Editorial

Preparing for the October Synod

Next month, the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will be held in Rome. This meeting is vitally important for the life of the Church because it is the culmination of two years of listening and dialogue by individual dioceses and by continental groups in all regions of the world. It is also the point of departure for another year of synodal reflection by local Churches in preparation for the final gathering of this four-year process in October 2024.

“Synodality” refers to the way we baptized Christians walk together as a pilgrim people gathered together in spite of our many differences. Synodality also calls attention to the importance of attentive listening and prayerful discernment as the only way to hear what God is saying to us here and now. By means of respectful dialogue with one another, we are able to set aside our prejudices and fears in order to come to recognize one another as sisters and brothers in Christ.

In spite of the fact that Pope Francis and the synod’s organizers have repeatedly said that the purpose of the synod is not to try to change Church teaching, some Catholics fear that synodality is a smokescreen that masks a political agenda. They fear that the open and frank conversations that have taken place during the past two years— and that will continue next month in Rome— will lead to fundamental changes in the moral teaching of the Church.

It’s unfortunate, to say the least, that we are divided over the very processes that our Holy Father has established in order to bring us together. What could be more beneficial in today’s divided and increasingly judgmental social climate than attentive listening and respectful dialogue?

Instead of hiding behind closed doors paralyzed with fear and acrimony, synodality challenges us to leave our comfort zones in order to engage with others—including those we disagree with—in constructive conversations. Instead of simply using social media

to hurl insults and call each other names, the processes initiated by the Holy Father challenge us to meet each other face to face and share our opinions with dignity and respect.

During his address for the opening of the synod two years ago, Pope Francis said:

The Synod is a process of authentic spiritual discernment that we undertake, not to project a good image of ourselves, but to cooperate more effectively with the work of God in history. If we want to speak of a synodal Church, we cannot remain satisfied with appearances alone; we need content, means and structures that can facilitate dialogue and interaction within the people of God, especially between priests and laity.

Spiritual discernment is the synod’s primary goal, and this can only be authentic if we resist the temptation to impose on others points of view that are rigid, closed or judgmental.

Yes, there are risks, and the pope lists several of these. The first risk is “formalism,” the Holy Father says. “The synod could be reduced to an extraordinary event, but only externally; that would be like admiring the magnificent facade of a church without ever actually stepping inside.”

The second risk is “intellectualism. This would turn the synod into a kind of study group,” Pope Francis says, “offering learned but abstract approaches to the problems of the Church and the evils in our world. The usual people saying the usual things, without great depth or spiritual insight, and ending up along familiar and unfruitful ideological and partisan divides, far removed from the reality of the holy people of God and the concrete life of communities around the world.”

Finally, there is the temptation of complacency, the attitude that says: “We have always done it this way and it is better not to change.”

Pope Francis insists that complacency (the sin of indifference) is poison for the life of the Church. “Those who think this way, perhaps without even realizing it, make the mistake of not taking seriously the times in which we are living. The danger, in the end, is to apply old solutions to new problems. A patch of rough cloth that ends up creating a worse tear [Mt 9:16].”

Let us pray that as we prepare for the synod that will take place at the Vatican next month, this process will involve all of us, in spite of our differences, in an exciting and engaging effort that can forge a style of communion and participation directed to the Church’s mission.

—Daniel Conway