public letter that echoes the Catholic Church's anti-modernist statements from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the controversial Bishop of Tyler, Texas, predicts that many of "the basic truths" of the Catholic faith will be challenged during the upcoming October meeting in Rome of the Synod of Bishops on synodality. Having previously accused Pope Francis of "undermining the Deposit of Faith," Bishop Joseph Strickland warns in his Aug. 22 letter of "the evil and false message" that he said has "invaded" the church... Strickland has questioned the concept of synodality, a historical practice where bishops consult the faithful in communion with the universal church...

I post this only as a comparison between the response to the Synod by "conservative" elements in the US Church and that of the Church in Africa and elsewhere.

Pope Francis: Synod "truly important" Despite Being "of little interest to general public" (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis acknowledged Saturday that the upcoming Synod on Synodality may be “of little interest to the general public,” but underlined that the synod is “truly important” for the Catholic Church. “I am well aware that speaking of a ‘Synod on Synodality’ may seem something abstruse, self-referential, excessively technical, and of little interest to the general public,” Pope Francis said on Aug. 26. “But what has happened over the past year, which will continue with the assembly next October and then with the second stage of Synod 2024, is something truly important for the Church”...

Rome set to host not one, but two, Synods of Bishops (Aleteia)

In a little over a month, hundreds of Catholics from around the world will descend on Rome for a long-planned and much-hyped gathering loosely referred to as the Synod on Synodality. Bishops, priests, lay Catholics and non-Catholic guests will meet with Pope Francis for much of the month of October to discuss the future of the Church. But a smaller gathering in the Eternal City, also bearing the name Synod, will take place starting this Sunday, September 3. It will culminate a week later with a planned Hierarchical Divine Liturgy in St. Peter’s Basilica, possibly in the presence of Pope Francis. This gathering is an annual meeting of the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, the largest of the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches in communion with Rome. His Beatitude Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head and father of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, announced in May that the Synod this year will meet in Rome, with the central theme being “Pastoral Support for Victims of War”...

Pope Francis tamps down hopes for Synod of Bishops livestream: 'Not a television program' (NCR)

Pope Francis on Sept. 4 said that next month's hotly anticipated Synod of Bishops will be open to the Holy Spirit — but not so much the press or the public. "This is not a television program where we can talk about everything," said the pope... The pope's remarks seemed to go against a number of efforts by Vatican officials, including those involved in organizing the synod, to make the October meeting a more open and transparent gathering than past proceedings, with even the possibility of having livestreamed broadcasts for as many of the sessions as possible. Francis, who has previously expressed frustration that synods before his papacy were too tightly controlled, told reporters that the religious character of the gathering must be preserved, in an apparent sign that the pope is not willing to overhaul the standard operating procedures of this closely watched synod. Francis said a commission chaired by the head of the Vatican's communication's office, Paolo Ruffini, will provide daily press releases about the major themes under discussion and noted that during the meeting, delegates would speak "freely" for several minutes at a time, followed by a pause for collective reflection, followed by prayer. "Without this prayer, it's politics," said the pope... The pope said the work of the synod's communication's commission would be "very respectful" and "will try to be truthful," adding that "it won't do gossip." "It is very open," the pope insisted. "Don't forget the protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit." When asked about recent criticisms of the synod, particularly by traditionalist U.S. Cardinal Raymond Burke, that have warned that the process will overhaul church doctrine, Francis dismissed those concerns, warning that doctrine can never become an ideology. "Detaching from the journey of communion is ideology," the pope warned...

Cardinal Cupich: ‘Nothing to be Feared’ from ‘Ancient Reality’ of Synod (National Catholic Register)

Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, urged Catholics to shed any fears or concerns of the upcoming Synod on Synodality, declaring the gathering to be part of an ancient Catholic tradition that seeks how to “remain faithful to Christ’s own plan” for the Church... In an Aug. 30 letter published in the Chicago archdiocesan newspaper Chicago Catholic, Cardinal Cupich accused synod critics of “stoking fears” by suggesting that the gathering could “radically alter Church teaching and practice.” “History has shown that the use of fear tactics by those who resist any kind of renewal that involves change is not new,” the archbishop said. He cited St. John XXIII’s warning, given at the outset of the Second Vatican Council, to beware of “prophets of doom who are always forecasting disaster” in the life of the Church. Critics of the synod “totally mischaracterize” its aims and intentions, Cupich said. The bishops at the meeting will be primarily examining how Catholics are “to remain faithful to Christ’s own plan for the Church,” he argued. Pope Francis’ calling of the synod, Cardinal Cupich said, is “in keeping with the vision of his predecessors” and with Vatican II, the cardinal argued; the concept of “synodality” itself “speaks to an ancient reality” of the Catholic Church. The archbishop cited the Vatican International Theological Commission’s argument that “making a synodal Church a reality is an indispensable precondition for a new missionary energy that will involve the entire people of God.” “That surely is nothing ever to be feared,” Cardinal Cupich said...

Cardinal Schönborn: 'Synodality is way of living communion in the Church' (Vatican News)

"Synodality is the modus operandi of ecclesial communion; it is participation also on governance issues and decisions, on aspects of the life of the Church. The Synod on synodality is a synod on how ecclesial communion, the journeying together of all the members of the people of God, is lived in an evangelical way"...

New book on synodality presents Church leaders' insights in the wake of Vatican II (Vatican News)

A new book, presented Tuesday night at Rome’s LUMSA University, gathers together more than fifty interviews with lay people, religious, founders of movements, and intellectuals, who reflected on synodality in the wake of the Second Vatican Council...

Two mainland China bishops to attend big Vatican meeting after tensions (Reuters)

Two bishops from mainland China are due to attend a major Vatican meeting next month, officials said on Thursday, a positive sign after recent tensions between the Holy See and Beijing... The two are Anthony Yao Shun of Jining and Joseph Yang Yongqiang of Zhoucun...

Synod on Synodality: Zambian Catholic Bishop Urges Prayer, “invocation of the Holy Spirit” (ACI Africa)

Bishop Edwin Mwansa Mulandu of Mpika Diocese in Zambia has called on the people of God in his Episcopal See to pray for the success of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops set to begin on October 4 in Rome. In a Thursday, September 21 statement, Bishop Mulandu says, “The process that began with the consultation of the people of God has now reached another stage.” “The Synod is above all an event of prayer that involves every baptized person and every particular Church,” the Zambian Catholic Bishop says. He adds, “It is for this reason that we all have been called upon to unite in communion of prayer and insistent invocation of the Holy Spirit to pray for the Holy Father, Pope Francis and all the members of the Synodal Assembly for guidance in discerning what the Lord is asking of his Church today”...

Synod 2023: What has Pope Francis said about synodality? (CNA)

In some of his more recent comments on synodality, Pope Francis said, “speaking of a ‘Synod on Synodality’ may seem something abstruse, self-referential, excessively technical, of little interest to the general public,” but it is “something truly important for the Church.” “Precisely at this time, when there is much talk and little listening, and when the sense of the common good is in danger of weakening, the Church as a whole has embarked on a journey to rediscover the word together,” he said... “Walk together. Question together. Take responsibility together for community discernment, which for us is prayer, as the first Apostles did: This is synodality, which we would like to make a daily habit in all its expressions,” he added. Here are some of the other things Pope Francis has said about synodality during his papacy...

Ahead of the Upcoming October Synod, Vatican Calls the Faithful to Be on Their Knees and Pray (AMECEA)

Counting down the days to the month-long XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the month of October, the Vatican has called on all the faithful across the globe to ask for God’s intervention stressing that “Without prayer there will be no synod”...

Vatican Discloses Four Forms of Prayer to Express the Church’s Synodal Life (AMECEA)

“The first step in prayer is listening to the Word of God, listening to the Spirit"... The second form of prayer the Cardinal disclosed, is adoration... The third form of prayer to express the Church’s synodal life is the intercessions... Thanksgiving is yet another form of prayer that the people of God are encouraged to use...

But apparently a rival "alternative synod" is planned by some "pro-reform Catholic organisations":

Alternative Catholic synod to push case for ordination of women priests (Guardian)

To underline this clamour for change, a consortium of 45 pro-reform Catholic organisations will run their own synod – entitled Spirit Unbounded – alongside the official event: and former Irish president Mary McAleese, who will be among its keynote speakers, says it is crunch time for Francis and his cardinals and bishops. “They have to do something more than a cynical exercise in kicking the can down the road,” she says. “If the cardinals and bishops can be humbled into listening to the people of God, maybe the Holy Spirit will have a chance to bring about change”...

I am a US archbishop attending Pope Francis' synod. Here's how I am preparing (NCR)

I look forward to October this year! While it entails being absent from my beloved Archdiocese of Seattle for four weeks this fall, there is something inside me which says the next two Octobers will be significant in my life and in the life of the church I love and serve. I will be attending the first assembly of the synod on synodality in Rome, being held from Oct. 4-29. I'm too young to remember much about the Second Vatican Council, and I am too old not to be concerned about so much of its vision yet to be addressed by our church. One of its greatest insights was the need to gather to address the challenges of the times. The council fathers knew that the world and church were changing or in need of change. They also knew that there would be a need for a modality by which our church could continue to review and address the changes as they occurred. Their solution? Synods.... I hear the words of the Risen Jesus as the synod draws ever closer: "Peace. Do not be afraid. Receive the Holy Spirit." Knowing that synodality is a community of faith seeking to know the Father's will by prayerfully reflecting on the Word of God, listening to the Holy Spirit, that we might more perfectly embody Christ as church, all guided by sacred Scripture and tradition, what is there to fear? This is the church at prayer!... There are two keys to this synod which I find helpful. First, the real protagonist of the synod is the Holy Spirit. We long to hear what the Holy Spirit is saying to the church today. Finally, the goal of the synod is not to produce a document, rather as the working document says: The goal "will be to continue to animate the synodal process in the ordinary life of the Church, identifying which pathways the Spirit invites us to walk along more decisively as one People of God" (Paragraph 3)... I have spent the past several weeks renewing my prayer life, longing for greater receptivity to the voice of the Holy Spirit, to better discern in communion with the other synod delegates and our Holy Father, Francis, how best to carry out the mission of the church today.

I invite you to join all of us with your prayers.

God the Father, your will make known,
Through your Holy Word, Jesus Christ your Son,
By the whispering, promptings, and power of your Holy Spirit,
Through the intercession of our Mother Mary,

Amen.

Diocese of Rome: Thousands Expected at Vatican for Ecumenical Prayer Vigil Ahead of Synod

The Diocese of Rome on Monday said it is anticipating thousands of pilgrims in attendance at an ecumenical prayer vigil at the Vatican later this week, with the event scheduled ahead of the start of the historic synod taking place in Rome in October. The Roman vicariate said in a press release that “approximately 3,000 people” are expected to attend the event “Together — Gathering of the People of God” being hosted in that city over Friday and Saturday. The event is advertised on its website as “an ecumenical prayer vigil” that will “take place in Rome in the presence of Pope Francis and representatives of different Churches, to unite us in praise and silence, in listening to the Word.” The prayer service is occurring just days before the launch of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will take place in Rome over the course of October. The vigil “will be an opportunity to entrust the work of the {synod} to the Holy Spirit,” the diocese said. The Vatican said earlier this month that the event would “emphasize the centrality of prayer in the synodal process” and “underline the articulation between the synodal path and the ecumenical path”...

Delegates to Synod on Synodality to Give “no room for distraction”: Archbishop in Cameroon

In a September 23 interview, Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda Archdiocese in Cameroon said deliberations during the Synod that Pope Francis extended to 2024 will focus on the Instrumentum Laboris. “We are not going to allow ourselves to be distracted by the social media antics; there will be no room for distraction,” Archbishop Nkea said, adding, “The aim of the synod is to reflect on the Church we have and how we want it to be and not to change the doctrine of the Church”... “We are going to reflect on the problem of LGBT+ in families and polygamy in marriage but it’s not about changing the teachings of the Church. There is already an Instrumentum Laboris we are working on”... “We have dedicated three years of effort to prepare for this event through questionnaires and a mini-African synod that was held in Ethiopia.” “We are going to allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us”... Reflecting on how synodality was lived in Cameroon, he said, “Synodality has, so to speak, caught fire not only in Cameroon but in Africa. The synod is not a new thing to the Church in Cameroon because we have conveyed to our faithful from the very beginning what every Diocese must do to respond to Pope Francis’ call to listen to one another, progress together, share ideas, and remember that, as Christians, we must not leave anyone behind.” He went on to explain that in Cameroon, the structural approach “begins with decisions made at the grassroot community levels.” “The spirit of collegiality is our way of functioning. We always start with the population and the community, then proceed to missions, parishes, and the Diocese,” Archbishop Nkea said. He noted that “when a Bishop contemplates a decision on a particular issue, the consultation process begins with the involvement of the faithful, starting with families … Together with his (Bishop’s) advisors, they make the final decision based on the input received”... “The Holy Father invites us to engage in dialogue to discern the kind of Church we have and the kind of Church we aspire to build in a truly evangelical spirit.” “We aim for a Church that is closely connected to the people, one that is recognized at the periphery. While other topics may surface during the synod, the primary focus is on our collective journey and discernment,” Bishop Nkuo, who is not among the delegates to the Synod, said. He continued, “We are a mature Church. The Holy Father does not endorse ideologies; he embraces individuals. Every human being is precious in the eyes of God. The Holy Father does not engage with organizations or NGOs that have specific agendas. We come to the Church not to change its teachings but to deepen our understanding together.”

