Excerpts on Synodality and Interreligious Dialogue

from the

Synthesis Report « A Synodal Church in Mission »

of the

XVI Ordinary General Assembly

of the Synod of Bishops

First Session

4-29 October 2023

The passages dealing with interreligious dialogue directly are in bold; surrounding text is included to give a fuller meaning. Click here to access the whole report.

Introduction

Dear Sisters, dear Brothers

“For in the one Spirit we were all baptized into one body” (1 Cor 12:13). This is the experience, full of joy and gratitude, that we have had in this First Session of the Synodal Assembly held from 4 to 29 October 2023 on the theme “For a Synodal Church. Communion, Participation, Mission”. Despite our diversity of backgrounds, languages and cultures, through the common grace of Baptism we have been able to live these days together with one heart and spirit. We have sought to sing like a choir, many voices as though expressing one soul.  The Holy Spirit has gifted us with an experience of the harmony that He alone can generate; it is a gift and a witness in a world that is torn and divided.

Our Assembly has taken place while wars both old and new have raged in the world, with dramatic consequences that are impacting upon countless victims. The cry of those who are poor resounded among us, of those forced to migrate and of those suffering violence and the devastating consequences of climate change. We heard their cry not only through the media, but also through the voices of many present, who are personally involved in these tragic events whether through their families or their people. We have all, at all times, taken this cry into our hearts and prayers, wondering how our Churches can foster paths of reconciliation, hope, justice and peace.

Our meeting took place in Rome, gathered around the successor of Peter, who confirmed us in our faith and encouraged us to be audacious in our mission. It was a grace to begin these days with an ecumenical vigil, which saw the leaders and representatives of the other Churches and Christian communities praying together with the Pope at the tomb of Peter. Unity ferments silently within the Holy Church of God; we see it with our own eyes, and we bear witness to it full of joy. “How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity” (Ps 133:1).

At the behest of the Holy Father, the Assembly saw other members of the People of God gathered together and around the bishops. The bishops, united among themselves and with the Bishop of Rome, made manifest the Church as a communion of Churches. Lay people, those in consecrated life, deacons and priests were, together with the bishops, witnesses of a process that intends to involve the whole Church and everyone in the Church. Their presence reminded us that the Assembly is not an isolated event, but an integral part and a necessary step in the synodal process. The multiplicity of interventions and the plurality of positions voiced in the Assembly revealed a Church that is learning to embrace a synodal style and is seeking the most suitable ways to make this happen.

It is more than two years since we began the journey that has led us to this Session. After the opening of the synodal process on 9 October 2021, all the Churches, albeit at different paces, have engaged in a listening process at diocesan, national and continental stages, the results of which were recorded in their respective documents. This Session 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, offering it to the Holy Father.

The entire journey, rooted in the Tradition of the Church, is taking place in the light of conciliar teaching. The Second Vatican Council was, in fact, like a seed sown in the field of the world and the Church. The soil in which it germinated and grew was the daily lives of believers, the experience of the Churches of every people and culture, the many testimonies of holiness, and the reflections of theologians. The Synod 2021-2024 continues to draw on the energy of that seed and to develop its potential. The synodal path is, in fact, implementing what the Council taught about the Church as Mystery and People of God, called to holiness. It values the contribution all the baptised make, according to their respective vocations, in helping us to understand better and practice the Gospel. In this sense, it constitutes a true act of further reception of the Council, prolonging its inspiration and reinvigorating its prophetic force for today’s world.

