What is Synodality? Fostering a Church that is more inclusive and participatory

Top photo: Pope Francis, 2015 World Youth Day in Cracow, Vatican Media

In October 2021, Pope Francis called upon the 1.3 billion members of the Catholic Church to participate in what might well be the largest listening exercise in human history.

Since its launch, a majority of the 3,000 or so dioceses around the world have participated in the "Synod on Synodality” in some way. While it’s too early to define the top-line issues, it is clear that people have spoken up about feeling excluded at times by the Church, with the role of women highlighted in many reports.

The term “Synod” derives from the Greek phrase “syn odos” and means “walking together”, with the connected term “Synodality” having become a popular way to express the desire to develop a more inclusive approach to participation and decision-making within the Catholic Church. That’s not to be mixed up with a purely democratic process, as the emphasis is on ‘common discernment’, a spiritual method by which a community seeks consensus by trying to understand the will of God.

To understand the impetus behind this unprecedented consultation, it is important to consider the state of the Church when Pope Francis became its leader. At that time, the Church’s credibility was – and continues to be – badly damaged by the abuse scandal. Many people, including the Pope, diagnosed one root cause of this as being the problems associated with clericalism, especially the misuse of clerical status.

Synodality represents a more inclusive way forward with participation from the entire Catholic community, especially those who have been historically underrepresented. The hope is that a fully open and engaged dialogue will lead to a more collaborative and participatory culture, and a different style of decision making. This in turn, it is hoped, will make the Catholic Church healthy and vital again, with people feeling more engaged and committed to the mission of the Church.

Running parallel to this is a new focus on lay leadership, with Pope Francis recently opening up high-ranking positions across the Vatican to laypeople –  especially to women. This includes roles that were previously reserved solely for bishops and cardinals, an example being the appointment of three women to the committee that elects new bishops.

Having formally launched last year, the two-year Synod involves all Catholics, by virtue of their baptism, engaging in listening and dialogue about their ideas for the future of the Church. The output of these activities is then shared during the Synod in October 2023 in order to establish practical steps towards a more Synodal Church.

Porticus has been supportive of this process, playing our part alongside our strategic partners. Thanks to our long-established international network, we are well placed to understand what initiatives are happening globally, especially in some more remote places. Our efforts focus on four key areas: regional experimentation and inclusion of marginalised voices; leadership training; networking and communication; and theological renewal.

A prime example is our work last year helping to facilitate an ecclesiastical assembly for the Latin American Conference of Bishops (CELAM), which looked at setting priorities across the continent for the upcoming decade. This was the first time that the leaders of the Church across Latin America gathered together to hear such a broad spectrum of underrepresented voices, including women, migrants and indigenous peoples. Porticus provided strategic advice and facilitated funding from our office in Sao Paolo, supported the initial data gathering phase, ensured the quality of the meetings and communications, and helped with the evaluation of the process afterwards.

Meanwhile, at Boston College we helped establish the first free massive open online course focusing on Synodality. Working closely with Professor Rafael Luciani, this was developed in five languages with a roster of experts from every continent, providing broad, intercultural perspectives. The course has been a huge success with around 100,000 views in one month, providing an opportunity for leaders and laypeople to learn about Synodality and how to implement it.

You can access the course and learn more on Synodality here: Common discernment and decision making in a Synodal Church – Formación Continua Online (bc.edu).