The Sat Report: Synodality and forming people for missionary discipleship
Analysis of Part V of the Final Document of the Synod on Synodality
We have finally come to the end of our analysis of the final document of the Synod on Synodality. The official English translation of the full text can be found here. This part of the document concerns itself with the implementation of Synodality, principally through the instruction and formation of the laity and clergy in it, so that Synodality can take root in the Church. It is very thin on how this is actually going to work in practice, but I’ll touch on that later.
Missionary Discipleship
The section opens stating that the mission of Christ on earth “is to proclaim the Reign of God, offering to every person, without exception, the mercy and love of the Father,” before telling us that “the holy People of God require proper formation so that they can witness to the joy of the Gospel and grow in the practice of synodality”, without telling us how this will take form.
“Synodality implies a profound vocational and missionary awareness, the source of a renewed way of living ecclesial relations and new dynamics regarding participation”, we are told, and it is through “Formation in synodality and the Church’s synodal style will make people aware that the gifts received in Baptism should be put to use for the good of all: they cannot be hidden or remain unused.”
The document then moves on to concern itself with the sacrament of Baptism, decrying that “sometimes, once the journey of Initiation is over, the bond with the community weakens, and formation becomes neglected.” The text links this with the loss of the importance of Sunday amongst the vast majority of baptised Catholics, stating it is “important to rediscover how the Sunday Eucharist is formative for Christians.”
It goes on, “for many of the faithful, the Sunday Eucharist is their only contact with the Church: ensuring it is celebrated in the best possible manner, with particular regard to the homily and to the “active participation” of everyone, is decisive for synodality. In the Mass, we experience synodality coming to life in the Church as a grace received from above.” This does seem to be a way to nip in the bud the idea that was raised several times during the Synod, of a sort of reform of the Mass of Paul VI to become more Synodal. The idea of the Reform of the Reform that characterised much of the Pontificate of Benedict XVI, and one which Pope Francis has rejected, is also put back on the shelf, as the Mass as it is already Synodal, and has achieved this through the active participation of the faithful.
The text then emphatically underscores this point by saying that “the gift of communion, mission and participation - the three cornerstones of synodality - is realised and renewed in every Eucharist.” The last thing the Vatican wants is a rerun of the liturgical wars, that has done so much damage to missionary impetus, killing the missionary momentum that never really going [at least in the West] after the close of the Second Vatican Council.
Specifically on formation in Synodality, the text does tell us that “such formation must aim not only at acquiring theoretical knowledge but also at promoting the capacity for openness and encounter, sharing and collaboration, reflection and discernment in common,” before stating that “the Church already has many places and resources for the formation of missionary disciples: families, small communities, parishes, ecclesial associations, seminaries and religious communities, academic institutions, and also places for serving and working with the marginalised, as well as missionary and volunteer initiatives.” This is all true and was never the problem. The issue is trying to break the apathy modern man has developed to what it perceives Catholicism offers them, or rather what they perceive to be what Catholicism cannot offer them.
The document then underlines the importance that catechesis should play in a synodal Church. I agree whole heartily with this. Where catechesis has been done well, often using the same methods that the Church has employed for centuries, the faith has thrived in the period since the Second Vatican Council. In places that have lost the plot, the fruits have been reaped. “Among the formative practices that can benefit from the new impetus of synodality, special attention should be given to catechesis so that, in addition to being part of the journey of initiation, catechesis is continuously drawing people outwards in mission.”
Synodality as way to vet Candidates to Holy Orders
The text then briefly touches on an aspect, alongside the deaconess debate, that was a major debate on the Aula floor. “Throughout the synodal process, a widely expressed request was that the discernment and formation of candidates for ordained ministry be undertaken in a synodal way”, before stating emphatically that “There should be a significant presence of women” in this process. The text repeats the “Assembly calls for a revision of the Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis”, adding “they should be translated into precise guidelines for a formation to synodality.”
The formation of the episcopate is then mentioned. “Formation of Bishops is just as necessary so that they may better assume their mission of bringing together in unity the gifts of the Spirit and exercise in a synodal manner the authority conferred on them.” The very next line states, “the synodal way of formation implies that the ecumenical dimension is present in all aspects of the paths towards ordained ministries.” I really have no idea what this is supposed to mean. Every single person who enters Holy Orders does so to expand the Kingdom of God. Unless the document is trying to tell us that all seminarians should wish that everyone on earth be Catholic, in communion with and under the jurisdiction of the Roman Pontiff? Is this the ecumenical dimension that the document is referring to. Who knows?