After a month of work, the Lord is now calling us to return to our Churches to hand over to all of you the fruits of our work and to continue the journey together. Here in Rome, we were not many, but the purpose of the Synod path called by the Holy Father is to involve all the baptised. We ardently desire this to happen and want to commit ourselves to making it possible. In this Synthesis Report we have collected the main elements that emerged in the dialogue, prayer and discussion that characterised these days. Our personal stories will enrich this synthesis with the tenor of lived experience, which no document can adequately capture. We will thus be able to testify to the richness of our experience of listening, of silence and sharing, and of prayer. We will also share that it is not easy to listen to different ideas, without immediately giving in to the temptation to counter the views expressed; or to offer one’s contribution as a gift for others and not as something absolute or certain. However, the Lord’s grace has led us to achieve this, despite our limitations, and this has been for us a true experience of synodality. By having practised it, we understand it better and have grasped its value.

We understood, in fact, that walking together as baptised persons, in the diversity of charisms, vocations, and ministries, is important not only for our communities, but also for the world. Evangelical solidarity is like a lamp, which must not be placed under a bushel, but on a lampstand so that it may shed light on the whole house (cf. Mt 5:15). The world needs this testimony today more than ever. As disciples of Jesus, we cannot shirk the responsibility of demonstrating and transmitting the love and tenderness of God to a wounded humanity.

The work of this Session was carried out in accordance with the ‘roadmap’ laid down in the Instrumentum laboris, by means of which the Assembly was able to reflect on the characteristic signs of a synodal Church and the dynamics of communion, mission and participation that it contains. We were able to discuss the merits of issues, identify themes in need of in-depth study, and take forward a preliminary set of proposals. In the light of the progress made, the Synthesis Report does not repeat or reiterate all the contents of the Instrumentum laboris; rather, it gives new impetus to the questions and themes we considered to be priorities. It is not a final document, but an instrument at the service of ongoing discernment.

The Synthesis Report is structured in three parts. The first outlines “the face of the synodal Church”, presenting the practice and understanding of synodality and its theological underpinning. Here it is presented first and foremost as a spiritual experience that stems from contemplation of the Trinity and unfolds by articulating unity and variety in the Church. The second part, entitled “All disciples, all missionaries”, deals with all those involved in the life and mission of the Church and their relationships with one another. In this part, synodality is mainly presented as a joint journey of the People of God and as a fruitful dialogue between the charisms and ministries at the service of the coming of the Kingdom. The third part bears the title “Weaving bonds, building community”. Here, synodality is presented mainly as a set of processes and as a network of bodies enabling exchange between the Churches and dialogue with the world.

In each of the three parts, individual chapters bring together convergences, matters for consideration and proposals that emerged from the dialogue. The convergences identify specific points that orientate reflection, akin to a map that helps us find our way. The matters for consideration summarise points about which it is necessary to continue deepening our understanding pastorally, theologically, and canonically. This is like being at a crossroads where we need to pause so we can understand better the direction we need to take. The proposals indicate possible paths that can be taken. Some are suggested, others recommended, others still requested with some strength and determination.

In the coming months, Episcopal Conferences as well as the hierarchical structures of the Eastern Catholic Churches, serving as a link between the local Churches and the General Secretariat of the Synod, will play an important role in developing our reflections. Taking their starting point from the convergences already reached, they are called to focus on the questions and proposals that are considered most urgent. They are asked to encourage a deepening of the issues both pastorally and theologically, and to indicate their canonical implications.

We carry in our hearts the desire, sustained by hope, that the climate of mutual listening and sincere dialogue that we experienced during the days of common work in Rome will radiate in our communities and throughout the world, at the service of the growth of the good seed of the Kingdom of God.

• PART I – THE FACE OF THE SYNODAL CHURCH

1. Synodality: Experience and Understanding

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Matters for Consideration

j) Building on the reflective work already undertaken, there is a need to clarify the meaning of synodality at different levels, in pastoral, theological, and canonical terms. This helps to avert the risk that the concept sounds too vague or generic or appears as a fad or fashion. It enables us to offer a broad understanding of walking together with further theological deepening and clarification. Likewise, it is necessary to clarify the relationship between synodality and communion and between synodality and collegiality.

