In Rome, theologians reflect on the “reception” stage of the Synod on Synodality

Vatican, October 30, 2024 / 15:25

Theologians and others who participated in the October meeting of the Synod on Synodality met this week to offer their expert opinions on the synodal process as it enters the “reception” or implementation phase.

The academic congress “From Council to Synod: Rereading the Path of the Church, 60 Years Since Lumen Gentium (1964–2024)” was held at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome from October 28 to 30.

“We are still in this synodal process, and with the approval of the final document, the third stage of the synod actually opens, that is, the reception stage,” said Father Dario Vitali, professor of theology and coordinator of theology of the Synod. about synodal meetings.

Speaking at the opening of the conference on October 28, Vitaly said: “The work (of implementation) will be carried out primarily by the Churches, but it also becomes important to hold such an event in which theological experts and canonists took part, the synod sessions can offer their reflection after the work in the congregation, reflection based on experience.”

The congress, which took place immediately after the month-long meeting of the second session of the Synod on Synodism in the Vatican, was attended by many experts who spoke at four theological forums during the synodal meeting.

These included theologians Father Gilles Routier, Father Carlos Galli, Cardinal-designate Archbishop Roberto Repole, Thomas Söding, as well as canonists Miriam Wilens and Father José San José Prisco.

The three-day academic event was also attended by the leadership of the Synod, including the General Secretary of the Synod, Cardinal Mario Grech, and the Special Secretaries of the Synod, Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa and Father Riccardo Battochio.

“There is an urgent need to promote dialogue between pastors and those engaged in theological studies,” Grech said in his opening remarks Oct. 28.

“You could say that for what is closing, there is something else that is opening,” he continued. “The final document, which is the mature fruit of the consensus reached, has now been returned to the holy people of God, because there is a vicious circle between the Universal Church and the Local Churches.”

“The celebration phase ends and the reception phase begins,” he said.

On the second day of the conference, dedicated to the topic of conciliarity and the role of the bishop, the French-Canadian theologian Routier emphasized that “episcopal conferences are not just a group of hierarchs”, that is, bishops, “but express the “communio ecclesiarum” – the communion of churches.

Valens said in her presentation that “with this synod, Pope Francis has invited us to enter into a process of reconfiguring the active principles of the Church,” and “the people of God have embarked on this new path,” which represents “a Church on the move, where canonical norms must ensure the implementation of this path , and not suppress it.”

The third day of the conference was devoted to the topic “The Church and its institutions: a new interpretation from a synodal point of view.”

Grech spoke in detail about the connections between the Second Vatican Council and the Synod on Synodality and said that he was glad that Pope Francis chose approve the final document of the synodwhich allowed him to participate “in the ordinary teaching of Peter’s successor.”

“I think I can say that the Second Vatican Council was an inspiring model, a certain horizon for the path traveled to this day, a kind of compass for orienting the path of the Church, our path,” said the leader of the synod.

“It would not be out of place,” he continued, “to speak of the Synod as a moment of a mature, or at least more mature, reception of the Council.”

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“We can say that the final document again proposes the ecclesiological doctrine of the Council. In fact, there is progress here in accordance with the advice, but one that significantly advances the doctrine of the advice,” Grech said.

“But the final document is not just accepted for consideration by the council: it rethinks it, translates it, embodies it in processes,” he added. “As with part three on process conversion, participation in decision-making processes here is an issue that the council did not intend to touch upon.”

Veronica Giacometti, Antonio Tarallo and Marco Mancini of CNA’s Italian-language news partner ACI Stampa contributed to this report.

Hannah Brockhaus is the Catholic News Agency’s senior Vatican correspondent. Raised in Omaha, Nebraska, she earned a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri. In 2016, she moved to Rome, Italy, where in her free time she enjoys reading and going on adventures with her husband and son.