The document briefly mentions again the online sphere as it has done, fleetingly throughout the text. Perhaps this will be the topic of the next Synod of Bishops. “Digital culture constitutes a crucial dimension of the Church’s witness in contemporary culture and an emerging missionary field. This requires ensuring that the Christian message is present online in reliable ways that do not ideologically distort its content.”
The victims of clerical abuse are mentioned, with the importance of “the promotion in all ecclesial contexts of a culture of safeguarding, making communities ever safer places for minors and vulnerable persons” was emphasised. The text goes on to say that “it is essential that victims are welcomed and supported, and this needs to be done sensitively.” Let us pray that this is more than just tokenism.
The final part of this section reads like an addendum, mentions Catholic social teaching. “The concerns of the Church’s social doctrine, commitment to peace and justice, care for our common home and intercultural and interreligious dialogue, must also be more widely shared among the People of God so that the action of missionary disciples can influence the construction of a more just and compassionate world. The commitment to defending life and human rights, for the proper ordering of society, for the dignity of work, for a fair and supportive economy, and an integral ecology is part of the evangelising mission that the Church is called to live and incarnate in history.”
The Novelty of Pentecost
The document itself concludes with a Cardinal Radcliffe-esque meditation on the Gospel of breakfast after the miraculous catch. I want to include it in full as I find it particular helpful to understand why the Pope has decided that Synodality is what God wants for the Church.
A Feast for All Peoples
When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. […] Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast”. Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. (Jn 21, 9.12.13).
The miraculous catch of fish concludes with a feast. The Risen One asked the disciples to obey His Word, to cast their nets and pull them ashore. It is He, however, who prepares the banquet and invites them to eat. There are loaves and fish for all, just as when He multiplied them for the hungry crowd. Most of all, there is the wonder and enchantment of His presence, so clear and bright that no one needs to ask questions. Eating with them once again, following their abandonment and denial of Him, He invites them anew into communion with Him, imprinting upon them the sign of His eternal mercy that opens onto the future. Those who participated in this Easter would thus identify themselves as: those “who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.” (Acts 10:41).
By sharing meals with His disciples, the Risen Lord fulfils the image of the prophet Isaiah, whose words have inspired the work of the Synodal Assembly: a superabundant and sumptuous banquet prepared by the Lord on the mountaintop, a symbol of conviviality and communion intended for all peoples (cf. Is 25:6-8). The breakfast that the Lord prepared for His disciples after Easter is a sign that the eschatological banquet had already begun. Even if it finds its fullness only in Heaven, the banquet of grace and mercy is already prepared for all. The Church has the mission of bringing this splendid announcement to a changing world. While nourished in the Eucharist by the Lord’s Body and Blood, the Church is aware it cannot forget the poorest, the last, the excluded, those who do not know love and are without hope, nor those who do not believe in God or do not recognise themselves in any established religion. In its prayer, the Church brings them to the Lord and then goes out to meet them with the creativity and boldness that the Spirit inspires. The Church’s synodality, thus, becomes a social prophecy for today’s world, inspiring new paths in the political and economic spheres, as well as collaborating with all those who believe in fellowship and peace in an exchange of gifts with the world.
Living through the synodal process, we have renewed our awareness that the salvation to be received and proclaimed is inherently relational. We live it and witness to it together. History reveals itself to us tragically marked by war, rivalry for power and thousands of injustices and abuses. We know, however, that the Spirit has placed the desire for authentic relationships and true bonds in the heart of every human being. Creation itself speaks of unity and sharing, of diversity and of variously interconnected forms of life. Everything stems from and tends towards harmony, even while being devastated by evil. The ultimate meaning of synodality is the witness that the Church is called to give to God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the harmony of love that pours Himself out, to give Himself to the world. We can live the communion that saves by walking in a synodal way, in the intertwining of our vocations, charisms and ministries, by going forth to meet everyone in order to bring the joy of the Gospel: communion with God, with the entire humanity and all of creation. In this way, thanks to this sharing, we have already begun to experience the banquet of life that God offers to all peoples.
We entrust the results of this Synod to the Virgin Mary, who bears the splendid title of Odigitria, she who shows and guides the way. May she, Mother of the Church, who in the Upper Room helped the newly formed community of disciples to open themselves to the novelty of Pentecost, teach us to be a People of disciples and missionaries walking together, to be a synodal Church.
The official document now ends, with the signature of Francis, dated October 26th 2024, the day on which it voted on and approved by the Synodal Assembly, underlining the already confirmed magisterial nature of the document.