k) A desire emerged to enhance understanding and appreciation of the differences in the practice and understanding of synodality between the tradition of the Christian East and the Latin Tradition, including in this ongoing synodal process, by fostering encounters between them.

l) In particular, the many expressions of synodal life in cultural contexts where people are used to walking together as a community and where individualism has not taken root, should be considered for deeper reflection. In this way, synodal practice plays an important part in the Church’s prophetic response to an individualism that causes people to turn in on themselves, a populism that divides, and a globalisation that homogenises and flattens. Although not solving these problems, it nonetheless provides an alternative way of being and acting for our times, integrating a diversity of perspectives. This is a hopeful alternative that needs further exploration and illumination.

2. Gathered and Sent by the Trinity

Convergences

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e) Since synodality is ordered to mission, Christian communities are to enter into solidarity with those of other religions, convictions and cultures, thus avoiding, on the one hand, the risk of self-referentiality and self-preservation, and on the other hand the risk of loss of identity. The logic of dialogue, expressed in mutual learning and journeying together must come to characterize evangelical proclamation, service to those experiencing poverty, care for our common home, and theological research.

People in Poverty, Protagonists of the Church’s Journey

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Matters for Consideration

i) In some parts of the world, the Church is poor, with those who are poor, and for those who are poor. There is a constant risk, one to be carefully avoided, of viewing those living in poverty in terms of “them” and “us,” as “objects” of the Church’s charity. Putting those who experience poverty at the centre and learning from them is something the Church must do more and more.

j) Prophetic denunciation of situations of injustice, on the one hand, and efforts to persuade policy makers to act for the common good, which require recourse to diplomacy, on the other, must be maintained in a dynamic tension so as not to lose a clear focus or fruitfulness. In particular, care must be taken to ensure that the use of public or private funds by Church bodies does not limit freedom to speak up for the demands of the Gospel.

k) The provision of services in the fields of education, health care and social welfare, without discrimination or the exclusion of anyone, is a clear sign of a Church that promotes the integration and participation of the most vulnerable in Church and society. Organizations active in this field are encouraged to consider themselves as expressions of the Christian community and to avoid charity becoming impersonal. They are also urged to network and coordinate with others.

Proposals

n) The Church’s social doctrine is a too little-known resource. This needs to be addressed. Local churches are invited not only to make its contents better known but to foster its reception through practices that put its inspiration into action.

o) The experience of encounter, sharing a common life and serving those living in poverty and on the margins should be an integral part of all formation paths offered by Christian communities: it is a requirement of faith, not an optional extra. This is especially true for candidates for ordained ministry and consecrated life.

