“Contracts or memoranda of understanding covering formation, gender equality, remuneration and the administration of assets.” This is strikingly business-like language, and not what one expects to find in the headline of a Vatican press release, as was the case when the Vatican issued a report from one of the study groups running parallel to the Synod on Synodality.
This latest report, from Study Group 6, focuses on the role of the bishop: what kind of bishops the Church now needs, how they are chosen, the supports they need, how they need to co-operate with religious congregations, lay movements and the wider People of God.
As all the study group reports make clear, regulations, expectations and procedures can and often should change. But beneath these changes lies something more demanding: conversion – a change of heart. Study Group 6 speaks of moving beyond functional or merely hierarchical approaches towards relationships marked by trust, mutual listening and a generous exchange of gifts. It also calls for “a concrete commitment to transformation, both interior – of hearts and attitudes – and structural – of language, methods and spaces for encounter”. That sentence gets to the heart of what is underway.
Culture
The Vatican is seeking to move the Church beyond institution and hierarchy understood in isolation, towards a culture of trust, accountability, shared formation and differentiated co-responsibility. This does not weaken the ministry of bishops. It locates that ministry where Vatican II placed it: in service of the mission of the whole People of God. Structures still matter, but structures are not enough. What is being sought is a transformed operative culture.
Concretely, what changes should we see if the most recent recommendations are implemented? Closer cooperation between bishops and religious orders. In some regions the working relationship has been at rock bottom since the abuse crisis.
Also, more just working conditions for religious and laity in pastoral ministry; too often, terms and conditions have been exploitative.
These are to be meetings not simply between an individual bishop and curial offices but between a portion of the People of God and the successor of St Peter”
And the Ad limina visits – the five-yearly reports bishops submit to Rome – are to become more thorough and inclusive, the fruit of real dialogue with clergy, people and religious in the diocese. It is even suggested that bishops bring others with them. These are to be meetings not simply between an individual bishop and curial offices but between a portion of the People of God and the successor of St Peter.
There is a bigger message here. Synodal practices are gradually infusing Church governance at universal level. Last June the consistory of cardinals followed the Conversations in the Spirit methodology. Only a few resisted it, mainly those more comfortable with grandstanding than dialogue. Roundtables, listening before responding, silence, and authority exercised through attention to those it serves are no longer experimental add-ons. They are becoming core to the way the universal Church does its business.
Representatives
This week, around 200 representatives from across Europe have been meeting at the Catholic University of Linz in Austria under the auspices of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, discussing changes beyond the cosmetic if the Church in Europe is truly to embody what Vatican II envisioned regarding baptismal dignity and responsibility.
Families will share their joys and struggles and reflect on the support they need to live the Gospel in daily life”
Next month, marking the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark document on marriage and the family, presidents of episcopal conferences from around the world will meet in Rome with Pope Leo XIV. Jointly organised by the Office of the Synod and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the meeting is intended as a space for encounter, listening and discernment. Families will share their joys and struggles and reflect on the support they need to live the Gospel in daily life.
Taken together, these developments tell us that synodality is here to stay. Pope Leo XIV is clearly not reversing the synodal path. If anything, he seems intent on implementing it with steadiness and institutional seriousness. Not all Curial offices are yet on board, but momentum is gathering. His style, reflecting what the Final Document advocated, is to hold the process with a firm but light ‘grip on the throat’: firm enough to ensure that the whole Church keeps breathing in the same direction, yet light enough to respect the freedom and responsibility of local Churches to discern what implementation requires in their own circumstances. Different issues are being addressed at different levels and through different processes, but the message is consistent: synodality is becoming the ordinary style of Catholic life and mission.
Local level
What, then, needs to happen on the ground at local level? How can parishes and dioceses keep pace? There are two priorities. The first is formation. In my recently published book, I argue that faith formation needs an urgent reboot. The ordinary faithful need a robust understanding of the fundamentals of Christian faith if they are to live it out in an unstable and fragmented world. People serving on parish and diocesan pastoral councils need formation not only in procedures but in ecclesial discernment, decision-making, accountability and the theology of baptism. Priests need formation also, not because synodality diminishes their ministry, but because it asks them to exercise it more richly. They need to enable the gifts of the baptised rather than bear the burden of responsibility alone that is properly shared with others.
None of this is dramatic, and none of it will happen quickly. But the time has come for decisions to become concrete”
Secondly, existing participatory bodies need replenishing. Parish pastoral councils, finance councils, diocesan pastoral councils and similar structures are no longer optional extras or places where decisions already made are merely explained politely. They are meant to be spaces where the People of God listen, discern and, where appropriate, formulate decisions together. The issues that matter need to be brought to these bodies, and their counsel made to count.
None of this is dramatic, and none of it will happen quickly. But the time has come for decisions to become concrete: for formation to be resourced, participatory bodies to be taken seriously, accountability to become normal practice, and local Churches to get on board with what is now clearly the direction of travel. If this is done steadily and well, synodality will not feel like another burden but something quietly life-giving: a way for the Church, at every level, to recover the joy of walking together in the service of the Gospel.
Fr Eamonn Conway’s new book is called Changing to be Faithful: Living Tradition in a Synodal Church. Published by Messenger Publications, it will be launched at Knock Shrine Rest and Care Centre on Friday, September 18 at 12noon. All welcome to a discussion with the author and Archbishop Francis Duffy, facilitated by Monica Morley of Midwest Radio.