Both from ACI Africa

African Catholic Journalists Urged to Promote Idea of the Synod, Speak the Truth

At a virtual session prior to the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to commence from 4th to 29th October in Rome, Catholic journalists have been called upon to be truthful when disseminating information about the Synod and to amplify the idea of the Synod which stresses on dialogue and Spiritual Conversation... the communication commission created by the Holy Father has been given the responsibility to communicate the information to participants and communicators hence the need to communicate the truth without speculation..

Spiritual Engagement Will be the Guiding Tool for the October Synod: says Cleric

Fr. Andrew Kaufa the Social Communications Coordinator for the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) shared that the monthlong synod, “will follow the process of Spiritual engagement as delegates share experiences, as members of the Church, listen to one another without contradiction and reflect on the insights from each other.” He adds that this process will be continuous and in the context of prayer, “until the delegates together with the Pope come to a common consensus on what is to be the future of the Church regarding journeying together as a family of God.” According to Fr. Kaufa who will be with the communication team in Rome to help in dissemination of what will be taking place during the synodal process, the Church’s reference as delegates share in groups will always be to focus on the mission of Jesus which he gave to the Church. “In the process of the synod, we will encounter Jesus himself, we will be inspired by the Holy Spirit because God is with us and among us,” he shared what is expected during the month-long meeting acknowledging that so many questions have been raised in regard to the methodology that was proposed by the Holy Father on Spiritual conversation since “this (methodology) seem to be new to many delegates”...

Both from AMECEA. The first is particularly important given the amount of often unhelpful and misleading speculation to be found in some quarters of the media, especially social media.

German bishops conclude tense gathering with all eyes on Synod on Synodality in Rome (CNA)

As German bishops wrapped up their plenary meeting on Thursday with a final press conference amid tensions over same-sex blessings and a whole host of underlying issues, the focus was clear: All eyes were turned toward the fraught relationship with Rome and the forthcoming Synod on Synodality... {Bishop George Bätzing of Limburg, president of the German Bishops’ Conference} on Sept. 28 accused the pope’s envoy to Germany of engaging in a culture war with terms such as “gender ideology” or “ideological colonization.” “And when the Church engages in a culture war, it will always lose,” he said. Bätzing used the German term for culture war — “Kulturkampf.” Given its bitter historical context, this is a loaded concept... The alternative to a culture war, Bätzing added, was “not adaptation, not simply agreeing to everything and going along with everything,” but “the ecclesial principle” of “discernment of spirits.” “This is precisely what we have tried to do in the Synodal Way,” the bishop claimed. “The spirit of the times — ‘Zeitgeist’ — is the spirit of the world. Signs of the times are signs that God gives to people through culture, through a current development {movement}, so that we can better understand what the Gospel wants.” The president of the German bishops’ conference added: “We have to differentiate”... Augsburg Bishop Bertram Meier, who will attend the synod in Rome, offered a nuanced view on Thursday, stressing the need for the “wealth of different positions, opinions, and creative ideas.” Yet, the prudent prelate warned that diversity should not become division. “I also wish that from the diversity of opinions no threats stand, but that we discover the richness of what catholicity means,” Meier remarked. Amid this diverse cacophony, Bätzing doubled down on his stance, declaring: “We are in a phase in the Church where perhaps it is not security that is the unifying and stabilizing element but rather a dynamic in certain directions”... With the Synod on Synodality on the immediate horizon, the Catholic world will watch how Germany’s controversial Synodal Way integrates — or collides — with the global Catholic event. Bätzing’s assertion that “a dynamic in certain directions” holds the Church together now casts its shadow onto the upcoming synod.

Pope Francis calls silence ‘essential’ at prayer vigil for Synod on Synodality (CNA)

Pope Francis told those gathered at an ecumenical prayer vigil days before the opening of the Synod on Synodality that silence is essential for Christians. “In a world full of noise, we are no longer accustomed to silence; indeed sometimes we struggle with it, because silence forces us to face God and ourselves. Yet it lies at the foundation of the Word and of life,” the pope said in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 30. Before thousands of young people and Christian leaders from around the world, Francis emphasized the importance of silent prayer... The prayer service, called “Together,” which was organized by the ecumenical community Taizé, included eight minutes of silence for personal prayer... Three other heads of churches attended the prayer vigil together with other Catholic and Christian leaders: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, primate of the Anglican Church Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury, and Syriac Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius Aphrem II... After the prayer vigil on the evening of Sept. 30 through the evening of Oct. 3, the synod’s participants will take part in a spiritual retreat in Sacrofano, Italy, about 15 miles north of Rome. In his reflection, Pope Francis also spoke about the importance of silence for the Synod on Synodality. “Silence, in the ecclesial community, makes fraternal communication possible, where the Holy Spirit draws together points of view,” he said. “What is more, silence enables true discernment, through attentive listening to the Spirit’s ‘sighs too deep for words’ (Rom 8:26) that echo, often hidden, within the people of God.” He added that silence is also essential for the journey of Christian unity. “Indeed, {silence} is fundamental to prayer, and ecumenism begins with prayer and is sterile without it. Jesus himself prayed that his disciples ‘may all be one’ (Jn 17:21),” he said. Pope Francis emphasized that silence is also an important aspect of evangelization, because “truth does not need loud cries to reach people’s hearts”...

‘Not much new’ will come out of this year’s synod, Vatican’s doctrine chief predicts (CNA)

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, the Vatican’s new chief of doctrine, predicts that “those who expect big changes” to come out of this month’s Synod of Bishops will be “disappointed.” But the Argentinian prelate, speaking Saturday in an exclusive interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, left the door open to such changes happening at a later date... he predicted that those on both sides of the Church’s polarized wings will not get what they want, or fear. “People who are afraid of strange or misplaced doctrinal advances, and people who, on the other hand, expect great changes, are going to be really disappointed,” he said. The Synod on Synodality, he said, “is not conceived in this vein.” “At least not this year,” he added. “Afterwards, we will see what emerges, and next year we will see what happens, but for this synod, this year, we cannot expect too much.” What can be expected, the new cardinal assured, is “deepening of our self-awareness, of what we are as Church, what the Lord is asking of us, and what the world of today expects as well, and how we can better reach people with the same message we have always had.” “If we manage to attain a light that guides us, that orients us, for the future of what we have to be before the people of God and before the world, I think that would already be immense, but it will not attract anyone’s attention. You can’t make a headline out of it,” he reflected...

Vatican Releases Pope Francis’ Responses to Pre-synod Dubia, Criticizes Cardinals (ACI Africa)

The Vatican has released Pope Francis’ original responses to a set of dubia on highly-charged doctrinal questions submitted by five cardinals earlier this summer — and criticized the cardinals for going public with the matter just days before the start of the Synod on Synodality. The pope’s responses, originally issued July 11, responded to requests for doctrinal clarification on the nature of the development of doctrine, the Church’s inability to bless same-sex unions, the authority of the upcoming synod, the impossibility of sacramentally ordaining women, and the necessity of repentance to be sacramentally absolved. They were made available on the Vatican’s website earlier today, only hours after the cardinals publicly announced that the pope had not answered a revised set of questions meant to elicit more clear answers...

Full text of Pope Francis’ response to the dubia presented to him by 5 cardinals (CNA)

The Five Cardinals Behind the Latest Dubia Issued to Pope Francis (ACI Africa)

Five cardinals have sent a set of questions to Pope Francis to express their concerns before this week’s Synod on Synodality opening at the Vatican... Cardinal Walter Brandmüller... Cardinal Raymond Burke... Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, SDB... Cardinal Juan Sandoval Íñiguez...

The usual suspects, one might be tempted to say!

Pope Francis suggests gay couples could be blessed in Vatican reversal (Guardian)

Pope Francis has suggested there could be ways to bless same-sex unions, responding to five conservative cardinals who challenged him to affirm church teaching on homosexuality ahead of a big meeting where LGBTQ+ Catholics are on the agenda... Francis suggests that such blessings could be studied if they did not confuse the blessing with sacramental marriage...

Meanwhile, in Africa:

South African Catholic Bishop Faults Leaders “saying no to the Synod”, Prays for Wisdom (ACI Africa)

The President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) is optimistic that the October 4-29 Synod on Synodality taking place in Rome will lead the Church into the right direction, appealed to those opposed to the Synod to have a change of heart, enlightened by the gift of wisdom. According to Bishop Sithembele Sipuka of South Africa’s Mthatha Diocese, excitement and tension punctuate the meeting of Bishops in Rome, with some Religious leaders still opposed to the upcoming synodal conversations... Bishop Sipuka likened the various groups of Church leaders to the two sons in the Gospel of Matthew, who had varied responses when their father sent them to work in his vineyard. The Catholic Bishop invited Church leaders who had said ‘no’ to the Synod on Synodality to rethink their response, and those who had said ‘yes’ not to be like the son who did nothing after he agreed to be sent...

And a new book, Toward a Synodal Church in Africa: Echoes from an African Christian Palaver, edited by Ikenna U. Okafor, Josee Ngalula, Nicholaus Segeja and Stan Chu Ilo.

A series of reflections posted by AMECEA

At the Synod Participants’ Retreat, Preacher Highlights the Attitude Necessary for Fruitful Assembly

Faith, hope, and unity will make every baptized in the Church, with one another and with God. Like the disciples on the way to Emmaus, this requires the synod delegates to have a friendly spiritual conversation. This summarizes the content of the three-day retreat for the participants at the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops synod, which was themed on the episode of the Transfiguration of Jesus (Mark 9:2-8.) The preacher, Fr Timothy P.J. Radcliffe OP, insisted that this attitude is important especially now when Synod is at the universal stage...

Attitude of Homeness with One Another and with God: Reflection to Synod Delegates

In his second meditation, the preacher Fr Timothy P.J. Radcliffe invited the synod participants to be at home in God and to allow God to be at home in them. “We come to this Synod with conflicting hopes. But this need not be an insuperable obstacle. We are united in the hope of the Eucharist, a hope which embraces and transcends all that we long for,” he said and added in reference to the diverse hope expressed by the continental reports, “ Oceania proposed the image of the boat and Africa suggested the image of the Church as the family of God, capable of offering belonging and welcome to all its members in all their variety.’ But all of these images show that we need somewhere in which we are both accepted and challenged. At home, we are affirmed as we are and invited to be more. Home is where we are known, loved, and safe but challenged to embark on the adventure of faith.” Fr. Radcliffe invites the synod assembly to be realistic and acknowledge the tension that comes along with the Church’s identity of being universal and diverse in terms of space and culture can pause on the synod...

Attitude of Friendship: Reflection to Synod Delegates

In the third reflection, the preacher recalled the prayers of Jesus on the night before he died (Jn 17:11) in order to take the retreatants back the theme of unity but also to underscore the importance of welcoming those who are different or evil doers. “On the night before he died, Jesus addressed the disciples who were about to betray, deny, and desert him, saying: ‘I call you friends.’ (John 15.15). We are embraced by the healing friendship of God which unlocks the doors of the prisons we create for ourselves,” said Fr Timothy P.J. Radcliffe OP, adding, “The invisible God speaks to men and women as friends. He opened the way into the eternal friendship of the Trinity. This friendship was offered to his disciples, to tax collectors and prostitutes, to lawyers and foreigners. It was the first taste of the Kingdom. So, the foundation of all that we shall do in this Synod should be the friendships we create,” he insisted as he connected the point to the Parable of the Good Samaritan to underscore that friendship is a creative art for “In English, we say that we fall in love but we make friends.” “The foundation of all that we shall do in this Synod should be the friendships we create,” he went on and further appealed to the participants, “The bravest thing we can do in this Synod is to be truthful about our doubts and questions with each other, the questions to which we have no clear answers”...

