The Instrumentum laboris presented today, in view of the second session of the Assembly scheduled for October in Rome, proposes that those who have authority in the ecclesial community at all levels be held accountable for how they carry out their pastoral plans. One of the foundations of synodality is the valorisation of women. But the Synod will not take a position on the question of women’s access to the diaconate.
Vatican City () – The synodal Church “needs a culture and practice of transparency and accountability.” Not only in matters such as sexual abuse and financial scandals. Those in authority within it must periodically inform the community about the way in which “pastoral plans, methods of evangelization and the ways in which the Church respects the dignity of the human person, for example regarding working conditions in its institutions” are being carried out. Just as Peter himself had to do in the Church of the apostles when he was asked to explain why he had administered baptism to a pagan like Cornelius (Acts 11:2-3).
This is one of the most interesting proposals on the concrete exercise of synodality presented by the Instrumentum laboris of the second session of the XVI Ordinary Assembly of the Synod, which will be convened in Rome from 2 to 27 October to draw conclusions from the journey that began three years ago at the behest of Pope Francis and which involved the Churches of the whole world in a reflection on how to live together communion, participation and mission. Starting from the Synopsis Report drawn up at the end of the first session, which took place in the Vatican in October 2023, the Synod – instead of stopping at decisions relating to individual issues – once again posed to the local communities the question of method: how to be a missionary synodal Church? From each context, new insights came to the secretariat which – together with the input from the world meeting “Parish Priests for the Synod” – led to the drafting of the Instrumentum laboris, a long document of 112 points which will form the basis of the discussion at the Assembly in October.
Meanwhile, for ten key themes on which a broad consensus had already been generated in the first session, last February Pope Francis asked ten study groups to draw up detailed proposals to be presented to the pontiff by June 2025. Specifically, the ten areas on which the commissions are currently reflecting are: relations between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church; listening to the cry of the poor; mission in the digital environment; the ministry of the priesthood; specific ministerial forms of the laity; relations between bishops, religious and ecclesial groups; the ministry of the bishop (criteria for selecting candidates, judicial function, nature and development of ad limina visits); the role of nuncios; the synodal methodology for shared discernment on controversial doctrinal, pastoral and ethical questions; and the reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in the people of God.
Beyond these specific points – on which a definitive answer will not be forthcoming at the October Assembly – the Instrumentum laboris focuses on the foundations and dynamics of synodality. One of the central questions is the issue of the valorisation of women in the Church. The text notes that in too many cultures “machismo remains very strong” and calls for “greater participation of women in the processes of ecclesial discernment and at all levels of decision-making processes”, together with “wider access to positions of responsibility in dioceses and in ecclesiastical institutions”. As for the issue of admission to the diaconate, the Instrumentum laboris recognises that the consultation has confirmed that there are different opinions; this will therefore not be discussed at the Synodal Assembly but rather theological reflection will continue.
Another important aspect – in the third part of the document – is the question of the places of synodality, which also includes the theme of inculturation. “The experience of the pluralism of cultures and the fruitfulness of encounter and dialogue between them is a condition of the Church’s life, not a threat to her catholicity,” states the Instrumentum laboris. It questions, for example, the face of a synodal Church in large megalopolises, where “a few metro stops are enough to cross the borders, not of the parish, but of the diocese.” In this context, the ecclesial places themselves are called to be “spaces for walking together,” with a pastoral action aimed at “encountering every man and every woman” wherever they are. This dynamic also demands a qualitative leap from the local Churches, called to a reciprocal exchange of gifts in a true ecclesial communion.
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