5. A Church “out of every tribe, tongue, people and nation”

Convergences

1. Christians live in specific cultures, bringing Christ to them in Word and Sacrament, engaging in the service of charity with humility and joy, receiving the mystery of Christ that already awaits us in every place and time. In this way we become a Church that welcomes people from “every tribe, tongue, people and nation” ( 5:9).
2. The cultural, historical, and continental contexts in which the Church is present reveal different spiritual and material needs. This shapes the culture of the local churches, their missionary priorities, the concerns and gifts that each of them brings to the synodal dialogue, and the languages with which they express themselves. During the days of the Assembly, we were able to experience directly, and mostly joyfully, the diverse expressions of being Church.
3. Churches live in increasingly multicultural and multireligious contexts. This necessitates finding ways to create dialogue between religions and cultures, with which Christians should engage alongside the many groups that compose a society. Living the Church’s mission in these contexts requires a style of presence, service and proclamation that seeks to build bridges, cultivate mutual understanding and engage in evangelisation that accompanies, listens and learns. In the Assembly the image of “taking off one’s shoes” to cross the threshold towards encounter with the other resonated as a sign of humility and respect for a sacred space, on an equal footing.
4. Migration reshapes local churches as cross-cultural communities. Migrants and refugees, many of whom bear the wounds of uprooting, war and violence, often become a source of renewal and enrichment for the communities that welcome them and an opportunity to establish direct links with geographically distant churches. In the face of increasingly hostile attitudes toward migrants, we are called to practice an open welcome, to accompany them in the construction of a new life and to build a true intercultural communion among peoples. Respect for the liturgical traditions and religious practices of migrants is an integral part of an authentic welcome.
5. Missionaries have given their lives to carry the Good News to the whole world. Their commitment is a great testimony to the power of the Gospel. However, particular attention and sensitivity are needed in contexts where “mission” is a word laden with painful historical memories that hinders communion today. In some places, the proclamation of the Gospel was associated with colonization, even genocide. Evangelising in these contexts requires acknowledging mistakes made, learning a new sensitivity to these issues, and accompanying a generation seeking to forge Christian identities beyond colonialism. Respect and humility are fundamental attitudes needed to recognise that we complement each other and that encounters with different cultures can enrich the living and thinking of the faith of Christian communities.
6. The Church teaches the need for and encourages the practice of interreligious dialogue as part of building communion among all peoples. In a world of violence and fragmentation, a witness is ever more urgent to the unity of humanity, its common origin and common destiny, in a coordinated and reciprocal solidarity toward social justice, peace, reconciliation and care for our common home. The Church is aware that the Spirit can speak through women and men of every religion, belief and culture.

Matters for Consideration

1. We need to cultivate a greater sensitivity towards the riches of our diverse expressions of being Church. This requires a search for a dynamic balance between the dimension of the Church as a whole and its local rootedness, between respect for the bond of Church unity and the risk of homogenization that stifles variety. Meanings and priorities vary among different contexts, and this requires identifying and fostering forms of decentralization.
2. The Church too is affected by polarization and distrust in vital matters such as liturgical life and moral, social and theological reflection. We need to recognize the causes of each through dialogue and undertake courageous processes of revitalizing communion and processes of reconciliation to overcome them.
3. In our local churches, we sometimes experience tensions between different ways of understanding evangelisation: emphasis on a witness of life, commitment to human advancement, dialogue with faiths and cultures, and explicit proclamation of the Gospel. Equally, a tension emerges between the explicit proclamation of Jesus Christ and valuing the characteristics of each culture in search of the Gospel traits (semina Verbi) it already contains.
4. Possible confusion between the Gospel’s message and the culture of those engaged in evangelisation was mentioned as one of the issues to be explored.
5. Increasing conflicts, with the trade and use of increasingly powerful weapons, opens up the question, raised in several groups, of more reflection and formation in order that we can manage conflicts in a non-violent way. This is a valuable contribution that Christians can offer to today’s world in dialogue and collaboration with other religions.

Proposals

1. Renewed attention is needed to the question of the languages we use to speak to people’s minds and hearts in a wide diversity of contexts in a way that is both beautiful and accessible.
2. We need a shared framework for managing and evaluating experimentations with forms of decentralisation, identifying all the actors involved and their roles. For the sake of coherence, discernment processes regarding decentralisation must take place in a synodal style, envisaging the concurrence and contribution of all actors involved at different levels.
3. New paradigms are needed for pastoral engagement with indigenous peoples, taking the form of a common journey and not an action done to them or for them. Their participation in decision-making processes at all levels can contribute to a more vibrant and missionary Church.
4. From the work of the Assembly, there is a call for better knowledge of the teachings of Vatican II, post-conciliar teaching and the Church’s social doctrine. We need to know our different traditions better in order to be more clearly a Church of Churches in communion, effective in service and dialogue.
5. In a world where the number of migrants and refugees is increasing while the willingness to welcome them is decreasing and where the foreigner is viewed with increasing suspicion, it is appropriate for the Church to engage decisively in education, in the culture of dialogue and encounter, combating racism and xenophobia, especially through pastoral formation. Equally, it is necessary to engage in concrete projects for the integration of migrants.
6. We recommend continued engagement in dialogue and discernment regarding racial justice. Systems within the Church that create or maintain racial injustice need to be identified and addressed. Processes for healing and reconciliation should be created, with the help of those harmed, to eradicate the sin of racism.

