The General Secretariat of the Synod prepared 10 questions with answers concerning the Instrumentum Laboris [working document] for the second session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to be held from October 2 to 27. The Sunday Examiner will publish a number of them each week through September.
Some topics have been entrusted to the 10 working groups created by Pope Francis. How should this decision be interpreted? Is it a way of eliminating these topics from the assembly debate?
From the beginning, Pope Francis insisted that this synod is not about this or that topic, but about synodality, about how to be a missionary Church on the way. The October assembly and all the theological questions and pastoral proposals for modification have this purpose. The Assembly should therefore be a time in which each participant, placing himself on a journey that began in 2021 and bringing the “voice” of the people of God from which he comes, invokes the help of the Holy Spirit and that of his brothers and sisters to discern God’s will for his Church, and not an opportunity to impose his own vision of the Church.
At the same time, Pope Francis welcomed the convergence that the members of the assembly had expressed during the First Session around a number of relevant issues concerning the life and mission of the Church in synodal perspective, on which the assembly had reached a consistent consensus, almost always higher than 90 per cent, through the creation of 10 specific working groups. These are important issues, some of which require to be dealt with at the level of the whole Church and in collaboration with the Dicasteries of the Roman Curia.
It is not, therefore, a matter of subtracting certain questions from the debate of the assembly, which has already expressed a convergence as to their importance, but of providing useful elements from the theological and canonistic point of view to offer to Peter’s ministry.
Therefore, these groups should already be considered a fruit of the synodal journey. Experts and bishops from different parts of the world are participating in these groups, identified on the basis of their experience and respecting the variety of geographical origins, disciplinary backgrounds, gender and ecclesial status necessary for an authentically synodal approach.
They are collecting and enriching existing contributions on the topics assigned to them. The groups should conclude their work, if possible, before the end of June 2025.
What can we expect at the conclusion of the synod?
The celebration of the Second Session of the XVI Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will not mean the end of the synodal process. The Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis Communio [EP], which governs the entire synodal process, recalls that the synod consists essentially of three phases: consultation of the faithful, discernment by the pastors and the implementation phase.
These three phases should not be understood only in a chronological sense. In fact, with the celebration of the XVI Assembly, according to the EP, we would be in the phase of discernment of the pastors, which would be followed by the moment of reception of the work of the assembly by the local communities.
However, the discernment of pastors accompanied almost the entire synodal process [i.e., already in the consultation phase, which in fact already saw the discernment of pastors at the local, national and continental levels].
Moreover, we can testify that the “implementation” phase has already begun immediately after the first meetings. The synodal “fruits” are already numerous: many are the testimonies of those ecclesial realities that have changed their ecclesial actions in a synodal sense with a greater co-responsibility of all the baptised faithful.
Therefore, the conclusion of the Second Session will not be the end of the synodal process, but only an important moment in the discernment of the pastors.
On the other hand, in previous synods a final document was approved and delivered to the Holy Father. This document contained some indications that the Assembly wished to give to the pope. Normally, after a few months, the pope would deliver to the whole Church a document called the Post-Synodal Exhortation, which contained some provisions related to the topic in question.
It is expected that this assembly will also produce a final document to be submitted to the Holy Father for a possible exhortation. The purpose of the Synodal Assembly is to offer guidance to the pope. The synod is consultative and not deliberative.
Where can IL be found?
The Instrumentum laboris can be found in several languages on the official website of the General Secretariat of the Synod [www.synod.va], where a specific section has been created for the work of the Second Session of the XVI Assembly. In addition to the IL, this section also contains Frequently Asked Questions [FAQ], Infographics and other useful documents not only for the preparation of the members of the assembly, but also for any other person or group wishing to deepen their knowledge of the synodal Church.