Attitude of Spiritual Conversation: Reflection to Synod Delegates

Fr Timothy P.J. Radcliffe, OP also looked at the conversation between the disciples on the way to Emmaus as typical of the synod, arguing that such an exchange of ideas is one of the attitudes necessary for the synodal assembly. Fr. Radcliffe emphasized that, like in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden where they hear God asking them where they are, such a conversation can only start when the Church hears God’s invitation “to step out into the light and stand visibly before the face of God.” In the same way, Jesus asked the disciples on the way to Emmaus what they were talking about. “When the disciples flee to Emmaus, they are filled with anger and disappointment. The women claim to have seen the Lord, but they were only women. As today sometimes, women did not seem to count! The disciples are running away from the community of the Church, like so many people today. Jesus does not block their way or condemn them. He asks ‘What are you talking about?’”, said the Dominican preacher to emphasize that for such as conversation to be realized during the synod, the point of departure must be what has already been discussed: to listen. Many people hope that in this Synod their voice will be heard. They feel ignored and voiceless. They are right. But we will only have a voice if we first listen,” he argued. Fr Radcliffe also warns the participants that true conversation is also risky but necessary for the Church. “As the disciples walk to Emmaus, they listen to this stranger who calls them fools and contradicts them. He is angry too! But they begin to delight in his words. Their hearts burn within them. During the Synod can we learn the ecstatic pleasure of disagreement leading to insight?”...

Here’s what the Church’s Newest Cardinals Think About the Synod on Synodality (ACI Africa)

Just days before the start of the first monthlong assembly of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis convened a consistory to create 21 new cardinals — eight of whom are also delegates in the October synodal gathering at the Vatican... Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, said: “Being a synodal Church that knows how to listen to everyone is the way not only to live the faith personally but also to grow in true Christian fraternity”... Pope Francis has “reminded us that it is necessary to learn to listen like the saints, like St. Francis of Assisi who listened to the voice of God, the voice of the poor, the voice of the sick, the voice of nature”... Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, 59, archbishop of South Sudan... “My hope is very wide,” Mulla said. “I know that the Synod on Synodality … it is a way of participating, it is a way of communion, it is a way of mission together — in very simple terms — we should hope that this synod will bring a lot of things that will help us understand our faith in modern times. And we would like to say that the synod may be a way of solving the many problems, the many challenges, that the universal Church is facing in each local state and {universally}”... Cardinal Stephen Brislin, 67, archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa... Brislin was asked to expand on a comment he made to Vatican News in July, when he said the fact that the consistory was scheduled to take place right before the synod was “a wonderful opportunity for the Church, as we embark and battle and struggle with quite a number of new issues that we haven’t really faced as Church before.” Brislin said Sept. 28: “I think one of the biggest battles that we all face as a Church and as people who believe in God is the fact that so many people seem to be falling away from the Church, so many people seem to be losing their faith. And to me one of the biggest struggles is how do we actually reach out to people. Because we’re offering life to people, God is offering life to people through us. How can we convey that to people in ways in which they understand?”...

I've been away for a few days and there has been a multitude of news stories, reports and updates on the Synod on Synodality, too many to post. Here's some that caught my eye.

Pope Francis to Synod on Synodality Participants: "Do not sadden the Holy Spirit" (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis in his opening remarks for the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday offered guidance to participants on how the monthlong assembly will proceed. Pointing synod delegates to texts by St. Basil on the Holy Spirit, the pope emphasized the importance of listening over speaking. He said the Church is “paused” just like the apostles were when together in the upper room before Pentecost, except they were hiding in fear and “we are not.” “It’s a pause of the listening Church. And that’s the most important message,” he said Oct. 4 in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall...

A Church That Has God at Its Center, This is How Jesus Wants His Church, Says Pope Francis During Opening Mass of Synod Meeting (AMECEA)

Pope Francis has reminded the Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod that the Synod is not a parliamentary meeting but “a moment to contemplate God’s action and discern the present, an exercise which is so important at this moment when the Church is doing its mission in a difficult moment, which he referred to as “one of pastoral desolation.” “In the moment of desolation, Jesus has a gaze capable of seeing beyond: he praises the wisdom of the Father and is able to discern the good that grows unseen, the seed of the Word welcomed by the simple, the light of the Kingdom of God that shows the way even in the night,” he said. Reflecting on the example of Jesus who always fixed his eyes on heaven in difficult times, the Holy Father reminded the assembly of Pope John XXIII’s opening address for the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, which urged the Council Fathers to be ever-looking to the present, to the new conditions and new forms of life introduced into the modern world which have opened new avenues to the Catholic apostolate,” adding, Jesus “took up only the weapons of the Gospel: humility and unity, prayer, and charity. Let us do the same”...

A Synod Calls On the Church To Discern How to Welcome the Poor (AMECEA)

Mother Maria Ignazia Angelini OSB invited the 16th General Assembly of Bishops Synod to emulate the welcoming heart of Jesus Christ even to the children and the poor. She said this during her pre-Mass reflection on the second day of the Synod participants retreat, Monday, October 2, 2023, as she reflected on Mathew 25:28-22. “Welcoming God’s elect, and God who sends, in the child (Mt 25:31-46), this will be the roadmap to Jerusalem, and to the final judgment,” Mother Angelini said and asked, “How can one discern and welcome the small, the poor, in today’s church?” For Mother Angelini, the Church today is in a world where humanity is characterized by confusion and uncertainty. In such an environment, the Church must take a path of conversion to welcome the prophecy of the little ones, the unpredictable, ready also to journey the path of Jerusalem, the way of the Cross. Connecting this to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Bishops, Mother Angelini argues that “There is a profound link between how the Christian community relates to the irrelevant, the poor, the invisible and the acceptance of God’s plan, and this must inform the entire synod process...

Synodality: not a concept, but an experience of listening and inclusion (Vatican News)

The General Assembly is not a place for expressing personal opinions, but a place to listen, discern, and walk together toward the shore where the Lord is awaiting us...

Outcome of Synod Will Be Welcomed as the ‘Will of God,’ Says African Cardinal(National Catholic Register)

A leading African prelate participating in the Synod on Synodality expressed confidence Saturday that the process’ outcome will be “welcomed by everyone as the will of God.” Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu also sought to counter what he called “excessive expectations” by some in the Church that the synod would “bring solutions to all their problems.” Instead, he argued that the initiative is about providing “new ways to address problems, whatever they are,” with “a spirit of synodality.” “I don’t think the synod’s goals consist in facing this way or that, but in a new way of being a Church, a new spirit,” said Cardinal Besungu... Among the questions Cardinal Besungu was asked was how the synod’s outcome could be considered an authoritative expression of God’s will, given that it lacks the special status of an ecumenical council, as the Second Vatican Council had. The cardinal pointed to the “method of discernment” animating the synodal process and the authority he said participants have by virtue of their baptism. For the first time ever at a Synod of Bishops, 27% of the voting members are non-bishops, and discussion will be guided by a “conversations in the spirit” method of speaking, listening and discerning. “It is by virtue of baptism that we have the same responsibility before the Church, and I think all those present have the authority to speak on behalf of the Church,” the cardinal said... “No one has come here with his or her own agenda,” he said. “We are all brothers and sisters listening to the will of God for his Church”...

Edited to add: This Week at the Synod on Synodality: Deliberations and Veiled Agendas (ACI Africa)

The Synod on Synodality at the Vatican will see another premiere this week, as the gathering switches from group work in small circles to a plenary assembly — one of the official “Congregationes Generales.” Journalists will finally, for a time, be able to tune into actual speeches and proceedings in the audience hall... This week unfolds with new speeches but also themes of potential external influences, the quest for synodal communion, and the whispers of reform resonating through the Vatican halls. Concerns linger about the potential for pressure groups to sway the synod’s course. It’s hardly coincidental that last Friday, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, the archbishop of Kinshasa, claimed at a press briefing that no one would bring their personal agendas let alone try to impose them upon others. “There is no agenda; we are all brothers and sisters,” the African prelate reiterated. The Congolese cardinal also said the process’ outcome would be “welcomed by everyone as the will of God.” Any mention of seeking communion at the synod is hardly surprising: It’s a common refrain in many a sideline conversation, evoking a semblance of déjà vu — or a return to the past...

I don't generally listen to podcasts, but for those who do, this might be of interest. I am connected with the PanAfrican Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN) mentioned at the beginning of the podcast. Note what he says at the end of the podcast, that most of the concerns about the Synod appear to originate in the west (or Global North), not in Africa, and his positive reflections on the Synod.

How I prepared for the Synod on Synodality, Reflections of an African Delegate, Fr Vitalis Anaehobi (African Voices)

Fr Vitalis Anaehobi, Secretary-General of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa, RECOWA, speaks on how he and other African delegates prepared to represent Africa in the ongoing synod on synodality. He shares with God's people his hopes and prayers for the synod and urges everyone to trust in the Spirit of God who leads the church into the future in the direction of the eschatological reign of God.

Edited to add, from ACI Africa:

10 Things You Can Do for Ongoing Synod on Synodality

Invoke the Holy Spirit... Go to Holy Mass and Eucharistic adoration... Pray the intercessory prayers of the Synod... Dedicate time for a Lectio Divina with "synodal" texts... Meditate the San Damiano cross... Pray the Rosary for participants... Perform an act of charity for the intention of those gathered... Make small sacrifices... Don't share unreliable news... Pray the Virgin Mary and the saints...

“They want us to tremble”, Kenyan Archbishop Faults Proud Leaders, Urges Listening

The key message of the Synod on Synodality is listening, a virtue that most leaders in Kenya lack, the Catholic Archbishop of the country’s Nyeri Archdiocese has said. According to Archbishop Anthony Muheria, the leaders that Kenyans have today are led by pride and seek to instill fear in those they are supposed to be serving...

An interesting reflection on how the concept of synodality is not only for the Church but is valid in, and sets an example for, all spheres of life.

Cardinal says Latin Mass devotees haven’t been ‘banished’ from the church"

Asked about conservative Catholics who feel they are not represented in the ongoing Synod of Bishops on Synodality, specifically Latin Mass devotees struggling with restrictions imposed by Pope Francis, American Cardinal Joseph Tobin said they still have a place in the church... Tobin said “the experience of feeling banished is something that is sadly part of the signs of the times, not only for people who very much love the traditional Mass,” but for other communities too. To this end, he recalled how while he was still Archbishop of Indianapolis, he had to close parishes “because they had simply lost their original purpose,” and some of these parishes had been built along an old railroad line that was no longer active, and the archdiocese couldn’t afford to keep all of them running. “We had to discern with the people what was the way forward, and we had to make some very painful decisions,” Tobin said, saying one man appealed the closure of his parish all the way up to the Vatican’s highest court, the Apostolic Signatura. However, years later, when he was already reassigned to Newark, Tobin said he got a letter from the man who, after some time in his new community, admitted that closing the previous parish “was good for us, but we didn’t know it at the time"... those who prefer to attend the Traditional Latin Mass, “under the conditions of the two motu proprio as well as the decisions of {the Dicastery for} Divine Worship, there are still opportunities for it, but perhaps not what they’ve been accustomed to.” “I know that it’s caused a lot of grief among people who have particularly identified with that Mass, but I don’t think they’ve been banished from the Catholic Church,” he said...

Three from ACI Africa:

These are “our priority” Issues at Ongoing Synod in Rome: African Delegate

Four issues affecting the Church in Africa stand out at the ongoing Synod on Synodality conversations... each of the 67 African delegates at the Synod is to talk broadly about the African family, which is under threat, issues of environmental degradation affecting Africa, as well as the conflicts that he says are rife on the continent. The delegates must also share traditions that are central to the liturgy in Africa, which the Universal Church “should not” depart from... “We are not coming to the Synod with any extraordinary issues. These are the problems that we have and which we feel the Universal Church should put into consideration”...

Synod Delegates Having “good moments of sharing”, African Archbishop Says, Lauds Diversity

The ongoing Synod on Synodality conversations are providing “good moments of sharing” and mutual understanding, an African Catholic Archbishop participating in the October 4-29 Synod has said. In a video recording shared on WhatsApp on Tuesday, October 10, Archbishop Anthony Muheria, one of the two representatives of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) at the Bishops’ meeting in Rome, acknowledges with appreciation the mutual benefits from the diversity of the Synod delegates. “We are going through a good moment. The good thing is the diversity we have seen from the Bishops and people from all over, the good moments of sharing, understanding different contexts, hearing the challenges of various places, as well as gifts that we have mutually,” Archbishop Muheria says... He describes the ongoing Synod as “a very good learning process” and adds, “At the same time, it is a good opportunity as we listen to one another, as we listen to the Holy Spirit, to see how we can bring this into our homes.” “This has been a very good opportunity and is a challenge for all of us in our various jurisdictions and places of origin”...