6. The Eastern Churches and Latin Church Traditions

Convergences

1. Among the Eastern Churches those in full communion with the Successor of Peter enjoy a liturgical, theological, ecclesiological and canonical distinctiveness that greatly enriches the whole Church. In particular, their experience of unity in diversity can make a valuable contribution to the understanding and practice of synodality.
2. Throughout history, the level of autonomy granted to these Churches has gone through different phases. Some customs and procedures are now considered outdated, such as Latinization. In recent decades, the path of recognizing the specificity, distinction and autonomy of these Churches has developed considerably.
3. The substantial migration of faithful from the Catholic East into Latin-majority territories raises important pastoral questions. If the current pattern continues or increases, there may be more members of the Eastern Catholic Churches in diaspora than in canonical territories. For several reasons, the establishment of Eastern hierarchies in the countries of immigration is not sufficient to address the problem, but there is a need for the local Latin-rite Churches, in the name of synodality, to help the Eastern faithful who have emigrated to preserve their identity and cultivate their specific heritage, without undergoing processes of assimilation.

Matters for Consideration

1. We suggest further study of the contribution that the experience of the Eastern Catholic Churches can make to the understanding and practice of synodality.
2. Some difficulties remain regarding the Pope’s role in giving his assent to bishops elected by the Synods of the Churches sui iuris for their territory and the papal appointment of bishops outside canonical territory. The request to extend the jurisdiction of the Patriarchs outside the Patriarchal territories is also a matter for discernment and dialogue with the Holy See.
3. In regions where the faithful of different Catholic Churches are present, we need to find models that render visible effective forms of unity in diversity.
4. We need to reflect on the contribution that the Eastern Catholic Churches can make to Christian unity and their role in interreligious and intercultural dialogues.

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• PART II – ALL DISCIPLES, ALL MISSIONARIES

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10. Consecrated Life and Lay Associations and Movements: A Charismatic Sign

Convergences

1. The Church has always benefitted from the gift of charisms, be it from the most extraordinary to the simplest. Through them the Holy Spirit rejuvenates and renews the Church with joy and gratitude. The Holy People of God recognise in these charisms the providential help with which God sustains, directs and illuminates His mission.
2. The Church’s charismatic dimension is made manifest in the rich and varied forms of consecrated life. This testimony has contributed to renewing the life of the ecclesial community in every age and provides an antidote to the perennial temptation towards worldliness. The diverse families that compose religious life demonstrate the beauty of discipleship and holiness in Christ, whether in their distinctive forms of prayer, their service among the people, whether through forms of community life, the solitude of the contemplative life or at the frontier of new cultures. Those in consecrated life have often been the first to sense important historical changes and to heed the promptings of the Spirit. Today, too, the Church needs their prophetic voice and action. The Christian community also recognises and wishes to be attentive to the practices of synodal life and discernment that have been tried and tested in communities of consecrated life, maturing over the centuries. We know that we can learn from them wisdom in how to walk the synodal path. Many Congregations and Institutes practice conversation in the Spirit or similar forms of discernment in the conduct of provincial and general chapters, in order to renew structures, rethink lifestyles, and activate innovative forms of service and proximity to the poorest. In other cases, however, we find the persistence of an authoritarian style, which makes no room for dialogue.

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Matters for Consideration

e) The Church’s magisterium has a well-developed body of teaching on the importance of both hierarchical and charismatic gifts in the life and mission of the Church. This calls for growth in ecclesial understanding and in theological reflection. It is therefore worth considering anew the ecclesiological significance and concrete pastoral implications of this teaching.

f) The variety of charismatic expressions in the Church underscores the People of God’s commitment to being a prophetic presence in proximity to the least of our sisters and brothers, and to providing contemporary culture with a deeper sense of the spiritual aspects of life. There is a need to develop a more profound understanding of how consecrated life, as well as lay associations, ecclesial movements, and new communities, place their charisms at the service of communion and mission in local churches, augmenting existing paths towards holiness with a presence that is prophetic.

