Oct. 31, 2023
Since Oct. 4, Catholic bishops, priests, lay women and men from all over the world have been gathered in Rome for the Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to discuss “synodality” — the way in which all members of the church participate in the church and its mission. As the first session of the Synodal Assembly on the theme “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission” concludes, a summary (or synthesis) report, A Synodal Church in Mission, has been issued that contains the main elements that emerged in the dialogue, prayer and discussion over the last several weeks.
Read the Summary Report
(Report can also be downloaded in PDF format at the link above) | Additional languages
Initiated by Pope Francis, the synodal journey leading up to this session began more than two years ago and invited all 1.3 billion Catholics around the world to contribute. After the opening of the synodal process on Oct. 9, 2021, the Church engaged, at different paces, in a listening process at diocesan, national and continental stages, the results of which were recorded in their respective documents. This first session in Rome in October opened the phase in which the entire Church received the fruits of this consultation in order to discern, in prayer and dialogue, the paths that the Spirit is asking us to follow. This phase will last until October 2024, when the second session of the Assembly will complete its work and offer it to Pope Francis.
Resources
Synod 2021-2024 invites participation of Catholics worldwide (GRdiocese.org)
Synod website
Synod on Synodality 2023: Facts, anecdotes and analysis from the first week (CNA, Oct. 6, 2023)
Timeline: The synod process in the Catholic church under Pope Francis (by Christopher Lamb for Religion Media Center)