Synod on Synodality Members Ask "for greater discernment" of Church Teaching on Sexuality

Participants in the Synod on Synodality have asked “for greater discernment on the teaching of the Church on the subject of sexuality,” a Vatican spokesman said at a press briefing today... The discussion of sexual doctrine came during the synod members’ work in the morning session, shared Paolo Ruffini, the president of the synod’s communications commission. During that session, participants focused on the theme of “mercy and truth.” The theme includes a controversial question on “what concrete steps are needed to welcome those who feel excluded from the Church today because of their status or sexuality.” Ruffini said that while some asked for further discernment on the Church’s sexual teaching, others “said there’s no need for this further discernment”... Ruffini said that speeches addressing “sexual identity” were met with “responsibility and comprehension, remaining faithful to the Gospel and the teaching of the Church.” He added that there was widespread agreement that the Church “must reject every form of homophobia” and that the lack of familiarity with the personal journey of LGBTQ-identifying people leads to “many problems.” Some speakers emphasized the importance of encountering LGBTQ people and developing pastoral ministries “to understand their lives,” said Ruffini, while others “highlighted the importance of remaining in the magisterial teaching of the Church.” Ruffini said that the climate was not characterized by polarization but by a family-style exchange of views...

Synod: 'Church most beautiful Church when doors are open' (Vatican News)

In Tuesday’s press briefing with journalists, Dr. Paolo Ruffini gave an update on the discussions of the working groups, while US Cardinal Tobin spoke of the richness of the comparison of different experiences and cultures, and Colombian Sister Echeverri upheld “the call to listen to the cry of the poor”...

Synod snapshots: Cardinal Müller is easy to spot; Sr. Barron gets a big promotion (NCR)

part of synodality and the journey to become a more listening and participatory church requires openly acknowledging disagreements among Catholics. In many ways, the story of Francis' Synod on Synodality is best told through such images, rather than words. In fact, it's actually one of the only ways it can be told, thanks to the pope's request that delegates refrain from speaking to the media in hopes that the synod does not become a debate about only a few select issues, or a place where certain personalities dominate the spotlight. Delegates sit at roundtables as a reminder that "none of us is a star in this synod," said one of its chief organizers, Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich..

Edited to add: Africa, Oceania Delegates Say Synod on Synodality their Turn to Speak (ACI Africa)

Synod on Synodality delegates from Africa and Oceania said this week their communities are already living out synodality — and they are ready for their voices to finally be heard by the universal Church. A representative of the bishops’ conference of Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands said she is happy the Church and Pope Francis invited those two countries to participate, despite their small size. “For many years we have been listening and now we would like to speak. And we would like you to listen,” Grace Wrakia said, addressing journalists at a press briefing Oct. 11. Archbishop Andrew Nkea Fuanya of Bamenda, Cameroon, said at an Oct. 12 briefing that the Synod on Synodality is “a chance for the voice of Africa to be heard”. “This synod is a very big consolation to Africa, because with the problems we have in Africa sometimes we feel isolated and abandoned,” he explained. “Africa has its own specificities and its own peculiarities and when we come together as the universal Church in a synodal journey, it is an opportunity for Africa’s voice to be heard,” he repeated. At the October 2023 assembly, the African participants are able to express themselves “freely and happily,” the Cameroonian archbishop said. “And I think that this is a very wonderful opportunity for Africa to make its own mark in the synod.” Both delegates expressed that in the family and community-centered cultures of their countries, synodality “is something that we do.” Wrakia, who is one of 20 synod delegates from Oceania, explained that in Melanesian spirituality, relationships are very important, and they are built around sharing common ideas, not ethnicity or looking alike. “Synodality is something, as I have just said … that we do. We live synodality, we live in communion,” she underlined, adding that before a village makes a decision, everyone, including women, speaks. “Synodality forms part of the African culture,” Fuanya said, “because we always do things together as a family and when we do things together as a family, we always consult everyone in the family”...

Shared on the PanAfrican Catholic Theology and Pastoral Network (PACTPAN). St Vincent of Lérins (died c445 CE) is often quoted by the Holy Father.

As the church of Christ journeys today on the synodal path, listening to the Holy Spirit through the Scriptures and Tradition, and sharing with one another the gains and challenges of planting the Goodnews in human cultures, the second reading of the Divine Office from St. Vincent Lérins (yesterday, 13/10/23) offers a timely guide to the deliberations. It is worth our collective meditation.

An instruction by St Vincent of Lérins~~The development of doctrine

Is there to be no development of religion in the Church of Christ? Certainly, there is to be development and on the largest scale.

Who can be so grudging to men {sic}, so full of hate for God, as to try to prevent it? But it must truly be development of the faith, not alteration of the faith. Development means that each thing expands to be itself, while alteration means that a thing is changed from one thing into another.

The understanding, knowledge and wisdom of one and all, of individuals as well as of the whole Church, ought then to make great and vigorous progress with the passing of the ages and the centuries, but only along its own line of development, that is, with the same doctrine, the same meaning and the same import.

The religion of souls should follow the law of development of bodies. Though bodies develop and unfold their component parts with the passing of the years, they always remain what they were. There is a great difference between the flower of childhood and the maturity of age, but those who become old are the very same people who were once young. Though the condition and appearance of one and the same individual may change, it is one and the same nature, one and the same person.

The tiny members of unweaned children and the grown members of young men are still the same members. Men have the same number of limbs as children. Whatever develops at a later age was already present in seminal form; there is nothing new in old age that was not already latent in childhood.

There is no doubt, then, that the legitimate and correct rule of development, the established and wonderful order of growth, is this: in older people the fullness of years always brings to completion those members and forms that the wisdom of the Creator fashioned beforehand in their earlier years.

If, however, the human form were to turn into some shape that did not belong to its own nature, or even if something were added to the sum of its members or subtracted from it, the whole body would necessarily perish or become grotesque or at least be enfeebled. In the same way, the doctrine of the Christian religion should properly follow these laws of development, that is, by becoming firmer over the years, more ample in the course of time, more exalted as it advances in age.

In ancient times our ancestors sowed the good seed in the harvest field of the Church. It would be very wrong and unfitting if we, their descendants, were to reap, not the genuine wheat of truth but the intrusive growth of error.

On the contrary, what is right and fitting is this: there should be no inconsistency between first and last, but we should reap true doctrine from the growth of true teaching, so that when, in the course of time, those first sowings yield an increase it may flourish and be tended in our day also.

Synod on Synodality 2023: Work Begins on the Final Text as Second Week Wraps up

The Synod on Synodality hit a stride this week as delegates not only walked the catacombs but elected a commission to oversee the drafting of a "synthesis report,” although an interim report on the German Synodal Way delivered to participants served as a reminder that potential storms lay ahead... Vatican spokesman Paolo Ruffini explained at a press conference on Oct. 10 that the synthesis report will be written by “the experts” attending the Synod. The choice of commission members hinted at the varying sensitivities involved in shaping the document culminating this part of the Synod. For instance, the inclusion of Cardinal Marc Aveline of Marseille and Cardinal Giorgio Marengo of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, in the “synthesis report” commission hinted at a broader geographical and thematic scope which some might see as a nod towards the peripheries. The task before the synthesis commission involves assiduous listening to the insights from smaller circles — garnering a two-thirds majority vote — and gauging reactions within the general congregation to craft a document resonating with the assembly's sentiments. However, some argue that if listening remains the priority, the summary document ought to encapsulate all viewpoints...

The Devil “wants to see us divided,” SECAM President Says at Synod on Synodality Mass

The devil is launching attacks to divide the Church, and we must fight back with the weapon of the Holy Spirit, the President of the the Symposium of Episcopal Conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) has said at the Synod on Synodality Holy Mass on Friday, October 13. Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu, OFM Cap., who was the main celebrant of the Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica for synod participants said, “If we have the courage to look at our current reality as a Church, it won’t be hard to see how the Evil One is at work, influencing our way of being and acting. The Evil One wants to see us divided; he might even use some of us for his cause.” The Archbishop of Kinshasa encouraged the Synod participants to fight back with “the weapons of synodality”... The Congolese Cardinal quoted Pope Benedict XVI, who said, “the Evil One always seeks to spoil God’s work, sowing division in the human heart, between body and soul, between the individual and God, in interpersonal, social and international relations … The Evil One sows discord.” “That’s why we must courageously fight the Evil One, using the weapons of synodality,” he continued, “which require unity, walking together, prayerful discernment, listening to each other and to what the Spirit has to say to the Church.” “We are called to combat this powerful adversary with an equally powerful weapon at our disposal: the Holy Spirit, protagonist of this new way of being Church — the synodal Church,” Cardinal Ambongo said... Ambongo also said the Synod on Synodality is a time to ask God for forgiveness for the Church’s failures, including the sin of sexual abuse... Quoting from paragraph 23 of the synod’s Instrumentum Laboris, or working document, he said, “‘The face of the Church today bears the signs of serious crises of mistrust and lack of credibility. In many contexts, crises related to sexual abuse, and abuse of power, money, and conscience,’ are counter-testimonies that have even risked driving people away from the Church”...

Both from ACI Africa

Today's reflection from Franciscan Fr Richard Rohr is not directly about the Synod on Synodaity - but it could be, with the Synod's emphasis on journeying together and listening!

Love and Power

Father Richard writes about how we can help mend the breach between the world as it is (power) and the world as it could be (love).

Both love and power are necessary building blocks of God’s peaceful realm on earth. Love utterly redefines the nature of power. Power without love is mere brutality (even in the church), and love without power is only the sentimentality of individual lives disconnected from the Whole. The gospel in its fullness holds love and power together, creating new hope and healing for the world. ¹

Power assumes that life is lived from the top down and from the outside in. It draws its strength from elites and enforcement. As such it is efficient, clean, practical, and works well on many short-term goals. The gospel offers us the inefficient, not-so-clean, multi-layered, long-haul way of love. Love is lived much more from the bottom up and from the inside out. It’s easy to see why even churches don’t believe in it. It does not give ego or institution any sense of control. Often it doesn’t even “work.”

Perhaps one way of stating the “spiritual emergency” that Christianity faces is that many clergy and church membership were trained from the top down and the outside in. Love was the message, but power/control was the method. Holiness was in great part defined as respect for outer mediating structures: the authorities that “knew,” the rituals that were automatic, the laws that kept you if you kept them, the Tradition that was supposed to be the unbroken consensus of many centuries and cultures. I am convinced that the best top-down Christianity can do is get us off to a good start and keep us inside the ballpark, which isn’t bad! But it is not close to satisfactory for the great struggles of faith that people today face in family, morality, and society.

The very depth and truth of the gospel has led people to a more daring and necessary conclusion: Human life is best lived from the inside out and the bottom up. Now love is both the message and the method. Somehow our experiences, our mistakes, our dead ends are not abhorrent to God but the very stuff of salvation. There is no other way to make sense of the Bible or of every human life. Are we secure enough now to admit that there is just as much truth, maybe even more, inside our own journeys and for those living on the margins? So-called “tax collectors and prostitutes are making their way into the kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31). Mature Christianity is perhaps when the inside meets the outside and the bottom is allowed to teach the top.

Authentic power is the ability to act from the fullness of who I am, the capacity to establish and maintain a relationship with people and things, and the freedom to give myself away. Sounds like pure gospel to me. ²

1. Adapted from Richard Rohr, preface to Near Occasions of Grace (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1993), xvi.

2. Adapted from Richard Rohr, “Mending the Breach: Love and Power,” in Grace in Action, ed. Terry Carney and Christina Spahn (New York: Crossroad Publishing, 1994), 18–19.

Women Role: Synod “setting stages for future changes”, First Woman Presides over Assembly

The first woman to preside over a Synod of Bishops described the experience of sitting with Pope Francis at the head table as “a gift and a grace” — and a sign of things to come in the Catholic Church. Speaking at a press briefing today, Sister Maria de los Dolores Valencia Gomez, a Sister of St. Joseph, described the participation of women in the ongoing Synod of Synodality as “setting the stage for future changes.” “I feel that this is a gradual process,” said Gomez, who is from Mexico. “Little by little, we shall see changes”...

Synod on Synodality Reports not "secret," But Still Won't Be Shared, Spokesman Says

Small group reports from the Synod on Synodality won’t be made public — even though the documents have already been accessed by some journalists following an information security oversight. The decision was communicated Saturday by Paolo Ruffini, president of the Synod’s communication commission, at a press briefing earlier today... While maintaining that there was nothing “secret” about the table reports, Ruffini described them as “confidential,” and said that making them publicly available would threaten the prayerful spirit of discernment sought by Synod organizers. “This would turn our encounter to pray for discernment” into a sort of “public conference” or “parliament,” Ruffini said, referring to a characterization of the Synod that Pope Francis has criticized...

Both from ACI Africa

Synod on Synodality “not a one-man voice”: Kenyan Archbishop on Conversations in Rome

The outcome of the ongoing Synod on Synodality conversations in Rome will be a mix of voices from the entire Church, and not a “one-man voice”, a Kenyan Archbishop participating in the October 4-29 Synod has said. According to Archbishop Martin Kivuva Musonde of the Archdiocese of Mombasa, members drawn from various categories of the Church are actively participating in the Synod on Synodality conversations, which he has hailed as “a big step forward” in the Church...

