Synod of Synodality 2024: Theologians who make the Instrumentum Laboris

On June 14, the Vatican released the list of the theologians in charge of preparing the “Work Tool 2”, the document on which the work of the second and last session of the Synod of Synodality will be based, which will be held next October in Rome.

Below, we show the profiles of several members of this group of theologians, made up of priests, lay people, religious and bishops.

Dario Vitali: “Rethink the entire Church” and “restore” the female diaconate

The Italian theologian Dario Vitali was already part of the first assembly of October 2023. On that occasion, during his speech to the Synodal Assembly in the General Congregation, the theologian made reference to authority and changes in the institutional Church.

Specifically, he proposed the need to “rethink the Church in a synodal sense, so that the entire Church and everything in the Church—life, processes, institutions—is reinterpreted in terms of synodality.”

Likewise, in January of this year, she spoke about the female diaconate during an interview with Vatican News. The theologian stated that Tradition “conceived the diaconal ministry as a presence of women who carried out this service.”

“And it is precisely this feminine presence in Tradition that forces us to reflect on whether we cannot also restore the diaconate to women. A reflection that should allow us to find a balance within the Church while respecting all existing sensitivities,” she maintained.

Myriam Wijlens: “It is up to the Synod to discern the female diaconate”

Myriam Wijlens, Dutch professor of Canon Law at the University of Erfurt (Germany), is another of the theologians participating in the preparation of the document and is also part of the Consultative Committee of the Synod.

In a interview in 2023, she expressed that it is not up to her, but to the Synod, “to discern how to respond to the question of the female diaconate” and stressed that this request “does not come only from women, but from the entire community.”

Ormond Rush: “Vatican II Council can illuminate debate on tradition”

In his speech In the Paul VI Hall during the first session of the Synod of Synodality in October 2023, the Australian theologian affirmed that the discussion on Tradition that occurred during the Second Vatican Council is the authority for the reflections of the Synod.

Likewise, he stressed that “tradition should not only be considered affirmatively, but also critically.”

Bishop Roberto Repole: Synodality to promote the “democratic culture of local Churches”

The Archbishop of Turin (Italy), Bishop Roberto Repole, who has entrusted the management of the parishes to the laity in the diocese of Turin, is also one of the theologians in charge of the Work Tool 2.

He was one of the speakers at the conference entitled “Church and Synod are synonymous: styles and forms of a synodal Church”, held on October 14 of last year in Rome.

In his speech, the Italian prelate argued that the Second Vatican Council “had not fully embraced the realities of the local Churches.” Therefore, he advocated for synodality “to infuse the Gospel into the culture in which local Churches operate, emphasizing the democratic culture of local Churches.”

Rafael Luciani: A “synodal review” of the structures of the Church

The Venezuelan theologian Rafael Luciani has repeatedly emphasized that the structures of the Church need “a review synodal”.

Para Luciani, “synodality It is perhaps the most important epochal contribution that Christians can make to the rest of humanity.”

Likewise, he defined it as “the most significant process of conversion and reform that the Catholic Church has undertaken after the Council to review its relationships, communication dynamics and structures.”

P. Carlos Maria Galli, Argentine theologian close to Pope Francis

Father Galli is one of Pope Francis’ reference theologians and collaborator of relevant documents of his pontificate. He is also the author of several writings in which he argues in favor of Liberation Theology.

The Argentine priest, came to affirm that Pope Francis has “overcome” the pyramidal conception of the Church and that he even speaks “of an inverted pyramid, where the base becomes the summit”: the ministry of the bishops is at the service of the people of God.

Regarding the “reform of the Church”, Father Galli stressed that it is not only about changing the structure, but that “the reform or renewal of the Church consists of a change of attitudes in all the members of the People of God ”.

On another occasion, he condemned “authoritarian theology.” and safe that Pope Francis “believes in processes and wants them to be irreversible.”

Gloria Liliana Franco: “The path of women in the Church is full of scars”

Sister Gloria Liliana Franco Echeverri, president of the Latin American and Caribbean Conference of Religious Men and Women, lamented during her intervention at the first session of the Synodality Synod in Rome that “the path of the woman in the Church is full of scars from situations that have led to pain and redemption.”

In this sense, he claimed that there is a “desire and imperative for a greater presence and participation of women in the Church”, but that nevertheless “there is no ambition for power or feeling of inferiority or selfish search for recognition”, defending “the right to participation and “equal co-responsibility in discernment and decisions.”

The Holy Father made reference to these statements in one of his interventions at the 2023 Synodality Synod, and denounced that “ministers exceed their service and mistreat the people of God, disfigure the face of the Church with sexist attitudes and dictatorial.”

María Cimperman: social justice and environmental care

Sister María Cimperman, a member of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Professor of Moral Theology, Social Ethics and Consecrated Life at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago, is deeply involved in sustainability and ecology.

For the nun, social justice and care for the environment are fundamental expressions of the Christian faith. She is the author of the book “Committing to diversity. Interculturality and consecrated life today.

Fr. Paul Béré: “An ‘Africanity’ is necessary within the Catholic approach”

The Jesuit priest from Burkina Faso was the first African to win the prestigious Ratzinger Prize in 2019. He has been in favor of adapting Christian teaching to local cultures and went so far as to affirm that a “Africanity” within the Catholic approach to addressing regional problems.

Other theologians who have participated

In addition to those mentioned, the professors of Dogmatic Theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University Giuseppe Bonfrate and Father Pasquale Bua also belong to this group.

Likewise, it includes Bishop Timothy John Costelloe, Archbishop of Perth (Australia); Clarence Sandanaraj Davedassan, Professor of Moral Theology at the Academy

Alfonsiana of Rome; Paolo Foglizzo, Synod expert; Bishop Lúcio Andrice Muandula, Bishop of Xai-Xai (Mozambique); Sister Josée Ngalula, professor of Dogmatic Theology at the Catholic University of Congo; Gilles Routhier, professor of Ecclesiology and Practical Theology at the University of Laval (Canada); Péter Szabó, professor of Canon Law at the Catholic University of Budapest and Felix Wilfred, emeritus professor of Philosophy and Religious Thought at the State University of Madras (India).

In the coming months, the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Synodality will carry out a first discernment of what was written by these theologians in Rome.

Later, the drafting phases of the document itself and a system of extensive verification will follow until the Ordinary Council approves the document, which will be delivered to the Holy Father for final approval.