Synod of Synodality: What will the final document be like?

A year ago, at the end of the first general assembly of the Synodality Synod, electronic versions of a draft of the confidential summary report were distributed to the media and others, as inevitably happens, in the days before the latest amendments to the delegates and the final vote.

This year, apparently to discourage such leaks, Synod organizers only provided participants with hard copies of the draft report, which are not so easily disseminated.

The irony is that there may not be much to share.

In recent weeks, both internally and externally, the assembly has come under intense pressure to change the Church’s governing structures and even some of its basic doctrines.

Theologian Myriam Wijlens, a consultant to the Synod, emphasized in a press conference on October 23 that Pope Francis has called to “reconfigure the Church in a synodal way.” Doing so would require changes to canon law to, for example, make parish or diocesan councils mandatory.

But bigger changes, such as opening the diaconate to women or allowing exceptions to priestly celibacy, to name two issues that were publicly promoted this month, appear to be off the table.

According to sources who have spoken with CNA – EWTN News’ English agency – what remains is a draft report that is generating disappointment in progressive sectors, but very little stir.

Titled “Communion, Mission and Participation,” it is a short document: 152 paragraphs, so far, covering about 47 pages. According to synodal sources, it is divided into five parts.

The first part deals with the shared understanding of synodality and its theological principles. The second refers to what is called a “relational conversion.” The third part talks about ecclesial discernment, decision-making processes, the culture of transparency, accountability and evaluation. The fourth part seeks to understand how to cultivate the exchange of gifts in new ways. Finally, the fifth part talks about formation in and for missionary synodality.

The final document of the Synod, a delegate told CNA, appears to be heavily borrowed from the document on synodality that the International Theological Commission published in 2018, titled Synodality in the life and mission of the Church.

After reviewing it, Synod delegates can propose amendments, which the assembly will discuss and vote on this Saturday.

Two-thirds of the assembly must approve a paragraph for it to be maintained. In the past, if a paragraph was not even two-thirds full, it was not published. It was said that it did not represent synodal communion. Instead, Pope Francis wanted each paragraph of the final document to be published and the votes for or against to be indicated along with the paragraph.

Beyond conversations about healthy decentralization, the draft document addresses how this decentralization should be addressed. In particular, there is a paragraph that says that in a synodal Church the decision-making competence of the bishop and the bishop of Rome is “inalienable”, while proposing some good practices so that the diocesan and parish council is representative of the entire People of God , including women.

Some describe the document as an interlocutory rather than definitive measure. One bishop observed that “the document allows everyone to manage things as they wish,” but added, showing some disappointment: “So what were we talking about?”

If these are the results of two synodal stages in Rome and a three-year journey of dialogue and listening before that, it is clear that many will be disappointed. There are no revolutions, but a call for a change of mentality in the Church based on the idea that synodality has always been present in the Church.

This will be the starting point for the final session on Saturday.

After the publication of the final document we will have to wait for Pope Francis to act. The Holy Father could decide to adopt the final document in its entirety as a post-synodal exhortation or he could draft a post-synodal exhortation himself, either before or after the various expert study groups deliver their final reports in May.

In the end, everything depends on the Pope.

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