(begin) Synod document seeks responses to welcoming, serving everyone: The Synod of Bishops' working document for the second session in October highlights the need for the church to become a place of welcome for all, and how the faithful can help the church in its mission of serving and healing humanity. Key themes include the renewal of the sacraments and the liturgy and finding more opportunities for women in church life and leadership. by Carol Glatz (Catholic News Service)
The 30-page document, called an "instrumentum laboris," was released at the Vatican July 9. It will serve as a discussion guideline for the synod's second session Oct. 2-27, which will reflect on the theme: "How to be a missionary synodal Church." The reflections are the next step in the synod's overarching theme: "For a synodal Church: communion, participation and mission."…
The document, based on the results of the first session [last fall] presented in the synthesis report and on further consultation with local churches, parish priests and others, listed a number of shared proposals and concerns that should be addressed at the second session:
-- Formation in listening to the Word of God and others, while emphasizing the need to listen to those experiencing poverty and marginalization.
-- Addressing exclusion and lack of welcome in the church, which leaves people "feeling rejected, hinders their journey of faith and encounter with the Lord, and deprives the Church of their contribution to mission."
-- Creating a "recognized and properly instituted ministry of listening and accompaniment" which enables people to approach the church without feeling judged.
-- Promoting possibilities for women to further participate in church life which "often remain untapped." This includes providing women, including consecrated women, access to positions of responsibility, such as judges in canonical processes and teaching and formation roles in theology departments, institutes and seminaries.
-- Reimagining ordained ministry to help clergy avoid unnecessary burdens and isolation, and encouraging the delegation of tasks that do not require ordination to the laity. The question of admitting women to diaconal ministry will not be discussed at the second session, though a synod study group is looking at the issue.
-- Enhancing transparency and accountability beyond sexual and financial abuse to include pastoral plans, working conditions and evaluation procedures for those holding positions in the church.
-- Ensuring that the composition of different types of councils -- parish, deanery, diocesan or eparchial -- reflect the communities they serve and are able to effectively implement synodal proposals.
-- Correcting the formula in the Code of Canon Law which speaks of councils as having "a consultative vote only." This "diminishes the value of consultation and should be corrected." "The aim of synodal ecclesial discernment is not to make the bishops obey the voice of the people, … but rather to lead to a shared decision in obedience to the Holy Spirit."
Pope Francis chose synodality as the theme for the ordinary General Assembly of the Synod to help the church strengthen its evangelizing mission by emphasizing the need of all the baptized to deepen their journey of following the Lord and renew their responsibility to serve his mission.
Unlike earlier meetings of the Synod of Bishops, which focused on a specific issue or a specific region of the world, the "synod on synodality" is focused on providing "an opportunity for the entire people of God to discern together how to move forward on the path towards being a more synodal Church in the long-term," according to the synod's official handbook. (end)
Another Catholic News Service article was: “New Instrumentum Laboris focuses on how to implement goals of Synod on Synodality” by Hannah Brockhaus. She wrote:
(begin) The guiding document for the final part of the Synod on Synodality, published Tuesday, focuses on how to implement certain of the synod’s aims while laying aside some of the more controversial topics from last year’s gathering, such as women’s admission to the diaconate.
“Without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible,” the Instrumentum Laboris, or “working tool,” says.
The six sections of the roughly 30-page document will be the subject of prayer, conversation, and discernment by participants in the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, to be held throughout the month of October in Rome.
Instead of focusing on questions and “convergences,” as in last year’s Instrumentum Laboris, “it is now necessary that ... a consensus can be reached,” said a FAQ page from synod organizers, also released July 9, answering a question about why the structure was different from last year’s Instrumentum Laboris.
The guiding document for the first session of the Synod on Synodality in 2023 covered such hot-button topics as women deacons, priestly celibacy, and LGBTQ outreach. By contrast, this year’s text mostly avoids these subjects while offering concrete proposals for instituting a listening and accompaniment ministry, greater lay involvement in parish economics and finances, and more powerful parish councils. “It is difficult to imagine a more effective way to promote a synodal Church than the participation of all in decision-making and taking processes,” it states.
The working tool also refers to the 10 study groups formed late last year to tackle different themes deemed “matters of great relevance” by the synod’s first session in October 2023. These groups will continue to meet through June 2025 but will provide an update on their progress at the second session in October. The possibility of the admission of women to the diaconate will not be a topic during the upcoming assembly, the Instrumentum Laboris said. (end)
The document itself reads: 17. While some local Churches call for women to be admitted to the diaconal ministry, others reiterate their opposition. On this issue, which will not be the subject of the work of the Second Session, it is good that theological reflection should continue, on an appropriate timescale and in the appropriate ways. The fruits of Study Group 5, which will take into consideration the results of the two Commissions that have dealt with the question in the past, will contribute to its maturation.
It seems Pope Francis is the only one willing to be honest about women deacons. He has said that will not happen. Sounds like “case closed.” The preceding paragraph seems disingenuous, and it has some gobbledegook. It reads: “It is good that theological reflection should continue, on an appropriate timescale and in the appropriate ways.” What in the world does that mean? What timescale and what ways? Theological reflection should continue? Please, that reflection and research already have been extensive. The bottom-line appears to be that too many “local churches” have reiterated their opposition. What local churches? How many?
[I note for emphasis: The 2024 Instrumentum Laboris also addresses the need for transparency to restore the Church’s credibility in the face of sexual abuse of adults and minors and financial scandals. “If the synodal Church wants to be welcoming,” the document reads, “then accountability and transparency must be at the core of its action at all levels, not only at the level of authority.”]
Now we wait for the dust to settle.
Deacon David Pierce
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