Synod on Synodality "cannot remove pages from the Bible," Synod Delegate Says

José Miguel Gómez Rodríguez, the archbishop of Manizales in Colombia, shared his experience at the Synod of Synodality taking place this month at the Vatican, commenting on what this assembly can ultimately give to the Catholic Church and stressing that it “cannot remove pages from the Bible”... “Before the synod, a few days before, they published the pope’s answers to some questions or doubts that some cardinals had raised and there are also these questions, in such a way that what the pope wants is for us to handle with great respect and great delicacy the questions that people have in their hearts and that we answer them with so much respect that no one is offended, that everyone has clear in their minds the why of things,” Gómez explained. The Colombian prelate emphasized that “the synod cannot remove pages from the Bible, the synod does not have that kind of authority, nor does the pope remotely want that”. “There is bad press against the Holy Father that’s not fair and that has as its objective the same thing that they try to do in the world, which is class struggle. They want to divide us Catholics from the pope and the pope from Catholics,” he warned. Regarding the topics discussed at the synod, the archbishop noted that many of these “have their origin in the desire for the Church to wake up a little more, for Catholics to not only discover the beauty of the Gospel, but the beauty of participating in the Church." That is why, he continued, “the three big blocks of questions are called communion, participation, and mission, but there are also other questions that, to be honest, it seems to me that the pope wants us to put before our eyes, and they are those that sometimes come from certain groups, groups that sometimes shed light on themselves that they would not like to have, but that they themselves are responsible for projecting on themselves, to vindicate themselves for one thing or another.” “These issues, of course, the synod is facing with respect, with a lot of dignity and a lot of charity,” he stressed...

Both from ACI Africa

Why African Jesuit Theologian Believes Synodality Work “will begin” after Rome Meetings (ACI Africa)

The work of Synodality “will begin” when the ongoing conversations in Rome come to an end, an African member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) participating in the October 4-29 Synod on Synodality has said. Fr. Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, the Dean of the Jesuit School of Theology at Santa Clara University, said that Synodality is about how people live. “As far I am concerned, the work of the Synod will begin when the gatherings here conclude. Synodality is about how we live and journey together. That is going to be tested in the years to come”... The Nigerian-born Catholic Priest, however, noted that the ongoing conversations in Rome are a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” for theologians and “will provide the resources for this Synodal journey to continue and to succeed”... “I remain convinced that the process is going to be more important than the outcome. And the process for me has been truly enriching, focusing on elements, mechanisms or frameworks of listening, of dialoguing and discerning,” Fr. Orobator said. He added, “I believe that this is the kind of framework and mechanism that would lead us as a community called Church to experience a new way of being, where people no matter who they are, status, station, or situation in the Church are able to be part of a process where they are not only heard but they are also able to contribute to a process of discernment. I am very grateful for the process that has been adopted.” The African Synod delegate noted that the diversity, wisdom, and insights shared by the participants in the Synod, which Pope Francis extended to 2024 are a gift to the Church. “From experience, there has not been any shortage of divergent and differences,” he said, and added, “Divergent positions and differences of opinions and what the process allows us to do is not only to note convergence or consensus but also to note divergent and differences and that is part of the process.” Fr. Orobator continued, “I can testify that these divergent and differences have not degenerated into hostilities and animosity and so that it is the constellation of convergence of divergences and differences that is going to be the matter for creating something new so that no voice is suppressed on any of the issues”...

Synod Assembly Participants Witness Harmony Despite Diverging Points on Issues (AMECEA)

“I came here to encourage you to take this synodal process seriously and to tell you that the Holy Spirit needs you. It is true, the Holy Spirit needs us. Litsen to him by listening to each other. Leave no one behind or excluded,” said Pope Francis. And if there is anyone serious about the ongoing synodal assembly which started on October 4, 2023, it is Pope Francis himself who has amazed the assembly with his punctuality whenever there is a General Congregation. Among the Ngoni people, there is a saying “The mother’s breasts have crushed” to mean that when children who sucked from the same mother have been in a conflict, it is normal and they must be left alone. When introducing the fourth module of the assembly, the Relator General of the Synod, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, had already foreseen that at this point of the universal synodal gathering, the participants should expect that there will be some points of convergence than divergence and more questions that will seek more research and reflection. The points of divergence can easily bring tension in the working groups but also in the General Congregation... “What we are seeing in the assembly is that people are freely discussing issues at a more profound level than the journalistic way”... This is one of the unique features of this synod, according to some of the bishops who have attended three or more synods before the current one, the emphasis on listening and silence is enabling them to learn from one another how to be a synodal Church. In fact, the spiritual conversation as they are calling it, is allowing participants to differ in opinions based on their contextual diversities, yet at the end of each discussion, there is a symphony that is created...

Church should not ignore "signs of the times": German Synod Delegate (ACI Africa)

A German bishop participating in the Synod on Synodality challenged the idea that the Catholic community in his country is at odds with the universal Church — and reasserted that it will continue to play a role in the ongoing discussions in Rome about the Church’s future. Speaking at the Synod press briefing Saturday afternoon, Bishop Franz Josef Overbeck of Essen acknowledged that others have expressed concerns to him regarding the Catholic Church in Germany’s controversial “Synodal Way.” “Many people have asked me, ‘Are you still Catholics and part of the Catholic Church?”, said Overbeck, one of the German Bishops Conference’s three delegates to the universal Synod, and a major proponent of the German Synodal Way. “And I say, ‘Yes, of course, we are Catholics, and we are here to stay”... Overbeck asserted that the controversial process was responding to the uniquely “post-secular” context of German culture, in which “people have no idea” about transcendence, the Church, or Jesus Christ. “This changes the entire framework for the questions we are carrying out,” said Overbeck, adding that if Catholic teaching is in contradiction with “the signs of the times,” then “nobody is going to be convinced” by the Church’s guidance. Overbeck repeatedly referred to Germany’s particular cultural situation to justify some of the Synodal Way’s most controversial proposals. For instance, he alluded to exploring an end to mandatory priestly celibacy by noting that in his 13 years as Bishop of Essen, he has only ordained 15 new priests, while 300 priests have died. The Diocese of Essen, he said, currently has no seminarians in formation. In addition, Overbeck suggested that the widespread presence of both the Catholic permanent diaconate as well as ordained women as Lutheran ministers in Germany makes the question of opening the diaconate to women particularly relevant to the local Church. “We live in this world, and these are the questions that come up,” said Overbeck, who said that any consideration of including women in the diaconate should be in response to “a vocation,” and not simply creating a rite “so that women can be a part of the sacramental ministry of the Church...

Synod Diary: Reading the Pact of the Catacombs at the Synod (America Magazine)

the booklet participants had been given for their prayer service: It included the full text of the Pact of the Catacombs, a little-known (at least among Americans) yet extremely influential document signed by 42 bishops in the Catacombs of Domatilla just weeks before the end of the Second Vatican Council. The bishops, largely Latin American, were inspired and challenged by the council’s discussions on poverty and stirred by the realization that they were not living the poverty that they believed the Gospel called them to. A few of the document’s 13 points include:

- Living a lifestyle that is materially similar to their parishioners (e.g., living in an ordinary house, not going out for expensive meals and taking public transit)
- Not being called by prestigious titles
- Not holding bank accounts or real estate in their own names
- Entrusting financial administration of their dioceses to lay people
- Advocating civil and international policies that would “permit the poor masses to overcome their misery”
- Being open to all people, regardless of religion

The document ended up being signed by some 500 bishops in the following months, and it went on to inspire Latin American liberation theology, which led to the social justice advocacy and martyrdom of Catholic bishops, priests, religious and lay people like Sts. Óscar Romero, Rutilio Grande and the churchwomen of El Salvador, to name just a few. It was this church that Pope Francis was raised and ministered in: one in which the bishops’ chosen material poverty and ecclesiastical humility led to synodal groups like Christian base communities...

The full text of the Pact of the Catacombs can be found here.

The Synod on Synodality this Week: Anticipating a "Letter to the People of God" (ACI Africa)

As the Synod on Synodality in Rome launches into its final week with a changed calendar, all eyes are on the anticipated “Letter to the People of God” expected on Saturday evening. The tradition of the synod writing such a letter — or producing a similar document or message to the faithful — is far from new. However, the document this year aims for a fresh twist, at least in how it is brought about: Unlike the summary document slated for approval at the end of the synod, this missive serves as a compass, pointing the way for the synodal journey. As Paolo Ruffini, prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, put it, if the summary is “transitional,” the letter should illustrate the desired synodal trajectory, encompassing major topics such as peace, migration, and alignment with the pope and papal magisterium, discussed vehemently in the last week of discussions...

Can the Synod on Synodality change any Catholic Doctrine? (African Catholic Voices)

This is a 44 minute podcast, summarised below:

As the current session of the synod on synodality draws to a close, Fr Stan and Sr Chantal in this episode answer the question on the deliberative and consultative functions of the Synod of Bishops. They invite Catholics to pray for the synod in a special way during this final week. There is the need for the faithful to lower their expectations about changes in the Church's teaching because no synod has the power to change the doctrines of the Catholic Church since these are revealed truths. Synods can help the Church and her members under the leadership of the Pope and all the bishops in communion with him to discover the treasures of the Catholic faith, as well as to understand the mysteries and doctrines as revealed truths. A synod can also help to interpret these mysteries anew and pastorally guide the faithful on living their Christian faith with greater fidelity and commitment in obedience to God who through Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit has revealed these unchanging truths of faith and morality to the Church.

“We differ but still embrace each other”: South African Synod on Synodality Delegate

The ongoing Synod on Synodality conversations in Rome are not free of disagreements, the Archbishop of South Africa’s Pretoria Archdiocese, who is participating in October 4-29 meeting in Rome has said. Archbishop Dabula Mpako has noted that participants in the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops Synod are however able to express their varied opinions on issues guiding their discernment in a friendly manner. According to Archbishop Mpako, the spiritual method used by groups engaging in the Synod conversations has allowed participants to listen to each other with patience and respect. “The listening, the respect, the welcoming of one another in those groups is something that stands out for me. People can express themselves and even differ in certain things but still embrace one another. That is one thing I am taking with me,” Archbishop Mpako said in a briefing by Synod delegates, which Vatican News published...

Ongoing Synod on Synodality Call to “renewed zeal” to Christ’s Mission: Kenyan Delegate

The ongoing 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops Synod is a call to “a renewed zeal” to participate in the mission that Jesus Christ entrusted to his disciples, a Kenyan delegate participating in the October 4-29 conversations in Rome has said. In a video recording shared on WhatsApp on Monday, October 24, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Kenya’s Nyeri Archdiocese cautions against fear that makes followers of Jesus Christ not to “act like Christians”. “What is called of us in this Synod time is a change, conversion, and a renewed zeal to do what Christ has sent us to do,” Archbishop Muheria says. He adds, “We are called to feel more community; we are called to feel more like brother and sister, especially with the marginalized and those who may have been forgotten. We are called to participate more in the life of the Church, in the Sacraments.” The Kenyan Catholic Archbishop hints to nature of the ongoing Synodal process that has non-Bishops among the delegates, saying, “We are also called to participate in decision-making so that we are able to bring the gifts and skills God has given us for the Church to grow”...

Synod on Synodality Addresses the Church in Letter to the People of God

The Synod on Synodality has addressed the members of the Catholic Church in a letter published during the final days of the October gathering in Rome, inviting them to take an active role in “the discernment and decision-making” of the Church. “This is not about ideology but about an experience rooted in the apostolic tradition,” the letter says. Quoting from Pope Francis’ 2021 speech to open the synodal process, it says that “communion and mission can risk remaining somewhat abstract, unless we cultivate an ecclesial praxis that expresses the concreteness of synodality ... encouraging real involvement on the part of each and all.” “We lived this blessed time in profound communion with all of you. We were supported by your prayers, bearing with you your expectations, your questions, as well as your fears,” the letter says, calling the meeting “an unprecedented experience” for including laypeople in voting...

All from ACI Africa

Synod General Assembly to People of God: 'Church must listen to everyone' (Vatican News) (full text of the letter)

Participants in the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops have approved a Letter to the People of God giving thanks for their experience, detailing the work of the past few weeks, and expressing the hope that in the coming months, everyone will be able to "concretely participate in the dynamism of missionary communion indicated by the word 'synod'".

