Ten Crucial Takeaways from the Synod on Synodality

Over a period of three years, the Church at every level discussed the shape of synodality in the future, the aim of which is to make the Church more effective at evangelisation by being more participatory and inclusive. Here are ten of the main points that discuss the impact of the Synod on Synodality on the universal Church and in local communities.  

What does synodality mean?

The synod’s 52-page final document describes synodality as “a path of spiritual renewal and structural reform that enables the Church to be more participatory and missionary, so that it can walk with every man and woman, radiating the light of Christ”.

The model of synodality, according to the document, is Mary because she “listens, prays, meditates, dialogues, accompanies, discerns, decides, and acts”.

How does synodality apply to Africa?

In regions where the Small Christian Communities model is active, including Southern Africa, synodality has long been practised at the grassroots. In that way, Africa has a headstart.

According to Fr Don Bosco Onyalla, editor-in-chief of the Catholic news agency ACI Africa, the theological concept of synodality as “where people come together” is a reality already lived among Catholics across the continent.

Is the synod’s outcome Church teaching?

Pope Francis immediately approved the final 52-page document after synod members — 27% of them non-bishops — voted on it. According to reforms he made in 2018, the synod’s final text is therefore part of his ordinary magisterium.

Normally the pope uses a synod’s final document as a basis for drafting his own apostolic exhortation on the topic, such as Amoris Laetitia after the 2015 Synod on the Family. The fact that Pope Francis will issue no apostolic exhortation adds to the magisterial weight of the synod’s final document.

How does the synod relate to Vatican II?

The document says that the Synod on Synodality was the product of “putting into practice what the Second Vatican Council (1962-65) taught about the Church as mystery and the Church as people of God”. Therefore, the document says, the synodal process “constitutes an authentic further act of the reception” of Vatican II, “thus reinvigorating its prophetic force for today’s world”.

What about women in the Church?

The final text says that women “continue to encounter obstacles” in living out their “charisms, vocation, and roles” in the Church. The synod calls for women to be accepted into any role currently allowed by canon law, including leadership roles in the Church.

Regarding the question of women’s access to diaconal ministry, the text says the question remains open and that “discernment needs to continue”. A separate Vatican study group is currently considering the question of women deacons, with its final report expected in June.

What about ‘decentralisation’?

The document calls for bishops’ conferences to play a greater role in inculturating the faith in their local context and asks for clarification about their current level of doctrinal authority. However, it does emphasise that episcopal conferences cannot override a local bishop’s authority nor “risk either the unity or the catholicity of the Church”.

The document also calls for more plenary and provincial councils, and for the Vatican to accept these bodies’ conclusions more speedily.

And changes in Church decision-making?

The final document calls for a “synodal” reform of canon law to allow for the greater participation of lay people in decision-making processes and to do so through new synodal structures and institutions. Church authorities, the document states, may not ignore conclusions reached by consultative, participatory bodies.

Was there opposition to any decisions?

All paragraphs in the document were approved by decisive majorities. The largest opposition was against continuing to explore the possibility of women deacons, at 27%.

The 12% who voted against establishing a study group to look into making liturgical celebrations “more an expression of synodality” — including what may be a reference to lay preaching during the liturgy — was rather offset by the 88% who voted in favour.

What does the pope ask of us?

In his closing Mass homily, Pope Francis called on the Church not to remain in a state of “blindness” to the issues within the Church and in the world. The Church must listen to men and women “who wish to discover the joy of the Gospel”, he said, but it must also listen to “those who have turned away” from faith and to “the silent cry of those who are indifferent”, as well as the poor, marginalised and desperate. “We do not need a sedentary and defeatist Church,” the Holy Father said, “but a Church that hears the cry of the world [and] gets its hands dirty to serve the Lord”.

In what concrete ways might the Church change now? 

The implementation of the synod’s final document could have a far-reaching and concrete impact — from the selection of bishops to governance decisions in parishes, dioceses and even the Vatican, with a greater emphasis on widespread consultation.

It could also create new synodal bodies, like continental assemblies and a council of Eastern Catholic leaders, to advise the pope.—CNA/CNS/own staff

Published in the January 2025 issue of The Southern Cross magazine