Synod on Synodality and God’s Desideratum

Pope Francis, background center, poses with the participants to the second session of the 16th General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops gather in the Paul VI hall, at the Vatican, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

There is so much to say in response to the request of a few friends concerning my personal take on the just concluded and widely covered Synod of Bishops on Synodality in Rome.

Harmony in diversity is possible

From the outset, it is good to know that synodality is not only a major Catholic event. Synodality, I insist, is a way of being Church that lives out her mission in the world. By offering the best practices to implement and broader horizons to explore, the Synod just made decisions that correspond as closely as possible to God’s expectation.

For this reason, unity as harmony in diversity is imperative. And it is possible.

I remember Pope Benedict XVI saying, in reference to his desire for unity in diversity in the College of Cardinals, that he wished that it “may be like an orchestra where differences—an expression of the universal Church—contribute to a superior and harmonious concord.” Concorrano sempre alla superiore e concorde armonia, the holy German pontiff said.

Such also is Francis’ utmost desire not only for cardinals but for the entire People of God.

Synodos

The term “synodos” came to denote any kind of ecclesial assembly of walking, thinking, and praying together. Synodality is as old as the Church, for it has always been an integral part of the very nature of being Church—since the first century of her life and ministry.

Being a synodal Church finds expression in ecumenical councils, synods of bishops, diocesan synods, and diocesan and parish councils. The “Council of Jerusalem” (cf. Acts 15:2-35) was the first and earliest synod (not an ecumenical council), presided over by St. Peter, which discussed the integration of the Jewish and Gentile believers in the one Christian community.

The first synod in the Philippines, el Sinodo de Manila, was convened by the Spanish Bishop Domingo de Salazar, OP, in 1582.

Synodal process

May simula at may katapusan. The synodal process begins through synodal conversations and ends in implementation at the diocesan, local community, and parish levels.

The Synod on Synodality teaches that the bishops take the center state and exercise the authority bestowed by Christ, the fullness of Holy Priesthood, in collegiality. However, the synodal path is no longer a decision-making process of the episcopate alone but a path to a long journey for all the faithful, in which every local Church and community has an integral part to play until its implementation is complete.

Pope Francis initiates changes, but the synodal path the Church takes in the Third Millennium ensures “that the decisions taken are the fruit of obedience on the part of all [not just the episcopate] to what God wants for His Church” (Final Document, 12, 90).

Why shift the paradigm in the ecclesial process?

The Synod on Synodality discovers that, in many places, there are a lot of baptized Catholics on the existential margins who feel excluded or who “struggle to find full recognition of their dignity and gifts.” Saying that this cannot remain so forever, the General Assembly realizes that this unacceptable situation needs an open door in every diocese and parish “to allow diverse and different people to enter without feeling threatened or judged.”

The Synod says synodality is the key to opening that door and making it happen.

By convoking the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis has invited all the baptized to creatively participate in the synodal process and conversations. All the baptized include those persons who may risk being excluded: Women, the handicapped, refugees, the elderly, people who live in poverty, and Catholics who rarely or never practice their faith (lapsed, cafeteria, cold-indifferent, and nominal Christians).

The Jesuit pontiff explained in simple terms: They too are God’s children; they too have a voice to share and a gift to give.

We live in a time when the People of God seem not to be in harmony. The synodal conversations that Pope Francis proposes seek to manage tensions, diversity, and differences without being crushed by them.

Relational conversations

The Synod urges the local churches and digital communities to hold loving conversations in the Spirit anywhere anytime, meant to make sure everyone is on the same page. Priests, educators, lay leaders, and digital missionaries are encouraged to create more synodal conversations to open more welcoming spaces and events for a wider involvement, driven less by a hierarchical power system and more of a dynamic interaction.

The beauty of this kind of conversation stems from the fact that it is not a management strategy of the Roman Curia but a communal practice lived and celebrated by the universal Church in the spirit of Fratelli tutti, “brothers and sisters all,” in every corner of the globe.

Recall the presence of a synodal Pope in an ecumenical nation like Singapore, a city state like the Vatican and, unlike the Vatican, a sovereign nation of minority Catholics living in harmony with various religious groups. While all the baptized are specifically called to take part in the synodal process, no one—no matter what their religious affiliations are—is excluded. It means that not only those who believe in Christ are called to participate.

Based on the Gospel

Does Vatican II teach with authority that “all human beings are called to the new people of God” (Lumen Gentium, 13), hence listening to and conversing with the global community is not only meaningful but necessary?

The General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops provides a fitting answer, saying that “we see throughout the Gospels how Jesus reaches out to all. He does not only save people individually but as a people that He gathers together, He being the one Shepherd of the entire flock (cf. John 10:16). The ministry of Jesus shows us that no one is excluded from God’s plan of salvation.”

Synodality is actively relational. It is about reshaping the way we relate to God, with one another, and with everything. The call of synodality does not stop with relational conversion within the Church (Ecclesia ad intra) but with everyone—and with the global community (Ecclesia ad extra). Finally, synodal conversations are also an opportunity to ask what the Christian relationship should be with Mother Earth, our common home, since everyone and everything is connected.

Church as ‘a missionary disciple’

His Holiness conceives of this idea; in fact, he dreams of it, saying: “I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language, and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation.”

The Holy Father characterizes the Church as “a missionary disciple,” putting great emphasis on the new avenues, new paths of creativity, and new methods in evangelization, learning, growing, and reaching out to all. Ecclesial reforms experience a fruitful dialectic between the Church being missionary and the Church being an institution (Evangelii Gaudium, 27, 40)

In the mind of Pope Francis, it is very clear that being missionary and synodal—with the entire People of God involved and participating—is what God expects of the Catholic Church of the 21st century.

José Mario Bautista Maximiano is the author of the 3-volume work on Church Reforms (Claretian, 2023, 2024, 2025) and the 3-volume work on 500 Years of Christianity in the Philippines (Claretian, 2021, 2022). Email: [email protected].

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