Members of the Synod assembly on synodality are in their final week of work at the Vatican
The Synod fathers and mothers have now entered the very last phase of the first session of the Synod assembly on the future of the Church. This past Monday they began examining the final texts that will emerge from the gathering that been going on since October 4 inside the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.
Two documents will be issued. The first is the assembly’s “Letter to the People of God”, which was slated to be issued on Wednesday, October 25. Expected to be no more than two pages long, it is meant to be a message of hope and encouragement to Catholics during this time of crises – both the internal crisis the Church is facing as a result of the sex abuse scandals, and the external crisis the whole world is experiencing because of wars around the globe. The latest one, between Hamas and Israel, broke out during the early days of this Synod assembly.
The Synod’s general secretariat drafted the message and asked members of the assembly to read and reflect on it over the weekend. The text was read aloud on Monday inside the Paul VI Hall and was greeted with applause. The Synod fathers and mothers were then given a few hours to send proposed amendments to the editors, so that they could be discussed and incorporated in good time. Some members of the assembly said they regretted that the first draft was “too light” and included only a few words on world peace.
A 30-page synthesis
The second text the Synod assembly will produce is the much-awaited final document. It is to be published on Saturday evening, the last day of the month-long proceedings. The first draft of the report is believed to be 20 to 30 pages. It was drawn up by a committee of editors headed by Giacomo Costa, an Italian Jesuit theologian, and revised by a commission of cardinals.
This text is expected to provide an assessment of the discussions that have taken place these past weeks in the Vatican, outlining the points of convergence and divergence. It is also expected to offer guidelines for the next eleven months leading up to October 2024 when the Synod assembly reconvenes for its second session.
The final document was presented to the Synod assembly on Wednesday morning and now the members will be spending the next couple of days discussing it and offering amendments. The re-worked text will then be put to a vote on Saturday afternoon.
It’s an understatement to say that this methodology is putting Synod participants to the test, none of whom are hiding their fatigue. Some have expressed weariness in the face of an assembly they have deemed as too long. The discussions over the next days could also give rise to tensions, particularly during the voting.
But one thing is certain: this time, the documents have not been written in advance, as they were at some of the previous Synod assemblies. This is a way of truly taking into account the results of this month’s round-table discussions in Paul VI Hall. And to prepare for what’s to come.
Reproduced with permission from La Croix International.
