Overview of the October 2023 Synod Focus

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WORKSHEETS FOR THE SYNODAL ASSEMBLY—SUMMARY OF KEY QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR DISCERNMENT

First Session – October 2023

The Worksheets have been prepared to facilitate discernment on the three “priorities that most strongly emerge from the work of all the continents”, with a view to identifying the concrete steps to which we feel called by the Holy Spirit in order to grow as a synodal Church. Therefore, the presentation of the Worksheets, the explanation of their structure and the instructions for how to use them need to be contextualized within the wider work of the Assembly.

The Assembly will deal with the questions posed by alternating plenary sessions and group work.

It will begin by working on Section A, “For a Synodal Church. An integral experience”, with the aim of focusing with greater clarity on the fundamental characteristics of a synodal Church, starting from the experience of walking together lived by the People of God in these two years.

The Assembly will then proceed to address the three priority issues that emerged from the consultation phase.  Each of these priorities is the subject of one of the three parts into which Section B is divided, “in connection with the three key words of the Synod: communion, mission, participation.”

  • “B 1. A communion that radiates: How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?”

  • “B 2. Co-responsibility in Mission: How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?”

  • “B 3. Participation, governance and authority: What processes, structures and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal Church?”

Finally, the last segment of the work of the Assembly will be dedicated to gathering the fruits of the process, that is, discerning the paths we will continue to walk together. The Assembly will consider ways to continue reading the experience of the People of God, including through promoting the necessary in-depth theological and canonical studies in preparation for the second session of the synodal Assembly in October 2024.

All the Worksheets follow the same structure: they begin with a brief contextualization of the question given in the title, each framed by what emerged in the first phase. They then present a question for discernment. Finally, they offer some insights, which outline various perspectives (theological, pastoral, canonical, etc.), dimensions and levels (Parish, Diocese, etc.).

Some of the questions that emerged from the consultation of the People of God concern issues on which there is already magisterial and theological teaching to be considered. To give just two examples, we can note the acceptance of remarried divorcees, dealt with in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, or the inculturation of the liturgy, the subject of the Instuction Varietates legitimae (1994) of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments. The fact that questions continue to emerge on issues like these should not be hastily dismissed, rather, it calls for discernment, and the Synodal Assembly is a privileged forum for so doing. In particular, the obstacles, real or perceived, that have prevented the steps indicated by previous documents from being realized should be considered and reflections offered on how they can be removed.

For example, if the block stems from a general lack of information, then improved communication will be needed. If, on the other hand, the problem stems from the difficulty of grasping the implications of the documents in ordinary situations or an inability of persons to recognize themselves in what is proposed, a synodal journey of effective reception by the People of God could be the appropriate response. Another instance could be the reappearance of a question which emerges as a sign of a changed reality or situations where there is a need for an “overflow” of Grace. This requires further reflection on the Deposit of Faith and the living Tradition of the Church.

It will be difficult for the work of the first session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to produce conclusive guidelines on many of these topics. This is why the Holy Father has decided that the Synodal Assembly will be held in two sessions. The main objective of the first session will be to outline paths of in-depth study to be carried out in a synodal style, indicating the relevant actors to be involved and ways to ensure a fruitful process in service to the discernment to be completed in the second session in October 2024. Proposals on how we can grow as a synodal Church will then be presented to the Holy Father.