Live updates: The Synod on Synodality debates the Catholic Church’s future

CNA Newsroom, Oct 13, 2024 / 08:00 am

The Catholic Church’s final session of the multiyear Synod on Synodality is commencing its third week. Have you adopted a synod participant yet?

Here’s what you should know 

• Decoding the Synod on Synodality: CNA’s essential terminology guide

• Here’s what is new at the Synod on Synodality Part 2

The story so far 

Oct. 12: Catholics invited to ‘adopt’ Synod on Synodality members

Prayer groups are sponsoring an online platform through which you can “adopt” a Synod on Synodality member to pray for during the month of October.

After submitting an email address on the webpage oremusprosynodo.org, the name of one of the 368 voting members of the 2024 meeting of the Synod on Synodality appears with the exhortation to pray for them. Hannah Brockhaus has more.

Should the Church be governed by gender-balanced synods?

At a theological forum held at the Jesuits’ world headquarters in Rome this week, an influential canon lawyer argues that the Catholic Church should be governed by synods balanced according to gender, among other factors, and empowered to make decisions, not merely recommendations. Jonathan Liedl reports for the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 11: Pope Francis, synod pray where first Christian martyrs of Rome were killed

Pope Francis and Synod on Synodality participants pray together at the site of the first Christian martyrdoms in Rome on Friday evening.

As attendees hold candles with drip protectors imprinted with an image of the 15th-century painting “Mater Ecclesiae” (“Mother of the Church”), Pope Francis leads those present in praying the Our Father but does not give the meditation prepared for the event, Hannah Brockhaus reports.

Oct. 11: What happens when a Chinese bishop takes the floor for the first time at the synod?

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Synod sources tell EWTN News that Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang of the Diocese of Hangzhou spoke to synod participants about the history of Chinese Catholicism, China’s agreement with the Vatican on the appointment of bishops, and cultural exchange. Andrea Gagliarducci has more.

Oct. 10: Pope Francis’ Brazilian pick for cardinal calls for ordaining married priests

Archbishop Jaime Spengler, OFM, at a briefing for the Synod on Synodality confirms plans for a trial run of an Amazonian rite of the Mass and urges “openness” to the idea of married priests to serve certain communities.

The 64-year-old prelate, a descendant of German immigrants, is a prominent figure in the Church in his home country and throughout South America, heading both the Catholic bishops’ conference of Brazil and the Latin American bishops’ conference (CELAM), writes Hannah Brockhaus.

Oct. 10: Why is ‘women’s ordination’ still dominating media coverage of the synod?

News media has a built-in tendency to downplay nuance and highlight novelty, and this is arguably accentuated at the Synod on Synodality, writes Jonathan Liedl for the National Catholic Register. Two synod members say synod communications head Paolo Ruffini overstated the strength of calls for “women’s ordination.” Read the full analysis here.

Oct. 10: Non-Catholic delegates put Christian unity in focus at Synod on Synodality

Three fraternal delegates — non-Catholic representatives of Christian churches participating in this year’s session of the Synod on Synodality — take center stage at Thursday’s Synod on Synodality press briefing held at the Vatican’s Holy See Press Office.

Speaking about “the great importance of relationality” among Christian churches, Anglican Bishop Martin Warner of Chichester — co-chair of the English-Welsh Anglican-Roman Catholic Committee — speaks about the “sense of family” that has developed between the Catholic Church and the Church of England, particularly during the reign of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 9: Synod debates on bishops, laypeople opened to public at theology forums

Synod on Synodality events open to the public give a glimpse Wednesday evening into the private debates happening among delegates and theological experts on the issues of a bishop’s authority and his relationship to the laity in light of synodality.

Thomas Söding, vice president of the lay organization promoting the German Synodal Way, argued that bishops shouldn’t control or dictate discipleship but should encourage diverse expressions of faith.

Italian canonist Donata Horak criticized the Roman Catholic Church’s current structure as “monarchical” and out of step with democratic sensibilities. She suggested that the Latin Church adopt deliberative synods, as seen in Eastern Catholic churches, although she did not note that these do not allow lay voting, notes Hannah Brockhaus.

Oct. 9: Synod delegates look to St. John Henry Newman as theological guide

Australian Bishop Anthony Randazzo, a synod delegate and president of the Federation of Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Oceania, says St. John Henry Newman famously showed “that the Church would look foolish without the laity” and should help ease fears that collaboration with the laity is heterodoxical.

“I think that this way of thinking should liberate us in the Church from believing that any one group or vocation alone drives the bus,” the bishop of the Diocese of Broken Bay, Australia, emphasizes. Randazzo made a powerful statement against pushes for so-called “women’s ordination,” explains Jonathan Liedl for the National Catholic Register.

Oct.

Oct. 8: Catholic bishops from mainland China and Taiwan in dialogue at Synod on Synodality

In an interview with CNA, the first Indigenous bishop of Taiwan says he met with the two bishops from mainland China taking part in the synod and plans to meet with them again. “It’s very important to dialogue with them, to respect each other. I think it’s good … not only for the Chinese, for the whole Church,” Bishop Norbert Pu of Taiwan tells Courtney Mares.

Oct. 8: Who is in charge of drafting the final document of the Synod of Synodality?

Paolo Ruffini, the synod’s communications head, announces the 14 members of the Final Document Commission. The seven continental delegates are:

• Catherine Clifford, a theologian from St. Paul University in Ottawa, for North America

• Congolese Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, for Africa

• Father Clarence Davedassan of Malaysia is the pick from Asia

• Bishop Shane Mackinlay of Sandhurst, Australia, for Oceania

• Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia, for Central and South America

• Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France, for Europe

• Bishop Mounir Khairallah, a Maronite prelate, for the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Middle East

The other members include three direct picks from Pope Francis and four automatic appointments, writes Jonathan Liedl.

