XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS - FINAL DOCUMENT

 

XVI ORDINARY GENERAL ASSEMBLY 

OF THE SYNOD OF BISHOPS

Second Session

(2-27 October 2024)

 

 

For a Synodal Church: 

Communion, Participation, Mission

 

Final Document 

WORKING TRANSLATION

ORIGINAL: ITALIAN

 

 

 

26 October 2024

 

 

Table of Contents

 

Abbreviations ............................................................................................................................ 2

 

Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 3

 

Part I - The Heart of Synodality

Called by the Holy Spirit to Conversion ................................................................................ 7

The Church as the People of God, Sacrament of Unity ......................................................... 7

The Sacramental Roots of the People of God ........................................................................ 9

Meaning and Dimensions of Synodality .............................................................................. 11

Unity as Harmony ................................................................................................................ 13

Synodal Spirituality .............................................................................................................. 15

Synodality as Prophetic in Today’s World .......................................................................... 16

 

Part II - On the Boat, Together

The Conversion of Relationships .......................................................................................... 17

New Relationships ................................................................................................................ 17

In a Plurality of Contexts ..................................................................................................... 18

Charisms, Vocations and Ministries for Mission ................................................................. 19

Ordained Ministers at the Service of Harmony .................................................................... 23

Together for Mission ............................................................................................................ 25

 

Part III - “Cast the Net”

The Conversion of Processes ................................................................................................. 28

Ecclesial Discernment for Mission ...................................................................................... 28

The Structure of the Decision-making Process .................................................................... 30

Transparency, Accountability and Evaluation ..................................................................... 32

Synodality and Participatory Bodies .................................................................................... 34

 

Part IV - An Abundant Catch

The Conversion of Bonds ....................................................................................................... 37

Firmly Rooted yet Pilgrims .................................................................................................. 37

The Exchange of Gifts .......................................................................................................... 40

The Bonds of Unity: Episcopal Conferences and Ecclesial Assemblies ............................. 41

The Service of the Bishop of Rome ..................................................................................... 43

 

Part V - “So I Send You” 

Forming a People for Missionary Discipleship .................................................................... 47

 

Conclusion

A Feast for All Peoples ........................................................................................................... 51

 

 

Abbreviations

 

AA  VATICAN COUNCIL II, Decr. Apostolicam Actuositatem (18 November 1965)

AG   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Decr. Ad Gentes (7 December 1965)

CCEO  Codex canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalium (18 October 1990)

CD   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Decr. Christus Dominus (28 October 1965)

CIC   Codex iuris canonici (25 January 1983)

CV  BENEDICT XVI, Enc. Lett. Caritas in Veritate (29 June 2009)

DCS  GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE SYNOD, Document for the Continental Stage (27

October 2022)

DD  FRANCIS, Ap. Lett. Desiderio Desideravi (29 June 2022)

DN  FRANCIS, Enc. Lett. Dilexit Nos (24 October 2024)

DV   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Dogm. Const. Dei Verbum (18 November 1965)

EG   FRANCIS, Ap. Exhort. Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013)

EN  S. PAUL VI, Ap. Exhort. Evangelii Nuntiandi (8 December 1975)

FT  FRANCIS, Enc. Lett. Fratelli Tutti (3 October 2020)

GS   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Past. Const. Gaudium et spes (7 December 1965)

ITC   INTERNATIONAL THEOLOGICAL COMMISSION, Synodality in the Life and

Mission of the Church (2 March 2018)

LG   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Dogm. Const. Lumen Gentium (21 November 1964)

LS   FRANCIS, Enc. Lett. Laudato Si' (24 May 2015)

MC  S. PAUL VI, Ap. Exhort. Marialis Cultus (2 February 1974)

NMI  S. JOHN PAUL II, Ap. Lett. Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001)

PE   FRANCIS, Ap. Const. Praedicate Evangelium (19 March 2022)

SC   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Const. Sacrosanctum Concilium (4 December 1963)

SRS  S. JOHN PAUL II, Enc. Lett Sollicitudo Rei Socialis (30 December 1987)

UR   VATICAN COUNCIL II, Decr. Unitatis Redintegratio (21 November 1964)

UUS   S. JOHN PAUL II, Enc. Lett. Ut Unum Sint (25 May 1995)

 

  

Introduction

 

Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this,

he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw

the Lord. (John 20: 19-20).

 

1. Every new step in the life of the Church is a return to the source.  It is a renewed experience of the disciples’ encounter with the Risen One in the Upper Room on Easter evening. Like them, during this synodal Assembly, we, too, felt enfolded in His mercy and drawn to His beauty. We felt His presence in our midst as we lived conversation in the Spirit and listened to one another: the presence of He, who, in bestowing the Holy Spirit, continues to build among His people a unity that establishes harmony amidst differences. 