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PART III – WEAVING BONDS, BUILDING COMMUNITIES

14. A synodal approach to formation

Convergences

1. Every baptised person is called to take care of their own formation as a response to the gifts of the Lord, making use of the talents they have received in order that they bear fruit and put them at the service of all. The time the Lord has dedicated to the formation of His disciples reveals the importance of this ecclesial formation. This often happens in the background yet it is decisive for mission. We would like to express a word of thanks and encouragement to all those who are engaged in this work and invite them to welcome the new orientations in regard to formation emerging from the Church’s synodal journey.
2. The way in which Jesus formed the disciples constitutes the model we need to follow. He did not merely impart teaching but he shared his life with them. Through the example of his own prayer He drew from them the request: ‘Teach us to pray’. By feeding the crowds He taught them not to dismiss the needy. By walking to Jerusalem He showed the way to the Cross. From the Gospel we learn that formation is not only or primarily a strengthening of one’s own abilities; it is a conversion to the ‘logic’ of the Kingdom that can render even defeats and failures fruitful.
3. The Holy People of God is not only the object but is first and foremost the co-responsible subject of formation. The first formation, in fact, takes place in the family. It is here that we usually receive the first proclamation of the faith in the language – indeed in the dialect – of our parents and grandparents. Those who carry out a ministry in the Church must therefore intertwine their contribution with the wisdom of all the faithful People of God in a cooperation that is indispensable to the community. This is the first sign of a formation understood in a synodal sense.
4. In Christian initiation we find guidance in how to navigate our formation path. At the heart of Christian formation is a deepening of the kerygma, that is, the encounter with Jesus Christ that offers us the gift of a new life. Catechumenal logic reminds us that we are all sinners called to holiness. This is why we engage in a journey towards personal conversion that the Sacrament of Reconciliation brings to fulfilment. This is also why we nourish the desire for holiness, supported by a large number of witnesses.
5. The areas in which the formation of the People of God takes places are many. In addition to theological formation, the Assembly requested training in specific skills: the exercise of co-responsibility, listening, and discernment; conducting ecumenical and interreligious dialogue, service to the poorest and care for our common home; engagement as “digital missionaries”, facilitation of discernment processes, Conversation in the Spirit, consensus-building and conflict resolution. Particular attention should also be given to catechetical formation of children and young people, which should involve the active participation of the community.
6. Formation for a synodal Church needs to be undertaken synodally: the entire People of God being formed together as they journey together. There is a need to overcome the ‘delegation’ mindset found in so many areas of pastoral ministry. Formation in a synodal key is meant to enable the People of God to live out their baptismal vocation fully, in the family, in the workplace, in ecclesial, social, and intellectual spheres. It is meant to enable each person to participate actively in the Church’s mission according to his or her own charisms and vocation.

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16. Towards a Listening and Accompanying Church

Convergences

1. During the first two years of the synodal journey, including during our Assembly, listening is the word that best expresses our experience. This is listening given and received. Listening is a deeply human reality, a dynamic of reciprocity in which each makes a contribution to the other’s journey while receiving a contribution to one’s own.
2. Many of those who participated in the synodal process at the local level, and especially those who have suffered forms of marginalization in the Church or in society were greatly surprised by the invitation to speak and be heard in the Church and by the Church. Being deeply listened to is an experience of affirmation and recognition of dignity, and is a powerful way of engaging people and communities.
3. Placing Jesus at the centre of our lives requires some degree of self-emptying. In this perspective, providing a listening ear means being willing to ‘decentre’ oneself in order to leave space for the other. We have experienced this in the dynamic of conversations in the Spirit. It is a demanding ascetical exercise that obliges each person to recognize his or her own limitations and the partiality of his or her point of view. Because of this, it opens the possibility of listening to the voice of the Spirit of God that speaks to those beyond the borders of the ecclesial community, and can initiate a journey of change and conversion.