“I felt listened to”, African Lay Woman Shares Experience at Synod on Synodality in Rome

Dr. Norah Nonterah, a Synod on Synodality delegate from Ghana, is representing several of what she describes as “existential peripheries” at the ongoing meeting of Bishops in Rome. First, she is one of the only two African lay women at the synod. The other African woman is Sheila Pires from Mozambique who is serving as Secretary of the Synod on Synodality Commission for Information. For the first time, women are allowed to vote at a synod, and Dr. Nonterah is part of those making history in this regard. Dr. Nonterah who teaches at Kwame Nkurumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana also represents the tiny number of African lay Theologians. She therefore considers herself “a voice” of a Church that has been silent for a long time. In a Wednesday, October 25 press briefing by Synod delegates, the Catholic don shared the joy of being “listened to” while she had groundbreaking conversations with leaders of the Church meeting in Rome. “I felt listened to as a lay person, as a woman and an African in a Church that most often has not given that voice; a Church that has not had a chance to enrich itself with voice and wisdom from women, from lay people and from Africans,” Dr. Nonterah said...

Pope Francis Speaks at Synod on Synodality: "Clericalism" Defiles the Church

Pope Francis denounced clericalism and called it a “scandal” to see young priests buying lace vestments at tailor shops in a strongly-worded speech to the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday. Speaking to an assembly of hundreds of synod members on Oct. 25, the pope said that when clerics overstep their roles and “mistreat the people of God, they disfigure the face of the Church with macho and dictatorial attitudes.” Pope Francis described the faithful people of God as “patiently and humbly enduring the scorn, mistreatment, and marginalization of institutionalized clericalism.” “It is enough to go into the ecclesiastical tailor shops in Rome to see the scandal of young priests trying on cassocks and hats, or albs and lace robes,” he added. “Clericalism is a thorn. It is a scourge. It is a form of worldliness that defiles and damages the face of the Lord’s bride,” he said. “It enslaves the holy, faithful people of God”... The pope added that he was pained to find that some parish offices offer a “price list” for sacramental services, like a “supermarket of salvation” where priests act as “mere employees of a multinational company.” “Either the Church is the faithful people of God ‘on the way,’ — holy and sinful — or it ends up being a business offering a variety of services,” Pope Francis said.

Both from ACI Africa

The Synodal Assembly, a School on Synodality and a Learning from Universal Church

As people await the synthesized document of the contributions from working groups and personal interventions, some are asking whether answers are now ready to the question that they raised. For sure, they should expect the answers to be something like ‘No decisions have been taken out of this gathering’. Nevertheless, what will the participants take home from this 25-day hard work in Rome? In my opinion, there are three takeaways. Firstly, the assembly was in itself a school about being synodal. Secondly, there is a lot that institutions of Religious Life and conferences have exchanged, thanks to Pope Francis who thought it was to make the synod all-inclusive. And thirdly, there are some things that the old Church and the young churches can exchange and enrich one another from the ecclesiological point of view...

Synod Sounds Clarion Call on Church’s Need for Pastoral and Missionary Conversion

the assembly has called on the entire Church to re-examine her missionary work of proclaiming the Gospel. In a letter from the Synod of bishops addressed to the people of God, the officials for the assembly expressed their concern after weeks of listening and discernment saying, “Day by day, we felt the pressing call to pastoral and missionary conversion. For the Church’s vocation is to proclaim the Gospel not by focusing on itself, but by placing itself at the service of the infinite love with which God loved the world.” (John 3:16). “To progress in its discernment, the Church absolutely needs to listen to everyone, starting with the poorest. This requires a path of conversion on its part, which is also a path of praise,” reads part of the letter shared Wednesday, October 25, as it explains that the Church needs to listen to those who have been denied the right to speak in society or who feel excluded, even by the Church herself. They expounded on the aspect of listening and emphasized that the Church which is expected not to leave anyone behind, needs to “listen to people who are victims of racism in all its forms, in particular in some regions to indigenous peoples whose cultures have been scorned.” Above all, the letter endorsed by the Holy Father reads further in relation to listening to victims of abuse, “The Church of our time has the duty to listen, in a spirit of conversion, to those who have been victims of abuse committed by members of the ecclesial body, and to commit herself concretely and structurally to ensuring that this does not happen again”...

16th Synodal Assembly, Reminder to Christians to Rethink “Theory of Change”

A delegate for the ongoing synodal assembly has shared that the monthlong gathering in Rome on Synod on Synodality is a call and reminder for all the baptized to rethink implementing the theory of change and “participate more in the life of the Church”. Sharing in a video clip about the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Archbishop Anthony Muheria, a delegate from Kenya and the Local Ordinary of Kenya’s Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri, pointed out that “This synod time calls for a Change, conversion and a renewed zeal to do what Christ has sent us to do that is Communion, Participation and Mission.” “We are called to feel more like a community, we are called to feel more like brother and sister, especially with the marginalized and those who might have been forgotten. We are called to participate more in the life of the Church, in receiving the sacraments especially, by those who have been far from the sacraments and in helping our brothers and sisters to fill part of the Church,” The Prelate said in the clip shared Tuesday, October 24. He continued, “We are called to participate in decision-making so that we can bring the skills and the gifts God has given us for the growth of the Church. This mission of the entire Church sends us first of all to our brothers and sisters so that we can give good witness to Christ who indeed rejects all forms of evil.” Addressing Christians in the video clip, Archbishop Muheria who is the Chairman of the Commission for Social Communications at the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB), continued with his sharing saying, “Dear Christians… we all need conversion, we all need to retake a pulse of our Christian faith and we all need to find out if we are all responding to our baptismal calling”...

All from AMECEA

American Delegate at Synod on Synodality Shares “African wisdom” on War (ACI Africa)

Archbishop Timothy Paul Broglio, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) who is participating in the October 4-29 Synod on Synodality in Rome has reminisced about serving in Ivory Coast, and the lesson he learnt in Africa about war. Sharing his experience of the Synod at the Wednesday, October 25 briefing in Rome, Archbishop Broglio said that a lot could be learned from what he described as “African wisdom” in resolving world conflict. “If I can draw on a little bit of African wisdom,” he said, adding that in Africa, he had heard it said that “after people fight a war, they sit down and discuss terms of peace” and “wouldn't it be better if they sat down first and discussed before they went to war?” The native of Cleveland, Ohio, who serves as the Local Ordinary of the U.S. Military Services admitted that he found the African notion of war and peace “very wise”... "So perhaps also the listening in the exchange that is going on in the synod might provide an example for the world to see and perhaps to imitate in resolving world conflict,” the 71-year-old Archbishop said...

An interesting reflection from an archbishop who is from the Global North, who serves as a military chaplain, and who is generally identified as being on the "conservative" wing of the US Church. He appears to be speaking of the same experience as other Synod delegates, who praise the "listening" and "exchange" going in in the Synod is a spirit of charity and acceptance of each others' differences, without polarisation, away from the outside noises which usually disrupt meaningful conversations about our differences.

A spate of articles on ACI Africa today. I post only the titles with links, without quoting from the articles.

Synod: Church in Africa Called to “theological, pastoral discernment” on Polygamy Issue

Vatican Releases Synod on Synodality Report Proposing Larger Role for Laity in Church

Synod on Synodality 2023: Final Report Calls for Greater "co-responsibility" in Church

What Does the Synod on Synodality Document Say about "controversial" Issues?

The Openness of the Synod on Synodality "will change the Church": Relator General

From draft to final text: 10 ways the synod report changed (The Pillar)

The report issued at the end of the synod on synodality’s first session evolved considerably from the day a draft was presented to delegates to its Oct. 28 release. An initial draft of the “synthesis report” prompted more than 1,000 amendments after it was shared with participants Oct. 25. The 42-page final report, published Saturday (only in Italian), differed in many respects from the 40-page draft text... Here’s a guide to 10 notable changes...

Pope Francis at Synod Closing Mass: To Reform the Church, Adore God and Love Others (ACI Africa)

At the Synod on Synodality’s closing Mass, Pope Francis said that God’s love cannot be confined “to our own agenda” and that those who truly want to reform the Catholic Church should follow Jesus’ greatest commandment: to adore God and love others with his love. “We may have plenty of good ideas on how to reform the Church, but let us remember: to adore God and to love our brothers and sisters with his love, that is the great and perennial reform,” Pope Francis said in St. Peter’s Basilica on Oct. 29. “We are always at risk of thinking that we can ‘control God,’ that we can confine his love to our own agenda. Instead, the way he acts is always unpredictable, it goes beyond, and consequently, this action of God demands amazement and adoration,” he added. “Let us be vigilant, lest we find that we are putting ourselves at the center rather than him. And let us return to worship. May worship be central for those of us who are pastors: Let us devote time every day to intimacy with Jesus the Good Shepherd in the tabernacle. Adoration,” he said. “Only in this way will we turn to Jesus and not to ourselves. For only through silent adoration will the word of God live in our words; only in his presence will we be purified, transformed, and renewed by the fire of his Spirit. Brothers and sisters, let us adore the Lord Jesus!”...

Vatican releases Synod on Synodality report proposing larger role for laity in Church (CNA)

The Vatican released the Synod on Synodality’s “synthesis report” on Saturday night outlining key proposals discussed during the nearly monthlong assembly’s confidential conversations. The highly anticipated text was approved paragraph by paragraph on Oct. 28 by a vote of 344 synod delegates, which for the first time included women and other non-bishops as voting members. The document, the synthesis of the assembly’s work from Oct. 4–29, proposes a “synodal Church” that implements synodality throughout Church governance, theology, mission, and discernment of doctrine and pastoral issues. The 42-page text, released by the Vatican in Italian, covers 20 topics from “the dignity of women” to “the bishop of Rome in the College of Bishops.” For each topic, “convergences,” “matters for consideration,” and “proposals” are outlined...

A contribution from yours truly on Synodality, in America Magazine today.

https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2023/11/06/synodality-religious-orders-mod...

Thanks, Scott, for this thougtful article. From what I can pick up, the diversity was very apparent in the Synod, with delegates of all stripes saying that while they had not changed their views on some issues, nevertheless they had understood better where others were coming from, and they seemed to be more focused on pastoral solutions rather than increased polarisation.

Meanwhile, from Africa:

“Church of our time needs to listen to the Spirit”: Congolese Archbishop on Synodality (ACI Africa)

Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa, the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) who participated in the October 4-29 XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome has underlined the need for the Church “to listen to the Spirit” and to foster “participation for all.” In an interview with DIACENCO, the newsletter of Catholic Bishops in DRC, Archbishop Utembi shared his experience of the synod in Rome, including the meeting’s atmosphere of prayer. His biggest take-away from the synod, he said, was the need to promote a Church that encourages community discernment and listening. “The synodal Church is one that listens to all, promotes community discernment, and fosters the participation of all, co-responsibility in the exercise of the mission of salvation,” Archbishop Utembi said in the interview that was published Monday, November 6. He added, “It's worth noting that the theme of synodality, having initially appeared as an abstract or theoretical notion, is beginning to be embodied in concrete experience. From listening to the People of God, a progressive appropriation and understanding of synodality is emerging”...

SECAM: African Delegates to Reflect on Experiences and Lessons at Post Synodal Webinar (AMECEA)

A section of synod delegates from Africa who attended the monthlong XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops which took place from 4-29, October in Rome is set to share their experiences, insights, and lessons learned during the assembly at a virtual session slated to take place on Wednesday, November 15...

“We felt the Holy Spirit was at work”: Nigerian Archbishop on Synod in Rome (ACI Africa)

Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) who participated in the October 4-29 XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome has said delegates “felt the Holy Spirit was at work.” In a Wednesday, November 1 interview with ACI Africa, Archbishop Ugorji said that the meeting in Rome was “very enriching, given that one had to experience the unity in faith that binds us together as Catholics.” Participants, he said, witnessed the “rich diversities of local Churches shaped by the diverse cultures and challenges of the Church in different parts of the world.” “We felt the Holy Spirit was at work, dispelling the initial tension that mounted at the beginning of the Synod, following fears and anxieties regarding the outcome of the General Assembly,” the Local Ordinary of Nigeria’s Owerri Archdiocese said...

“A spiritual, missionary revival”: Cameroonian Archbishop on Synod on Synodality Fruits (ACI Africa)

The Universal Church expects a spiritual and missionary revival in all aspects, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Bamenda Archdiocese in Cameroon who participated in the October 4-29 XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome has said. In a Wednesday, November 1 interview with ACI Africa, Archbishop Nkea said the synod in Rome had been “a wonderful experience of faith and intimate communion with the universal Church.” “The Universal Church expects a spiritual and missionary revival in all aspects,” Archbishop Nkea said. The Cameroonian Catholic Archbishop who was a member of the Ordinary Council of the synod added, “We expect people to be more committed in deepening communion within the Church.” “We expect massive participation of each faithful in the missionary life of the Church and we expect that no one will feel left out in the synodal Church,” the Archbishop of Bamenda who also serves as the President of the National Episcopal Conference of Cameroon (NECC) said...

>86 John5918:

From what I hear from some who attended, the diversity was very apparent, though perhaps the insight gained was more quite how far part people were (rather than how that might be bridged).