 

 2. Contemplating the Risen One, we recall that “we have been baptised into his death” (Rom. 6: 3). We have seen the mark of His wounds transfigured by a new life, yet engraved forever in His humanity. These are wounds that continue to bleed in the bodies of many brothers and sisters, including as a result of our own actions. Looking upon the Lord does not distance us from the tragedies of history. Instead, it opens our eyes to the suffering of those around us, and we are pierced: the faces of war-stricken terrorised children, weeping mothers, the shattered dreams of so many young people, refugees who face terrible journeys, the victims of climate change and social injustice. Their sufferings have resounded among us not only via the media but also through the voices of many amongst us in our Assembly whose families and peoples have been  directly  involved in these tragic events. In the days during which we have been gathered, wars have continued to cause death and destruction, a desire for revenge and a loss of conscience. We join Pope Francis in his repeated appeals for peace, condemning the logic of violence, hatred and revenge and committing ourselves to promoting the logic of dialogue, fellowship and reconciliation. Genuine and lasting peace is possible, and together, we can build it. “The joys and hopes and the sorrows and anxieties of people today, especially of those who are poor and afflicted” (GS 1) have been once again the joys and sorrows of all of us, Christ’s disciples.

 

3. Since 2021, when the Holy Father embarked the Church upon this synodal journey, we have been discovering its richness and fruitfulness more and more. We began by listening, taking care to grasp in the many voices “what the Spirit is saying to the Churches” (Rev. 2: 7). The journey began with the vast consultation of the People of God in our dioceses and eparchies and  continued with the national and continental stages. This  cycle  of dialogue  has been continually reinvigorated by the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops through the Synthesis Reports and Working Documents. The  celebration of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in its two sessions has permitted us today to present to the Holy Father and to all the Churches this witness to what we have experienced and the fruit of our discernment for a renewed missionary impulse. During each stage, the journey was characterised by the wisdom of the “sense of faith” (sensus fidei) of the People of God. Step by step, we came to understand that at the heart of the Synod 2021-2024. For a Synodal Church:Communion, Participation, Mission there is a call to joy and to the renewal of the Church in following the Lord, in committing to service of His mission, and in searching for ways to be faithful.

 

   4. This call is based upon a shared baptismal identity. It is rooted in the diversity of contexts in which the Church is present and finds unity in the one Father, one Lord, and one Spirit. It challenges all the baptised, without exception: “The whole People of God is an agent of the proclamation of the Gospel. Every baptised person is called to be a protagonist of mission since we are all missionary disciples” (ITC 53). For this reason, the synodal journey directs us towards a full and visible unity of Christians, as the presence of delegates of other Christian traditions  testifies. Unity  ferments within the holy Church of God, prophetically so, for the entire world.

 

5. Rooted in the Tradition of the Church, the entire synodal journey took place in the light of the conciliar Magisterium. The Second Vatican Council was indeed like a seed thrown onto the field of the world and the Church. The daily life of believers, the experience of the Churches in every people and culture, the many testimonies of holiness, and the reflection of theologians represented the soil upon which it has taken root and grown. The Synod 2021-2024 continues to draw upon the energy of that seed and develop its potential, putting into practice what the Council taught about the Church as Mystery and Church as People of God, called to holiness through  a  continual conversion that comes from listening to the Gospel. In this sense, the synodal journey constitutes a  further  act of  reception of the Council, thus  deepening  its inspiration and reinvigorating its prophetic force for today’s world.

 

6. We cannot deny that we have faced fatigue, resistance to change and the temptation to let our own ideas prevail over listening to the Gospel and the practice of discernment. Yet, the mercy of God, our most loving Father, purifies our hearts, thus enabling us to continue along this journey.  Acknowledging this, we began the Second Session of the Assembly with a penitential vigil, through which, feeling our shame, we asked forgiveness for our sins, and we lifted up our prayers for  the victims of the evils of the world. We identified our sins: against peace, against Creation, against indigenous peoples, migrants, children, women, and those who are poor,  in  our failure to  listen and  to seek  communion. We were brought  to a renewed understanding, namely, that synodality requires repentance and conversion. In celebrating the sacrament of the mercy of God, we experience unconditional love: the hardness of heart is conquered, and we open ourselves to communion. This is why we want to be a merciful Church, capable of sharing with everyone the forgiveness and reconciliation that come from God: the pure grace of which we are not masters but only witnesses. 

 

7. We were able to witness to the first fruits of the synodal journey that began in 2021, the simplest and most precious of which mature in the life of families, parishes, movements, small Christian communities, schools and other movements. This is where the practice of conversation in the Spirit, community discernment, sharing of vocational gifts and co-responsibility in the mission is growing. The meeting of Parish Priests for the Synod (Sacrofano [Rome] 28 April – 2 May 2024) made it possible to listen closely to the rich experiences of priests and help them to renew their journey. We are grateful and happy for the voices of many communities and of the faithful who  ensure that  the Church  is experienced  as a place of welcome, hope and joy. 

