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A four-year 'synodal' process took place across the Catholic Church (2021-24). It marked an important moment in the life of the worldwide Church, with Pope Francis calling on us to reflect on the theme For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission. Pope Francis invited us to take this journey together, with the word “synodality” referring to the active participation of all members of our faith family in the life and mission of the Church.
As the Preparatory Document for the Synod expressed, “This path of walking together is the most effective way of manifesting and putting into practice the nature of the Church as the pilgrim and missionary People of God".
The Synodal process has concluded in Rome and the Church globally now moves on to implement it. For an overview of all the stages, see the 'Synodal Process' flow diagram below, from synod.va.
In 2022 parish groups, national organisations and religious communities engaged in a number of listening conversations, exploring the way the Church embraces her missionary mandate in today’s world. The ideas and thoughts collected through these conversations formed our Diocesan Syntheses - the "local" part of the Synodal process. The responses of people in this diocese were gathered and read carefully, and informed our diocesan submission document, called the Synthesis of Synod Responses. You can read this document, which was submitted to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales (CBCEW) here.
People and parish groups from across our diocesan community contributed to the local phase of the Synod, with an estimated 1,000 people contributing their reflections on the questions posed by Rome. If you were unable to attend Bishop Richard’s Feedback Webinar, you can watch it below.
Episcopal Conference & Continental Phases: From the themes that emerged from the diocesan reports, the National Synthesis Team drafted a National Synthesis for England and Wales which was sent to the Synod Office in Rome accompanied by Seeking our Hearts' Desire, the Bishops' Reflection on it.
In the Continental Phase, expert representatives from five continents (lay people, religious and clergy) met in Autumn 2022 to synthesize the reports from the 100 bishops’ conferences who made submissions into a single report, Enlarge the space of your tent, which was sent back to dioceses with groups invited to reflect on it, so national delegations could bring insights to Continental Assemblies. The European Continental Assembly was held in Prague in February 2023. Each continental assembly then sent their reflections to the Synod Office in Rome and from them the Instrumentum laboris (working document) for the next phase was produced.
The Instrumentum laboris was released in June 2023. It called for a welcoming Church which embraces diversity and it formed the basis for the work of the First Session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, which took place at the Vatican in October 2023. You can read about the delegates from England and Wales here.
At the end of that session, a Synthesis Report was published. Looking ahead to the final Synod Gathering of Bishops in Rome in October 2024, the text offers reflections and proposals on topics such as the role of women and the laity, the ministry of bishops, priesthood and the diaconate, the importance of the poor and migrants, digital mission, ecumenism, and abuse. You can read a summary of the Synthesis Report here.
In June 2024, work began in Rome to prepare the Instrumentum Laboris (working document) for the Second Session of the Synod of Bishops, which took place in October 2024. It was released on 9 July 2024 and is available to read here.
Following the conclusion of the second sitting of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis addressed the Assembly highlighting how the Final Document, written over the course of the Second Session, is the fruit of over three years of listening to the People of God. It reveals, he noted, a shared path forward toward a "synodal Church" that embodies the Gospel not merely through words but through every act and interaction.
Click here to read further reflections on Pope Francis’ address, or click here to read the English translation of the Final Document of the Synod.
To find out more, visit the Bishops' Conference (CBCEW) website or the Vatican's dedicated Synod.va website. If you have questions about the diocesan phase of the Synod, please contact our team E: synod@abdiocese.org.uk.