Though as an easter egg for you in that article, I was thinking our interactions on here a few years ago, when I noted people involved in peacemaking might be a good source of inspiration for new models of synodality.

>87 hf22:

Thanks, yes, I noticed that, and I agree. Peacebuilding is very much involved in reducing polarisation and helping people to understand where the other is coming from. I note also that many of the Africa delegates have spoken about how natural the synodal process is for Africans, whose cultures often value relationship- and consensus-building, palaver and ubuntu.

“A good opportunity” to Experience the Church Globally: Kenyan Archbishop On Synod in Rome (ACI Africa)

The Synod of Bishops in Rome was “a good opportunity” to experience the Church at the global level, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Kenya’s Nyeri Archdiocese who participated in the October 4-29 meeting has said. In an audio shared with ACI Africa on Tuesday, November 7, Archbishop Muheria said that participant at the synod gathering heard experiences from all countries that were represented. “During the synod, we had a good opportunity to view the Church through international lenses,” he said, and added, “Every region and country in the world was represented and we were able to listen to the challenges facing each of the countries in attendance.” The Kenyan Archbishop continued, “We heard challenges facing the Church in Europe, Asia, and America and tried to pray together for a solution to pave the way for the spread of Christ’s Gospel.” Archbishop Muheria said that the assembly was mainly about listening to the Holy Spirit in trying to find solutions to the challenges that the Church is facing...

Cameroonian Archbishop on Why Synod on Synodality in Rome was Special (ACI Africa)

The October 4-29 XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops was a “special” moment for the Universal Church, Archbishop Andrew Fuanya Nkea of Bamenda Archdiocese in Cameroon who participated in the Rome meeting has said... the synod “was indeed a moment of grace.” “Everyone who was in that meeting experienced something very special. The way we conversed with one another, the light-hearted way in which we took things, the way we were able to interact with each other, the moments of the celebration of the Eucharist, and the moments of sharing with one another. That was a very special grace for the Church”... He said the Synod was also very special because of the participation of many countries including China... “it was a very deep moment of communion.” “We experienced very deep communion with one another. We were able to share and all who participated in the synod were able to interact with Pope Francis like friends,” the Catholic Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in Cameroon’s Mamfe Diocese as Coadjutor Bishop in August 2013 said... “We shared freely, we shared without reserve, we shared without being afraid of any subject and everyone was able to interact in this process,” he said, and continued, “We were able to talk to each other freely, bring up our own ideas and this aspect of sharing is a very strong element of synodality.” He recounted, “It is the first synod to take place out of the synodal hall. There were 37 tables with each table having at least 12 delegates. Being out of the synodal hall and sitting on these round tables, we each had the feeling of being a family.” “We all felt very close and intimate sitting round these tables and talking to one another”...

“The Spirit of the Synod was Impressive,” African Delegates Reveal (AMECEA)

“The spirit of the Synod was very impressive. I am happy that quite a number of delegates disclosed that what was done during this assembly, is the way to carry out various activities in our respective dioceses, conferences, and even in families,” the AMECEA’s Secretary General disclosed and highlighted, “the conversation in the spirit, praying while discussing issues of importance, issues of faith, issues of the Church and issues of life, that was very touching to me.” Fr. Makunde who was among the 400 synod delegates narrated that the synodal method outlined in the Instrumentum Laboris and which focuses on listening to the Holy Spirit and “discerning the signs of the times,” was another key concept that enriched the monthlong gathering. “I loved the methodology that was used in the synod. That to me, was a very unique experience. It is a methodology that allows each participant to speak and to be listened to by the group regardless of one’s status or role,” the native of Tanzania shared with the online participants as he recalled that the working groups which comprised 12 delegates from various countries and nationalities were normally given four minutes for sharing their views and “they obliged to the regulations very well.” Additionally, Fr. Makunde continued, “The participation of the delegates was admirable. No one really felt deterred regardless of the four weeks of the assembly. The Holy Spirit inspired the synod until we came up with the final synod document that will be sent back to the local churches for further discussion”... According to Fr. Simbine the monthlong experience for the synod that was held under the theme ‘For a synodal Church: Communion, participation and mission,’ it is a revelation of a new era for the Catholic Church. “We can say that the new way of being a Church has been launched. This new Pentecost, this synod on synodality, will surely renew the Church in the communion of her members and in the active participation of all in the life and mission of the Church, the Mozambican cleric said and explained, “Our change is emerging on the new way of being and acting, rediscovering the value of silence, using the method of conversation in the spirit, listening to each other and listening to the Holy Spirit. These are all tools that are at the same time old and new.” He further expressed that the synodality experience in Rome was an opportunity to realize that the Catholic Church is One but with many diversities hence if the Church in Africa does not want to be left behind, the people should journey together. Besides, the cleric said, “The final synthesis of this synodal session recommends that all those who have experienced synodality in the past month, should not only talk about synodality but above all be witnesses by their actions; to the beauty of this new way of being Church”...

Essay raises important questions about Pope Francis' synodal process (NCR)

Theologian John Cavadini, director of the McGrath Institute for Church Life at the University of Notre Dame, penned an important article about the synthesis document that summed up the deliberations at the recently concluded Synod of Bishops in Rome. Unlike some of the recent commentaries I have seen, Cavadini's raises important questions about the document and does so in a respectful and thoughtful way. He is not trying to undermine the synodal process nor is he hurling accusations against its organizers. As he notes, the document itself invites the church "to continue deepening our understanding pastorally, theologically, and canonically."

Cavadini's focus is on the ecclesiology of the document and, specifically, the way synodality constitutes an ongoing part of the reception of the 1962-65 Second Vatican Council and its teaching, specifically in Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. This is the thing that too many conservative critics of Pope Francis forget, that his efforts at reform are rooted in the reception of Vatican II and that in Latin America, the council was received differently to date from the way it has been received here in the U.S. Let's repeat the words "to date." Receiving the teachings of an ecumenical council is the work of a century.

The synthesis document repeatedly focused on baptism as the source of synodal ecclesiology. "Synodality claims to develop a primary feature of Lumen Gentium's ecclesiology, namely, its recovery of the idea that all of the baptized, by virtue of their baptism, are called to contribute to the mission of the Church," Cavadini writes. "It 'values the contribution all the baptized make, according to their respective vocations.' " Cavadini adds, "Synodality values the title 'People of God' for the Church, correctly associating this title with the idea that baptism calls all to contribute to the mission of the Church." The burden of his essay is to point out that Lumen Gentium not only focuses on the image of the church as the "People of God," but also of the church as "Mystery." And, in the synthesis document, it is the former focus that predominates over the latter. "The Church is 'mystery' because it is born primarily of Christ's sacrifice on the cross," Cavadini writes in one of the especially beautiful paragraphs in his article. "The sign of this is the blood and water, symbolizing Eucharist and baptism, the two main sacraments of the Church, that flowed from the side of the crucified Jesus (see Lumen Gentium, 3). The Church is therefore a mystery of Christ's sacrificial love"...

What distinguishes Cavadini's essay, however, is not only its erudition. It is his engagement with the ideas the synod produced. He does not join the ranks of the opposition. His sense of the church is too profound for that... Cavadini's essay is helpful. It raises important questions about important issues and does so without demonizing anyone or rejecting the synodal process itself. It is an important contribution to the ongoing reflection that should characterize the next 10 months before the second session of the synod meets next autumn.

Synod on Synodality Next Steps: Pope to Choose "big questions" for Further Study (ACI Africa)

Pope Francis will provide input on the “big questions” to focus on at the next session of the Synod on Synodality next October, the Vatican revealed in a new document Tuesday. Examples include questions related to the ordination of women to the diaconate, revisions to canon law pertaining to the Oriental Churches, and a review of the Vatican document Ratio Fundamentalis, which serves as the basis for the formation of priests and deacons. Those were among the topics deemed “matters of great relevance” that came up during the synod’s first session in October and require consideration “at the level of the whole Church and in collaboration with the dicasteries of the Roman Curia,” according to the new document. A list of these topics will be sent to Pope Francis for review, and the pope will indicate sometime in January which topics require further study. The new document does not detail who the experts are or how they will be selected...

RWANDA: Navigating the Synodal Path: Seminarians and Deacons Embrace a Vision of Synodal Leadership (CISA)

The African Synodality Initiative (ASI) held a transformative formation workshop on synodality with seminarians and deacons at the Nyakibanda Major Seminary from November 30 to December 1, 2023, in Butare, Rwanda. The two-day event, which was attended by 196 students of theology was on the theme of synodal leadership, the spirituality of journeying together, and how to be or lead synodal pastoral communities. This workshop was an enriching and eye-opening experience for the seminarians and deacons as young people preparing for the priesthood. Fr Marcel Uwineza, SJ, the facilitator for day one of the workshop offered insights on the background of synodality, offering practical biblical examples from the Acts of the Apostles. His input was much appreciated by the participants, as it shed light on the ‘why’ of synodality... Fr. Marcel also introduced the participants to the methodology of spiritual conversation, which was new to the participants. He delved into the significance of listening, dialogue, and conversation in a synodal church, inviting the Holy Spirit to be the protagonist. He emphasised the need to listen to those who often remain silent and create a space where everyone has something to offer... In an open dialogue, participants expressed concerns about synodality, including fears about how to accompany individuals with different identities within the church and the perceived risk of synodality conflicting with church doctrine. Fr. Marcel responded by affirming the importance of acknowledging and addressing these fears, referencing the final synthesis report of the 2023 synod of synodality that emphasised listening and accompanying those who feel marginalised. “In different ways, people who feel marginalised or excluded from the church due to their marital situation, identity, or sexuality also ask to be listened to and accompanied, and that their dignity be defended. In the Assembly, there was a profound sense of love, mercy, and compassion for people who are or feel hurt or neglected by the church, who want a place to return “home” and where they feel safe, to be listened to and respected without fear of feeling judged. Listening is a prerequisite for walking together in search of God’s will. The Assembly reaffirms that Christians cannot lack respect for the dignity of any person.” (Final Synthesis, 16, h)...

Preparing for Synod 2024: Towards a synodal and missionary Church (Vatican News)

The work of the Synod on synodality continues in view of the final session set for October 2024, and Churches are now called to reflect on the Synthesis Report published in October 2023, to promote further consultation and to prepare contributions for next year’s assembly. Bishops from across world have just received a document with instructions from the Secretariat of the Synod accompanied by a letter from Cardinals Mario Grech (the General Secretary) and Jean-Claude Hollerich (the Relator General). The four-page text first of all underscores the importance of the experience lived by those who took part in the first session of the Synod in October this year, recalling that “their account constitutes an inalienable part of the gift we have received, conveying the richness of an experience that no text can condense.” The synodal process will, therefore, continue along some lines of work, keeping in mind what Pope Francis said when he approved them that “the Synod is about synodality, and not about this or that theme”, and that the “important thing is how the reflection is done, that is, in a synodal way”...

The document can be found here

Embracing everyone as a family of God (L'Osservatore Romano)

The question of how the beautiful experience and momentum of the First Session of the Synod on Synodality can be realized in local churches is both urgent and critical. A synod is more than a set of proposals, teaching, and inspiration on how to be a church. A synod is a way of life, a culture, and an ecclesial practice that renews and transforms the church. To accompany God’s people and reinvigorate the missionary life of the church and her members, following the successful first session of the Synod on Synodality, there is the need to samaritanize the synodal process at all levels of the church’s life. How this could be done is the main concern of this theological reflection. The Synodal Synthesis report invites the people of God to enter deeper into the synodal process through local efforts aimed at “deepening the issues both pastorally and theologically, and to indicate their canonical implications.” All of God’s people are invited to participate on this journey. The inspiration and initiatives that the Spirit is birthing in the church emerge naturally from all the people of God in communion with pastoral leaders and the episcopal conferences. The synodal way should become the church’s way of life that implicates all of God’s people in hearing and heeding the Word of God by listening to one another. As the great African father, Bishop Cyprian of Carthage wrote (Ep. 34. 4. 1), “I do not think that I should give my opinion in isolation. I must know details of these cases and study the solution carefully, not only with my colleagues, but with all the people. It is important to think about everything and weigh it carefully before making a ruling which will constitute a precedent for the future”... As Pope Francis puts it in his address to the delegates, “communion and mission can risk remaining somewhat abstract, unless we cultivate an ecclesial praxis that expresses the concreteness of synodality ... encouraging real involvement on the part of each and all”... Seeing, recognizing, interpreting, and responding in an adequate and prophetic manner unify our Christian witnessing with the priorities and practices of Jesus and births a new experience of the resurrection and hope for those who suffer and are abandoned in the existential peripheries of life... The current synod uses the image of ‘a tent’ to capture the image of the new ecclesiology of decentering of the center, and centering the mission of the church around the sites of the pain-filled world today where many people are wandering without direction, desiring to be wrapped in the cloak of love and friendship. There will always be resistance to this ecclesiology from those who benefit from existing power relationships when they perceive a threat to their power from those who like Jesus desire to upturn the moneychangers’ tables... The synodal process is, therefore, helping us to begin to reimagine the use of power in the church and how to use the gifts and talents of all peoples and all cultures beyond the selfsame structures and systems that have served the church to this moment... Admitting that the existing hierarchies of power, interests, and domination harm the missionary work of the church is an invitation to conversion, a turn towards God and our neighbors and away from our egos and idols — cultural, racial, ecclesial, political, and economic...