 

8. The first Session of the Assembly has yielded other results. The Synthesis Report drew attention to key themes of great importance for the life of the Church. The Holy Father, at the end of an international consultation, entrusted these themes to Study Groups made up of pastors and experts from all continents, who were asked to work using a synodal methodology. The areas of the life and mission of the Church that they have already begun to study in depth are the following:

1. Some aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church.

2. Listening to the cry of the poor and the earth.

3. The mission in the digital environment. 

4. The revision of the  Ratio Fundamentalis Institutionis Sacerdotalis  in a missionary synodal perspective. 

5. Some theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms. 

6. The revision, in a synodal missionary perspective, of the documents touching on the relationship between Bishops, consecrated life, and ecclesial associations. 

7. Some aspects of the person and ministry of the Bishop (in particular: criteria for selecting candidates to the episcopacy, the judicial function of the Bishops, the nature and structure of ad limina Apostolorum visits) from a missionary synodal perspective. 

8. The role of Pontifical Representatives in a missionary synodal perspective. 

9. Theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment of controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues. 

10. The reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in the People of God.

 

Furthermore, in agreement with the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, a Canonical Commission has been established to work on innovations needed regarding ecclesial norms. In addition, discernment concerning the pastoral accompaniment of people in polygamous marriages has been entrusted to the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar. The work of these groups and commissions has marked the beginning of the implementation stage, has enriched  the work of the Second Session, and will assist the Holy Father in pastoral and governance decisions. 

 

9. The synodal process does not conclude with the end of the current Assembly of the Synod of Bishops but also includes the implementation phase. As members of the Assembly and as synodal missionaries within the communities from which we come, we feel it is our responsibility to promote  this process. The local Churches are asked to continue their daily journey with a synodal methodology of consultation and discernment, identifying concrete ways and formation pathways to bring about a tangible synodal conversion in the various ecclesial contexts (parishes, Institutes of  consecrated life  and Societies of  apostolic life, movements of the faithful, dioceses,  Episcopal  Conferences, groupings of Churches, etc.). Planning for an evaluation of the progress made in terms of synodality and the participation of all the  Baptised  in the life of the Church should also  occur. We suggest to the  Episcopal Conferences and  Synods of the  Churches  sui iuris  to allocate personnel and resources to accompany the pathway of growth as a synodal Church in mission and to maintain contact with the General Secretariat of the Synod (cf. CE 19 § 1 and 2). We ask the Secretariat to continue to watch over the synodal quality of the working method of the Study Groups. 

 

10. This Final Document, offered to the Holy Father and to the Churches as the fruit of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, encapsulates all the steps taken so far. It brings together  the  important convergences  that emerged during  the First Session, the contributions  that arrived  from the Churches in the months between the First and Second Sessions, and what has matured, especially through conversation in the Spirit, during the Second Session.

 

11. The Final Document expresses awareness that the call to mission is, at the same time, the call to  the  conversion of each  local Church and of the whole Church, in line with the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (cf. EG 30). There are five parts to the text. The first, entitled  The Heart of Synodality, outlines the theological and spiritual foundations that enlighten and nourish what is to come. It restates the shared understanding of synodality that emerged in the First Session and develops its spiritual and prophetic perspectives. The conversion of the emotions, images and thoughts inhabiting our hearts proceeds together with the conversion of pastoral and missionary action. The second part, entitled  On the Boat, Together, is dedicated to the conversion of the relationships that are formed in the intertwining of vocations, charisms and ministries, building the Christian community and shaping mission. The third part, “Cast the Net,” identifies three practices that are intimately connected: ecclesialdiscernment, decision-making processes, and a culture of transparency, accountability and evaluation. With respect to these, we are also asked to initiate pathways of ‘missionary transformation’, for which a renewal of participatory bodies is urgently needed. The fourth part, under the title An Abundant Catch, outlines how we can cultivate new forms of the exchange of gifts and renew the intertwining of the bonds that unite us in the Church at a time when the experience of being rooted in a place is changing profoundly. This is followed by a fifth part, “So I Send You,” which enables us to look at a particular step we need to take: caring for the formation of all, of the People of God, all as synodal missionaries.

 

12. The development of the  Final Document  is guided by the Gospel Resurrection narratives. The race to the tomb on Easter morning and the appearances of the Risen One in the Upper Room and on the lakeshore inspired our discernment and enriched our dialogue. We invoked the Easter gift of the Holy Spirit, asking Him to teach us what we must do and show us the way forward together. With this document, the Assembly recognises and bears witness that synodality, a constitutive dimension of the Church, is already part of the experience of many of our communities. At the same time, it suggests pathways to follow, practices to implement and horizons to explore. The Holy Father, who convened the Church in Synod, will instruct the Churches, entrusted to the pastoral care of the Bishops, how to continue our journey supported by the hope ‘that does not disappoint’ (Rom 5:5).

 

(To be continued)