"What we have approved is enough." Synod on Synodality closes in Rome with final document from delegates

-








Pope Francis broke with papal tradition at the end of the final session of a month-long synod in Rome. 

The Pope did not publish an exhortation — a stamp of approval — at the end of the gathering — as has been the practice of popes some days after other synods ended. 

“What we have approved is enough,” he said. “There are already very concrete indications in the document that can be a guide for the mission of the Churches, on the different continents, in the different contexts. That is why I am making it immediately available to everyone.” 

And yet, he added, the synod’s work is not finished. “There are and there will be decisions to be made,” the Pope said. 

This includes the work of the 10 study groups, including groups on the role of women in the church and LGBTTQ+ Catholics, that are to report to him next year. Those groups “must work with freedom to offer me proposals,” the Pope said, adding this was not a way of “postponing decisions indefinitely.” 

Pope Francis’ remarks came at the end of the Synod on Synodality, a three-year process aimed to help the Church involve all Catholics in working together to address challenges facing them around the world.

Read more of my story about the final document that concluded the Synod on Synodality, along with some comments from senior church officials at the closing press conference, in the Free Press.

Photo above: Pilgrims in St. Peter's Square on Oct. 26 after the close of the Synod on Synodality.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Exploring the meaning of synodality, or how the Roman Catholic Church wants to journey together

-
Image
Some say the gathering of the Roman Catholic faithful in Rome for the Synod on Synodality goes too far by raising too many challenging questions.    Others say it’s not going far enough since big issues like the role of women in that Church and affirmation of LGBTTQ+ people aren't included in the formal assembly, but rather shunted aside to study groups. Hopeful or disappointed, pleased or concerned, all seem to agree that the Synod of Synodality—a three-year process that is culminating this coming week in Rome—is a major event in the life of the Roman Catholic Church, an event with far-reaching implications. I am in Rome from Oct. 19-28 as a reporter for the last week of the synod. My hope is to catch an idea of what delegates to the month-long assembly think the Roman Catholic Church should be doing to be relevant in the world today, including back in Canada. Read my first story about the synod in the Free Press.
Read more

Polygamy, LGBTTQ+, saints, the "Canadian method" and other reflections from the Synod on Synodality

-
Image
I gathered way more information while in Rome at the Synod on Synodality than could be published in the Free Press. So I published some reflections on the week in my column last Saturday.   About things like how the need for the Roman Catholic Church to be more flexible around the issue of polygamy in Africa may open the door for a broader welcome for LGBTTQ+ people in Europe, the U.S. and Canada.   About the Canadian connection to Conversations in the Spirit—the new way Catholics around the world are being encouraged to be synodal with each other. (It’s called the “Canadian method.”)   About how the canonization of a new saint from Canada on the Sunday of the last week of the synod might have caused Canadian women advocating for greater leadership roles in the Church to shake their heads. ( Marie-Leonie Paradis of Quebec was known for her for her devotion to doing domestic chores for priests — things like cooking, cleaning and laundry.)   About the role play...
Read more

“The synod is not over. It's only just beginning": Alain Faubert, Bishop of Valleyfield

-
Image
  “The synod is not over. It’s only just beginning.”   That’s what Alain Faubert, Bishop of Valleyfield, Quebec, said about the recent month-long assembly in Rome in October that concluded the three-year Synod on Synodality process.   The goal of that assembly, the second gathering to bring together clergy and lay people—the first was in 2023—was to “plant seeds,” said Faubert. “Now we have to do something with them to help them grow.”   Faubert will play an important role in seeing that happen. In late October he was elected to the Ordinary Council of the General Secretariat of the Synod to work with other Council members to promote the implementation of the synod’s recommendations. He will also help prepare for the next synodal assembly.   “I am very honored to have been elected,” he said of being chosen at the end of the last synodal assembly. “I want to contribute to the growth of an increasingly synodal Church.”   Faubert comes to the task fr...
Read more