‘We walk together’: U.S. bishops reflect on last global session of Synod on Synodality

Vatican City, Oct 26, 2024 / 11:00 am

As the second session of the Synod on Synodality draws to a close, several of the U.S. bishops serving as delegates to the synod shared their insights and experiences in a series of interviews this week with EWTN News hosts Catherine Hadro, Matthew Bunson, and Father Thomas Petri, OP.

“We walk together and, of course for us, we walk together with Christ,” Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told EWTN News. “We’re really all in charge; we all make up the Church, we’re all the living stones.”

Broglio, who is also the archbishop of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, stressed that this co-responsibility must begin at the parish level before it can effectively manifest at the diocesan level.

Archbishop William Lori of Baltimore, USCCB vice president, emphasized that synodality primarily concerns the Church’s “interior culture” and how Catholics discern God’s will together.

“It’s more about ... listening to the Lord and to his word, and to the Church and to tradition; listening to one another [and] understanding what authentic aspirations are,” Lori explained.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, described synodality as requiring a “conversion to a sense of the style and manner of Jesus.” At the same time, Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend, Indiana, emphasized that synodality serves the Church’s fundamental mission of evangelization.

“The end is the mission — it’s bringing the truth and beauty of the Gospel, this message of salvation in Christ — to the world,” Rhoades said. “Synodality is not the end. It’s a means towards the end.”

Global perspective

The bishops highlighted how their interactions with delegates from around the world deepened their appreciation for the universal Church’s challenges and vitality.

Broglio described enlightening discussions with a bishop from Nepal, where Christians face significant restrictions, including requirements for conversion affidavits.

During a break in the synod, Lori visited Ukraine, meeting with war widows and mothers who lost sons in the conflict. Despite tremendous suffering, he witnessed “tremendous faith and resiliency.”

Looking ahead, the bishops emphasized practical applications of synodality in their dioceses. Lori noted that while cultural change doesn’t happen overnight, many dioceses have already begun implementing more collaborative approaches to Church governance.

Rhoades pointed to existing structures like parish pastoral councils and presbyteral councils as vehicles for implementing a more synodal approach. “It’s about really taking these councils seriously,” he said.