Synodality, for Pope Francis, is synonymous with “walking together.” He is adamant that we are to expend less energy on achieving particular outcomes than we have in previous synods. Rather, he says, this synod is an invitation to dedicate much more energy to the process of finding common ground among all of God’s people—even those who for whatever reason are estranged from the church and those who find God in other faith traditions—than to
come to perfect consensus on a variety of issues.
Thus, the pope calls us to embrace the synod process—especially in this diocesan phase— with courage, boldness and frankness, and to trust that the Holy Spirit has the power to stir our hearts and minds and to direct us to act in ways pleasing to God.
Though the preparatory document for the synod offers ten “thematic nuclei” for our reflection, it is clear that these are not to be followed slavishly. Instead, the document’s drafters instruct that these “should be adapted to the different local contexts and, from time to time, integrated, explained, simplified and deepened.”
The synod we have now entered should not be a checklist exercise, where we debate exhaustively and passionately the minutiae of various neuralgic issues in the church and argue over who is right. We do, nevertheless, need some direction to guide this pioneering church-wide exercise in listening. “We need content,” said Pope Francis at a prayer service a day before he opened the synod at the Vatican, “means and structures that can facilitate
dialogue and interaction within the People of God, especially between priests and laity”.
Here are ten questions chosen from each of the thematic nuclei to help you reflect as you begin your personal synod journey. (Hopefully, the questions, and your personal reflections, can feed deeper discussions when you meet in your parish listening groups.)
- When we say: “our Church,” who is part of it?
- What space is there for the voice of minorities, the discarded, and the excluded?
- When and how do we manage to say what is important to us?
- How do we promote the active participation of all in the liturgy and the sacraments?
- How does the community support its members committed to service in society?
- What experiences of dialogue and shared commitment do we have with believers of other religions and those who don’t believe in God?
- What relations do we have with the brothers and sisters of other Christian denominations?
- How is authority exercised within our particular church?
- How do we promote participation in decision-making within hierarchically structured communities?
- What tools help us to read the dynamics of the culture in which we are immersed and their impact on our style of church?
