Synod of Synodality 2024: The latest on the debates on the future of the Catholic Church

The Synod of Synodality of the Catholic Church has already entered its final phase. Bishops, lay experts and even non-Catholic observers from around the world gather in Rome this October for a nearly month-long assembly that could shape the Church, its government and its teachings. Pope Francis, opening the session, urged participants to listen to the Holy Spirit instead of pursuing particular agendas.

The October 2024 session focuses on “how to be a missionary synodal Church?” as the synod’s 368 voting members consider proposals related to women’s roles, decentralization of Church teacher authority and improving lay participation in decision-making.

· Decoding the Synod of Synodality: Basic Glossary

· The news of the Synod of Synodality in 2024

The latest:

October 6: Pope Francis and Synod participants pray the rosary for peace

Invoking the intercession of the Virgin Mary for peace in the world amid growing conflict in the Middle East and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Pope Francis presided over the recitation of the rosary at the Basilica of St. Mary Major in Rome. on Sunday night, according to David Ramos.

October 5: A call for peace and an announcement of dialogue

A Lebanese bishop made a passionate called for peace and forgiveness at the Synodality Synod’s daily press conference on Saturday, as the first week of the assembly drew to a close.

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

Meanwhile, a dialogue with study groups was announced for October 18 after Synod delegates voted in favor of greater interaction with groups established by Pope Francis.

October 4: First week in the Synod of Synodality: Revolution or much ado about nothing?

As the first week of meetings closed, participants from different continents highlighted the plight of the world’s poor and vulnerable on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, informs Kristina Millare.

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

October 3: The Synod leaves out the issue of deaconesses

Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, denied on October 3 speculation about the possibility of more theological studies being carried out on the possibility of women being ordained deaconesses, as reported by Almudena Martínez-Bordiú , ACI Prensa correspondent in Europe.

October 3: Many voices to be heard

Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the Synod, stated in a press conference that “each believer, man or woman, and each group, association, movement or community will be able to participate with their own contribution” through the 10 study groups of the Synod.

Bishop Daniel Flores, Bishop of Brownsville, Texas (United States), told reporters that the work of the participants in the second session of the Synod of Synodality is to find the “cohesive voice” that expresses the life of the Church.

October 3: Resolve sexuality issues 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 issues — proposes a “contextual fidelity” and a “new paradigm” that downplays the long-standing teachings of the Church, notes Jonathan Liedl.

October 2: What’s behind the viral photo of Pope Francis looking at a chair?

Pope Francis appeared seated before the historical relic of the Chair of Saint Peter in the Ottoboni sacristy of Saint Peter’s Basilica after celebrating Mass in Saint Peter’s Square before the start of the second session of the Synod on Synodality. What’s behind this viral image? Walter Sánchez Silva explains it.

October 2: Pope Francis calls for new ways for bishops to be “synodal”

At the first plenary assembly meeting of the Synod on Synodality on Wednesday, Pope Francis said that a bishop’s ministry must include cooperation with the laity and that the synod will need to identify “different forms” of the exercise of this ministry.

October 2: Pope Francis opens the Synod and warns against personal “agendas”

Pope Francis opens the second and final session of the Synod on Synodality, which aims to deepen the Church’s missionary perspective, explains EWTN’s Vatican bureau chief Andreas Thonhauser.

“Let us be careful not to turn our contributions into points to defend or agendas to impose,” Pope Francis urged the participants of the second session of the Synodality Synod. He stressed, as on past occasions, that it is not “a parliamentary assembly”, but “a place of listening in communion”, as reported by Almudena Martínez-Bordiú.

October 2: Questions about the role of German “synodality”

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

October 1: The penitential liturgy is celebrated in St. Peter’s Basilica; more than 500 people attend

On the eve of the second session of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis affirms that the Catholic Church must first recognize its sins and ask for forgiveness to restore trust in the Church and to “break the chains of evil,” reports Walter Sánchez Silva. .

Nine years ago, this papal speech set in motion the “synodality” machine

Since Pope Francis’ speech in 2015, synodality has gone from being a theological concept to becoming a guiding principle of Church governance. Analysis by Jonathan Liedl in the National Catholic Register.

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.