Focus on process in working document for October Synod meeting

July 09, 2024

The working document for the October session of the Synod on Synodality avoids discussion of controversial issues, concentrating instead on the process of implementing a synodal vision of the Church.

The working document, known as the instrumentum laboris, was released by the Vatican on July 9, culminating a process of preparations that had seen suggestions from all around the world filtered through an editorial process that produced a 30-page synthesis.

While early preparations for the Synod on Synodality had seen frequent debates about homosexuality, female priests, and other “hot-button” issues, the instrumentum laboris leaves those specific issues aside, voicing the hope that “a consensus can be reached” on the broader topic of synodality, “seen as a path of conversion and reform.”

At the same time the document notes that while the Synod deliberates in October, ten “study groups” have been formed to examine specific issues. “They will complete their in-depth study by June 2025, if possible, but will offer a progress report to the Synod Assembly in October 2024.”

Synodality, the instrumentum laboris states, “is not an end in itself.” Rather it is a way of realizing the mission of evangelization, “ a style that starts from listening as the first act of the Church.” The preparatory document argues that the months of consulation leading up to the October 2024 meeting have in themselves heightened the understanding of synodality.

The document does insist on the need for greater involvement of women in the Church. “The contributions of the episcopal conferences recognize that women can participate in many areas of Church life,” the instrumentum says. “However, they also note that these possibilities for participation often remain untapped.” While noting that some preparatory sessions heard calls for the ordination of women to the diaconate, the document confirms that this topic “will not be the subject of the work of the Second Session,” but suggests that it is appropriate for further theological exploration.

Regarding the acceptance of homosexuality, a topic that had been debated frequently in preparatory meetings, the instrumentum says nothing explicit. But the document does mention “the recognition that a synodal Church is a Church that listens, is capable of welcoming and accompanying, and is perceived as home and family,” and goes on to call for special efforts to include “people who, for different reasons, are or feel excluded or on the margins of the ecclesial community or who struggle to find full recognition of their dignity and gifts within it.” The document concludes: “An ‘open door’ of the community is needed, allowing people to enter without feeling threatened or judged.”

In a similar way the instrumentum does not address the concerns of Catholics who have been demoralized or even alienated from the Church by recent scandals, but insists: “If the synodal Church wants to be welcoming, then accountability and transparency must be at the core of its action at all levels, not only at the level of authority.”

On these and other issues, the instrumentum laboris does not suggest specific reforms, but states: “Without tangible changes, the vision of a synodal Church will not be credible.”

 

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Further information:

• Instrumentum Laboris for October Synod assembly (Vatican press office)
• Emphasis on women and accountability in document for second Synod session (Vatican News)
• New Instrumentum Laboris focuses on how to implement goals of Synod on Synodality (CNA)
• Synod working document skips women, LGBTQ+, married priests (Crux)