Oct. 8: Synod participants donate for Gaza parish

In a video played for journalists at the Holy See Press Office on Oct. 8, Gaza parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli thanks synod participants for both prayers and financial help, because in Gaza, “everyone is in need of everything.”

The pope’s charity office announces that synod participants donated 32,000 euros (about $35,000) for the Catholic parish in Gaza from synod participants on Oct. 7, the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel.

The synod donations were combined with another 30,000 euros (about $33,000) from Pope Francis’ charity coffers and sent to Holy Family Parish, the only Roman Catholic parish in the Gaza Strip, which is sheltering hundreds of Palestinian Catholics.

Oct. 7: Pope invites prayer for the Middle East as participants from that region begin week 2 of the synod

Since the beginning of the Synod on Synodality, synod delegates and participants have echoed Pope Francis’ pleas for prayers and solidarity with communities across the war-ravaged region. As the second week of the synod gets underway, on the World Day of Prayer and Fasting held on the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary, Pope Francis addressed Catholics in the Middle East on the one-year anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel. Kristina Millare has more.

Oct. 7: Women deacons off the table? Synod delegate claims ‘some women sense a call to priesthood’

While the topic of “women deacons” is not formally up for discussion at the Synod on Synodality assembly this month, the official Vatican press conference for the synod showcases a female delegate who spoke about women experiencing “a call to priesthood,” Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 6: Pope Francis and synod participants pray rosary for peace

Invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary for peace in the world amid an escalating conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Pope Francis presides over a rosary prayer in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major on Sunday evening, Courtney Mares reports.

Oct. 5: A call for peace and an announcement of dialogue

A Lebanese bishop makes an impassioned plea for peace and forgiveness at the Synod on Synodality’s daily press briefing on Saturday as the assembly’s first week draws to a close.

Bishop Mounir Khairallah of Batroun shares his personal experience of violence and forgiveness, recounting how his parents were murdered when he was just 5 years old.

Meanwhile, a dialogue with study groups is announced for Oct. 18 after synod delegates vote for more interaction with the groups established by Pope Francis.

Oct. 4: What’s behind the viral photo of Pope Francis venerating a chair?

Pope Francis sits before the historic relic of St. Peter’s chair in the Ottoboni sacristy of St. Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Square ahead of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. What is behind this viral image? Madalaine Elhabbal explains.

Oct. 4: Participants put spotlight on world’s poor

Closing the first week of meetings, participants from different continents put a spotlight on the plight of the world’s poor and vulnerable on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, Kristina Millare reports. 

The first week at the Synod on Synodality — revolution or much ado about nothing? 

Vaticanist Andrea Gagliarducci analyzes the first days of the gathering in Rome. He writes: “It seems clear that while the delegates may discuss many things over the next three weeks, nothing will be decided. There will be no doctrinal changes. No diminution of the role of the bishop. No rush to resolve the question of opening the diaconate to women.” 

Oct. 3: Many voices to be heard 

Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, says at a press conference that “every believer, man or woman, and every group, association, movement, or community will be able to participate with their own contribution” via the synod’s 10 study groups.

Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, tells journalists the work of participants in the second session of the Synod on Synodality is to find the “cohesive voice” that expresses the life of the Church.

Oct. 3: Cardinal Fernández rules out women deacons

Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, on Oct. 3 shuts down speculation regarding further theological study into the possibility of women being ordained as deacons. Father Giacomo Costa, special secretary of the synod, says this month’s discussions held in the Vatican should serve as “laboratories of synodal life,” Kristina Millare reports.

Oct. 3: Solving sexuality questions with ‘contextual fidelity’?

A study group appointed by Pope Francis to explore a synodal approach to the Church’s most debated issues — including sexual morality and life matters — proposes “contextual fidelity” and a “new paradigm” that downplays long-standing Church teaching, Jonathan Liedl notes. 

Oct. 2: Pope Francis calls for new ways for bishops to be ‘synodal’

At the first meeting of the full assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday, Pope Francis says a bishop’s ministry should include cooperation with laypeople and that the synod will need to identify “differing forms” of the exercise of this ministry.

Oct. 2: Pope Francis opens synod, warns against personal ‘agendas’

Pope Francis opens the second and final session of the Synod on Synodality, which is meant to deepen the missionary perspective of the Church, explains EWTN Vatican Bureau Chief Andreas Thonhauser.

“Let us be careful not to see our contributions as points to defend at all costs or agendas to be imposed,” the pope says at the synod’s opening Mass on Oct. 2, Courtney Mares reports. The pontiff warns: “Ours is not a parliamentary assembly but rather a place of listening in communion.”

Oct. 2: Looming questions about role of German ‘synodality’ 

“More candor about the motivations of the German Synodal Path and its vision of the Catholic future would be helpful in determining what, if anything, it has to offer the world Church at Synod 2024,” comments George Weigel in the National Catholic Register.

Oct. 1: Penitential liturgy is held in St. Peter’s Basilica; more than 500 people attend

On the eve of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis says the Catholic Church must first acknowledge its sins and ask for forgiveness before it can be credible in carrying out the mission Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church, Kristina Millare reports. 

Nine years ago, this papal speech set the ‘synodality’ machine in motion

Since Pope Francis’ 2015 speech, synodality has grown from a theological concept into a guiding principle of Church governance. Analysis from Jonathan Liedl in the National Catholic Register.