By Nigerian theologian Fr Stan Chu Ilo. Well worth reading in full.

North African Bishops reflect on synodality (Vatican News)

The Regional Episcopal Conference of North Africa (CERNA) publishes outcomes of its recent meeting which took place from January 11 to 15 in Rabat, Morocco...

The full statement can be found here, in French.

Edited to add: Subject Fiducia Supplicans to “calm” Analysis in Ongoing Synod: North Africa Bishops (ACI Africa)

There is need to subject Fiducia Supplicans (FS) that permits members of the Clergy to bless “same-sex couples” and couples in other “irregular situations” to the ongoing Synod on Synodality that Pope Francis extended to 2024, Catholic Bishops in North Africa have said... “Faced with the risk of entrenched positions and instrumentalization likely to jeopardize the unity of the Church, it seems to us that the subject deserves to be re-examined in a calm manner in the context of the synodal dynamic underway in the universal Church,” CERNA members say...

Cardinal Grech highlights key outcomes of October's Synod (Vatican News)

Addressing participants at the Philippine Conference for the New Evangelization, Cardinal Mario Grech looks at key outcomes from last October's Synod Assembly, "A Synodal Church in Mission," and his hopes for the next session later this year...

“Bad timing”: SECAM President Says Fiducia Supplicans “damaging” to Synodal Process (ACI Africa)

Fiducia Supplicans (FS), the declaration that the Vatican Dicastery for the Doctrine of Faith (DDF) released permitting the blessing of “same-sex couples” and couples in other “irregular situations”, after the October 2023 Synod on Synodality conversations in Rome is “damaging” to the synodal process, an African Cardinal has said... Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo said the release of the Vatican document on December 18 was viewed by many as a fruit of the synod conversations. “The timing, the moment when this document was published, was damaging for the synodal process,” the SECAM President said Thursday, January 25. Cardinal Ambongo added that FS “brought discredit to the synod, to synodality.” He said, “In the first session, the synod dealt with all these issues, but the synod did not decide. So the publication of this document, between the two sessions of the Synod, was seen by most people as if it was the fruit of the synod, when it had nothing to do with the synod”...

Catholic Bishops on what the Church in Africa is Expecting from Synod on Synodality (ACI Africa)

The Church in Africa hopes to see a synodal process that doesn’t allow the Universal Church to “modify divine laws and precepts in order to create room for all” members of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) have said ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality scheduled to take place in October this year. In a presentation made at the four-day joint seminar involving the representatives of the Bishops from Africa and Europe, the Bishops in Africa underscored the need for the Church to follow Jesus Christ “not on their own terms but on the Lord’s terms and standards”...

Synod on Synodality Organizers Invite 300 Parish Priests to a Listening Session in Rome That Will Include Papal Audience (National Catholic Register)

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Synod on Synodality organizers are inviting 300 parish priests to come to Rome for a meeting of “listening, prayer and discernment” that will help shape the next synod assembly discussions. The international meeting of priests will take place from April 28 to May 2, with the goal of “listening to and valuing the experience of parish priests”and providing them with “an opportunity to experience the dynamism of synodal work at a universal level.” The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops said that the meeting is being organized in response to the first synod assembly’s synthesis report, which identified a need to "develop ways for a more active involvement of deacons, priests and bishops in the synodal process during the coming year”...

18 Newly Ordained Deacons in Kenya Urged to Foster Synod on Synodality Theme (ACI Africa)

Bishop Rodrigo Mejía Saldarriaga, a member of the Society of Jesus (SJ/Jesuits), has urged the 18 Seminarians he ordained Deacons to foster the theme of the Synod on Synodality, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission”, in their ministry...

Pope Francis Launches Study Groups to Analyze Synod on Synodality's Key Issues (ACI Africa)

The Vatican announced Saturday that Pope Francis has launched synodal study groups to analyze key issues ahead of October’s Synod on Synodality assembly... for “in-depth analysis” of some of the themes that emerged in the first Synod on Synodality assembly...

Cardinal Zen Publishes New Critique of Synod on Synodality (National Catholic Register)

Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, the bishop emeritus of Hong Kong, has released another critique of the Synod on Synodality, arguing that the ongoing discussion and discernment process offers “two opposing visions” of the nature, organization, and role of the Church. “On the one hand, the Church is presented as founded by Jesus on the apostles and their successors, with a hierarchy of ordained ministers who guide the faithful on the journey toward the heavenly Jerusalem,” the 92-year-old cardinal observes in a nearly 3,600-word commentary posted on Feb. 15 titled “How will the Synod continue and end?” “On the other hand, there is talk of an undefined synodality, a ‘democracy of the baptized,’” he continues, interjecting “Which baptized people? Do they at least go to church regularly? Do they draw faith from the Bible and strength from the sacraments?”...

I have to say that I have not heard the term "democracy of the baptized" used in any official text about the Synod. I think it is clear that any Synod is consultative and advisory, and that it is the Holy Father who produces a teaching document having heard the views of the Synod.

Vatican Creates Study Groups to Examine Themes for Synod’s First Session, Sets Date for Second Phase (AMECEA)

The Holy Father through the General Secretariat of the Synod announced the setting up of study groups to examine the themes that emerged from the Synod’s first session which was held last year in October and have at the same time set the dates for the second phase of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly. “The Second Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will take place from Wednesday 2 October to Sunday 27 October 2024 to continue the work of the Synod on Synodality around the theme “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission,” reads the press release from the General Secretariat of the Synod dated Saturday, February 17. The statement narrates further, that the second session will be preceded by two days of spiritual retreat, from 30 September to 1 October with participants arriving in Rome on 29 September. Consequently, the Holy Father also on Saturday released a chirograph establishing the creation of study groups to examine some of the themes that emerged in the first Synod session. The study groups comprising of theologians, canon lawyers, and other experts will be formed from among the competent dicasteries of the Roman Curia and the General Secretariat of the Synod, which will coordinate them, reads the Vatican report...

AMECEA Chairman on How to Foster Synodality in Families, Small Christian Communities (ACI Africa)

Initiatives towards training, engaging in dialogue, aiming for a common ground in decision-making processes, and the fostering of inclusive participation are some of the ways the spirit of Synodality can be fostered in families and among members the new way of being Church in Africa, the Small Christian communities (SCCs), the Chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) has said...

Three “vital rules” Catholic Priests in Africa Can Follow to Create Synodal Church (ACI Africa)

Catholic Priests in Africa need to accept ongoing formation on Synodality, avoid clericalism, and be engaged in forming Christians for the successful birthing of a Synodal Church on the continent, the Secretary General of the Regional Episcopal Conference of West Africa (RECOWA) has said...

Five US Catholic Priests Chosen to Attend Synod on Synodality Meeting at the Vatican (National Catholic Register)

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) announced Wednesday the names of five parish priests who have been selected to attend a global gathering of 300 priests at the Vatican this spring as part of the ongoing Synod on Synodality. In a March 20 announcement, the USCCB said the five priests consist of four Latin-rite priests and one Eastern Catholic priest, at the request of the Vatican. The five priests include Father Artur Bubnevych, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Byzantine Catholic Church in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Father Joseph Friend, parochial administrator of three parishes in the Diocese of Little Rock, Arkansas; Father Luis Navarro, a canon lawyer and pastor of St. George Church in Stockton, California; Father William Swichtenberg, pastor of St. Mary’s Parish in Appleton, Wisconsin; and Father Donald Planty, a canon lawyer and pastor of St. Charles Catholic Church in Arlington, Virginia...

Study Groups for Synod Themes to Have In-depth Reflection on Raised Issues (AMECEA)

The Vatican, on Thursday March 14, released the work outline for the study groups expected to analyse questions raised last year in the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, calling on the identified experts to have a deeper reflection on the issues that emerged. The statement from the General Secretariat of the Synod indicates that the Holy Father has categorized the questions by their nature which “must be addressed with in-depth study” by the specially constituted Study Groups in collaboration with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia... According to Thursday’s Rome statement, the fruits of the First Session of Synod comprised various relevant issues concerning the life and mission of the Church from a synodal perspective which the delegates agreed to, and had “a consensus that was almost always above 90%”... The ten issues gathered from the First Session and the outcome collected in the Synthesis Report (SR), include some aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church, listening to the Cry of the Poor, the mission in the digital environment, the revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis (The Gift of the Priestly Vocation) in a missionary synodal perspective and some theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms. Other areas of the ten concerns to be given in-depth reflection and the exercise done within appropriate timeframes are: the revision, in a synodal missionary perspective, of the documents touching on the relationship between Bishops, consecrated life, and ecclesial associations, some aspects of the person and ministry of the Bishop (criteria for selecting candidates to Episcopacy, judicial function of the Bishops, the nature and course of ad limina Apostolorum visits), the role of Papal Representatives in a missionary synodal perspective; theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues and the reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in ecclesial practices”...

We’re Called to Live Synodality in “international, intercultural communities”: Rome-based Priest to Spiritans in Kenya (ACI Africa)

The Church is inviting her members to promote, through practice, the spirit of Synodality, journeying and carrying out the mission of Jesus Christ through a collaborative approach, a Rome-based member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit under the protection of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Spiritans/Holy Ghost Fathers) has said... to embrace and support the reality of “international and intercultural communities”... “That’s the reality of the Church, the internationality, the diversity, the mosaic,” he said, adding that Spiritans in Kenya are witnesses to this diversity of the Church, and that they are facilitating the “discovering of God present in a mosaic”...

IMBISA Gathers Formators in Response to Synod on Synodality’s Call for “extensive revision of priestly formation” (ACI Africa)

The leadership of the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) has partnered with the African Synodality Initiative (ASI) to gather Rectors and other formators in Seminaries in the nine-nation region for a three-day formation workshop organized under the theme, “A Synodal approach to Priestly formation”. In a concept note on the April 8-12 workshop shared with ACI Africa Tuesday, April 9, the organizers say that the formation workshop is a response to the call for “extensive revision of priestly formation” in the ongoing Synod on Synodality... The first phase of the multi-year Synod on Synodality “proposed an extensive revision of priestly formation. In the perspective of the formation of all the baptised for a synodal church, that of deacons and priests requires particular attention,” the organizers say... The formation workshop, the organizers further say, is “guided by the vision of cultivating a synodal church that actively listens to the voice of the entire People of God” and thus “marks a significant step towards the transformation of priestly formation” in IMBISA. The formation workshop, which the organizers say “recognises the need to integrate synodality and spiritual conversation into the formation of future church leaders and priests” is part of the efforts Church leaders in IMBISA are making “to address the evolving needs of the church and ensure that future priests are well-equipped to foster a synodal church”...

The Spirit of the Synod (Tablet)

Speaking at Stonyhurst on Good Friday, the spiritual adviser to the Synod on Synodality reflected on how this process of listening and discernment is also a sort of death so that we might live, in preparation for a new springtime in the Church...

Upcoming Webinar to Discuss How Bishops Can Be More Synodal in The Mission of the Church in Africa (AMECEA)

Following the ongoing Synod on Synodality that aims to strengthen the Church in her mission of evangelization, a webinar scheduled for Thursday, April, 18, will deliberate on various ways in which Bishops can be more synodal in the mission of the church that is emphasizing journeying together...

Cardinal Sarah Urges Africa’s Catholic Bishops to Defend “unity of faith” in October 2024 Synod on Synodality Session (ACI Africa)

Robert Cardinal Sarah has urged Catholic Bishops in Africa to be keen on defending the Catholic faith, voicing their opposition to defenders of “particular cultures” during the October 2024 session of the ongoing Synod on Synodality... Cardinal Sarah said, “At the next session of the Synod, it is vital that the African Bishops speak in the name of the unity of the faith, and not in the name of particular cultures”... “The Church in Africa will soon have to defend the truth of the Priesthood and the unity of the faith. The Church in Africa is the voice of the poor, the simple and the small.” The Church in Africa, he continued, “is charged with proclaiming the word of God in the face of Western Christians who, because they are rich, believe themselves to be evolved, modern and wise in the wisdom of the world.” “It seems that, by a mysterious design of providence, African Bishops are now the defenders of the universality of the faith in the face of the proponents of a fragmented truth; Africans are the defenders of the unity of the faith in the face of the proponents of the culture of relativism”...