What needs to be done so synodality doesn’t feel like a burden but something life-giving
“Contracts or memoranda of understanding covering formation, gender equality, remuneration and the administration of assets.” This is strikingly business-like language, and not what one expects to find in the headline of a Vatican press release, as was the case when the Vatican issued a report from one of the study groups running parallel to the Synod on Synodality.
This latest report, from Study Group 6, focuses on the role of the bishop: what kind of bishops the Church now needs, how they are chosen, the supports they need, how they need to co-operate with religious congregations, lay movements and the wider People of God.
As all the study group reports make clear, regulations, expectations and procedures can and often should change. But beneath these changes lies something more demanding: conversion – a change of heart. Study Group 6 speaks of moving beyond functional or merely hierarchical approaches towards relationships marked by trust, mutual listening and a generous exchange of gifts. It also calls for “a concrete commitment to transformation, both interior – of hearts and attitudes – and structural – of language, methods and spaces for encounter”. That sentence gets to the heart of what is underway.
Culture
The Vatican is seeking to move the Church beyond institution and hierarchy understood in isolation, towards a culture of trust, accountability, shared formation and differentiated co-responsibility. This does not weaken the ministry of bishops. It locates that ministry where Vatican II placed it: in service of the mission of the whole People of God. Structures still matter, but structures are not enough. What is being sought is a transformed operative culture.
Concretely, what changes should we see if the most recent recommendations are implemented? Closer cooperation between bishops and religious orders. In some regions the working relationship has been at rock bottom since the abuse crisis.
Also, more just working conditions for religious and laity in pastoral ministry; too often, terms and conditions have been exploitative.
And the Ad limina visits – the five-yearly reports bishops submit to Rome – are to become more thorough and inclusive, the fruit of real dialogue with clergy, people and religious in the diocese. It is even suggested that bishops bring others with them. These are to be meetings not simply between an individual bishop and curial offices but between a portion of the People of God and the successor of St Peter.
There is a bigger message here. Synodal practices are gradually infusing Church governance at universal level. Last June the consistory of cardinals followed the Conversations in the Spirit methodology. Only a few resisted it, mainly those more comfortable with grandstanding than dialogue. Roundtables, listening before responding, silence, and authority exercised through attention to those it serves are no longer experimental add-ons. They are becoming core to the way the universal Church does its business.
Representatives
This week, around 200 representatives from across Europe have been meeting at the Catholic University of Linz in Austria under the auspices of the Council of European Bishops’ Conferences, discussing changes beyond the cosmetic if the Church in Europe is truly to embody what Vatican II envisioned regarding baptismal dignity and responsibility.
Next month, marking the tenth anniversary of Pope Francis’ landmark document on marriage and the family, presidents of episcopal conferences from around the world will meet in Rome with Pope Leo XIV. Jointly organised by the Office of the Synod and the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life, the meeting is intended as a space for encounter, listening and discernment. Families will share their joys and struggles and reflect on the support they need to live the Gospel in daily life.
Taken together, these developments tell us that synodality is here to stay. Pope Leo XIV is clearly not reversing the synodal path. If anything, he seems intent on implementing it with steadiness and institutional seriousness. Not all Curial offices are yet on board, but momentum is gathering. His style, reflecting what the Final Document advocated, is to hold the process with a firm but light ‘grip on the throat’: firm enough to ensure that the whole Church keeps breathing in the same direction, yet light enough to respect the freedom and responsibility of local Churches to discern what implementation requires in their own circumstances. Different issues are being addressed at different levels and through different processes, but the message is consistent: synodality is becoming the ordinary style of Catholic life and mission.
Local level
What, then, needs to happen on the ground at local level? How can parishes and dioceses keep pace? There are two priorities. The first is formation. In my recently published book, I argue that faith formation needs an urgent reboot. The ordinary faithful need a robust understanding of the fundamentals of Christian faith if they are to live it out in an unstable and fragmented world. People serving on parish and diocesan pastoral councils need formation not only in procedures but in ecclesial discernment, decision-making, accountability and the theology of baptism. Priests need formation also, not because synodality diminishes their ministry, but because it asks them to exercise it more richly. They need to enable the gifts of the baptised rather than bear the burden of responsibility alone that is properly shared with others.
Secondly, existing participatory bodies need replenishing. Parish pastoral councils, finance councils, diocesan pastoral councils and similar structures are no longer optional extras or places where decisions already made are merely explained politely. They are meant to be spaces where the People of God listen, discern and, where appropriate, formulate decisions together. The issues that matter need to be brought to these bodies, and their counsel made to count.
None of this is dramatic, and none of it will happen quickly. But the time has come for decisions to become concrete: for formation to be resourced, participatory bodies to be taken seriously, accountability to become normal practice, and local Churches to get on board with what is now clearly the direction of travel. If this is done steadily and well, synodality will not feel like another burden but something quietly life-giving: a way for the Church, at every level, to recover the joy of walking together in the service of the Gospel.
Fr Eamonn Conway’s new book is called Changing to be Faithful: Living Tradition in a Synodal Church. Published by Messenger Publications, it will be launched at Knock Shrine Rest and Care Centre on Friday, September 18 at 12noon. All welcome to a discussion with the author and Archbishop Francis Duffy, facilitated by Monica Morley of Midwest Radio.
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