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Proposals

n) What would need to change in order for those who feel excluded to experience the Church as more welcoming? Listening and accompaniment are a form of ecclesial action, not just the actions of individuals. They must therefore find a place within the ordinary pastoral planning and operational structuring of Christian communities at different levels, making full use of spiritual accompaniment. A synodal Church needs to be a listening Church and this commitment has to be translated into practice.

o) We do not start this work from scratch. Numerous institutions and structures carry out the valuable task of listening, including the accompaniment work of Caritas amongst the poorest, and among migrants and refugees, and the many other contexts of accompaniment linked to consecrated life or lay associations. Connecting their work in a more integral way with the local Church community enables this work to be seen as part of the life of the whole community, not a delegated task.

p) Those performing the service of listening and accompaniment, in its various forms, need adequate formation, taking into account the experiences of those they come into contact with. They also need to feel supported by the community. For their part, communities should become fully aware of the meaning of this service exercised on their behalf and to receive the fruits of this listening. We propose establishment of a ministry of listening and accompaniment in order to give greater prominence to this service. It should be grounded in baptism and adapted to different contexts. The way this ministry is conferred should promote the involvement of the community.

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17. Mission in the Digital Environment

Convergences

a) Digital culture represents a fundamental change in the way we conceive of reality and consequently relate to ourselves, one another, our surroundings, and even to God. The digital environment changes our learning processes as well as our perception of time, space, our bodies, interpersonal relationships and, indeed, much of our way of thinking. The dualism between real and virtual does not adequately describe the reality and experience of people, especially the youngest, the so-called “digital natives.”

b) Digital culture, then, is not so much a distinct area of mission as a crucial dimension of the Church’s witness in contemporary culture. This is why it holds special significance in a synodal Church.

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Matters for Consideration

f) The Internet is increasingly present in the lives of children and families. While it has great potential to improve people’s lives, it can also cause harm and injury, such as through intimidation, disinformation, sexual exploitation, and addiction. There is an urgent need to consider how the Christian community can support families in ensuring that the online space is not only safe but also spiritually life-giving.

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Proposals

m) It is important to create collaborative networks of influencers that include people of other religions or indeed who may profess no faith, but who wish to collaborate on common causes to promote human dignity, justice, and care for our common home.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

of the total Synthesis Report

A Synodal Church in Mission

INTRODUCTION

PART 1 – THE FACE OF THE SYNODAL CHURCH

1. Synodality: Experience and Understanding
2. Gathered and Sent by the Trinity
3. Entering the Community of Faith: Christian Initiation
4. People in Poverty, Protagonists of the Church’s Journey
5. A Church “out of every tribe, tongue, people and nation”
6. The Eastern Churches and Latin Church Traditions
7. On the Road Towards Christian Unity

PART 2- ALL DISCIPLES, ALL MISSIONARIES

8. Church is Mission
9. Women in the Life and Mission of the Church
10. Consecrated Life and Lay Associations and Movements: a Charismatic Sign
11. Deacons and Priests in a Synodal Church
12. The Bishop in Ecclesial Communion
13. The Bishop of Rome in the College of Bishops

PART 3 – WEAVING BONDS, BUILDING COMMUNITIES

14. A Synodal Approach to Formation
15. Ecclesial Discernment and Open Questions
16. Towards a Listening and Accompanying Church
17. Mission in the Digital Environment
18. Structures for Participation
19. Groupings of Churches within the Communion of the Whole Church
20. The Synod of Bishops and Ecclesial Assemblies

PROCEEDING ALONG THE JOURNEY