In just a few days, the second assembly of the Synod on Synodality will begin. This is the final blog in the series on the Instrumentum laboris by which the delegates will listen to the Spirit together. Please surround the delegates with your prayer and join in their discernment in your place!
Photo by Deborah Stollery 2024
If you've been following this blog series you know that I went on a trip to Nova Scotia and into Quebec Province. The places we visited were awe-inspiring, informative, vigorous and peaceful. The above photo was taken in Halifax at Peggy's Cove on a blustery day...hence no one was sitting in those giant Adirondack chairs. But those chairs are an abiding invitation to sit down, look around and enjoy the place. Why? Because places matter: places send messages, generate feelings, and can foster community.
The final section of the IL recognizes this truth. We are a universal Church. We are the Body of Christ incarnate in specific places and times all around the globe, and those places matter to the way in which we embrace synodality. A synodal Church "is one that honors the particularities of diverse peoples, cultures, traditions and languages that make up the 'one body, one Spirit', a Spirit that is the source of unity. A synodal Church seeks to avoid reducing the message of salvation to a single understanding of ecclesial life and its liturgical, pastoral or moral expression." And place can no longer be understood in just geographical and spatial terms since we now have entirely different "spaces" made possible by our burgeoning technology. So, a synodal Church, the IL says, will have to change its organizational structures, because the existing structure can no longer speak Christ's truth into people's lives given the expanding notion of "place."
Ponder that a minute before we move on to look at what the IL's writers considered as they came to this conclusion. One size of governance, one approach to moral issues, one language and a single ritual does not reflect the wondrous diversity of God's people. THAT'S a huge perspective shift. Instead of our single source language (Latin), our single set of ritual texts, our single cultural overlay (Western European), and our single approach to moral issues, the Church is recognizing that our unity does not flow from any of those structures or approaches. Our unity is found in our collective surrender to the Holy Spirit who will guide us to all truth within our individual contexts, where we are, in our specific places. That means we will not all go at the same pace, embrace the same conversions at the same time, need the same kinds of leadership, and have our blindness and deafness healed simultaneously. BUT, we will remain one body in one Spirit to the degree that we all surrender to the Spirit's guidance in all the choices we make. Friends, from where I sit, that's a huge conversion of mindset. HUGE.
I think it came about when the first assembly began to grapple with some of the hot button issues: the role of women, the approach to same sex relationships, the urgency of climate issues. Their grappling included the often gut-wrenching testimonies of peoples directly affected by these issues. Their deep listening to these messages, filtered through their individual cultural contexts made it clear that one approach to these issues would not be possible. What might be possible in North America is currently not possible within certain cultures on the continent of Africa. Priorities for the Amazonian peoples are not the same as those for those who live in the Pacific Rim. Individual nations may be far further down the synodal road than their fellow nations. That truth brought delegates to this understanding....place matters. Diverse peoples, cultures and traditions receive the Spirit's messages through the circumstances of their place and that must be considered.
As if that were not enough, the IL goes on to explain some of the factors that have led them to conclude that "places" is a critical aspect in the embrace of synodality. Here are some of the factors that became apparent during and after the first assembly of the Synod:
Urabanization. For the first time, the IL notes, most of humanity lives in urban rather than rural areas, and accessible transportation enables them to move from place to place easily. Therefore such structures as Diocesan and parish boundaries are no longer suitable.
Mobility extends not just to regions but across the globe. Refugees and migrants may live in one place due to their circumstances but maintain strong connections to the place from which they came. There are diverse peoples creating "places" within a place. Communities of origin may be giving way to digital communities that cross traditional cultural, linguistic and geographic boundaries.
The spread of the digital culture, especially among the young, requires a different look at "place." And that will require a different take on the pastoral, liturgical and moral elements of the Church.
The IL writers conclude this section by saying that the elements of physical space, culture and networks of relationships across space, culture and time zones must be considered as the Church's "context"...the place the Church is situated in this age.
Remember, the question before the delegates is "HOW to become a synodal Church?" Within this element of "Places", delegates will be grappling with
How to adapt Church structures to serve the mission of being in service to all people in their specific places.
How to re-form ecclesial institutions so that they clearly reflect the role of the Pope and local Bishops as that of the visible sign of unity between the Mystical Body of Christ and the body of Churches they serve. That's a big shift...and one that will take a lot of imagination and courage to construct.
How to structure a parish such that the small communities within it are all focused on mission, and therefore formed, supported, resourced, corrected and assessed in light of their missionary focus.
How to structure bonds among the local parishes with the other associations and communities who are also engaged in living the Christian life so that there is a visible structure that enhances their unity as one body in the Spirit.
Keeping with the "How?" question, this section of the IL devotes some time to considering how Councils already in existence in particular places can be formed to be agents of synodality by being the locus of ecclesial discernment, synodal decision-making, accountability and transparency and to serve as early adopters of the principles of synodality. To do this, they note, will require re-shaping the profile and operating methods of these existing bodies. No more planning picnics and painting lines on the parking lot for these Councils!
The final section within "Places" takes the time to specify the bonds that shape the unity of the Church. What does hold us together, really? This is what they say:
Recognizing that we each work in a particular context with a specific set of gifts which we generously share with one another.
Journeying together...as the song goes, "it's the journey that makes us one,"all on one path but at different places at any given time. We will need structures that make this normative/honorable, visible and outwardly focused on mission.
Fostering stronger links to the Eastern Catholic Church that has some different governance models already in place, thus enhancing our communion by shared learning and the respect for our differences.
Decentralizing authority, delegating more to Episcopal Conferences that will have designated authority, evaluative capacities and deisgnated bonds that must be established and maintained.
Convening Continental Assemblies as a sign of unity, openness to the mutual exchange of gifts, shared learning and a time to hear the Spirit speak.
Defining the role of the Pope as the visible sign of unity by his ongoing efforts to ensure the Church grows in a synodal style and form.
Drafting canonical norms to express a synodal style, thus structuralzing synodality as a sign of unity.
Accepting methods and practices of evaluation is a sign of unity.
Convoking of synods is a sign of unity.
Embracing ecumenism is a sign of unity.
HOW to become a synodal Church? It's always the question people ask when they begin to get the why and the what of a concept. HOW do we do that? Keep in mind that one size will not fit all because a synodal Church is diverse in its responses to "How." Don't expect to get prescriptions as much as navigation points, criteria that will let us know we are on the right path, and signs that synodality is taking root. Why? Because prescriptions are specific to a people, a place and a condition and that will need local leaders to diagnose and then prescribe the steps. Descriptions allow for diverser places to determine their pathways.
Local leaders...the Pentecost Vigil Project is here to accompany you as you lead your people onto the synodal path. This is what is expected for all the faithful: to embrace synodality and to figure out how to get on the journey with the rest of the Church. It's our outward sign of unity, of communion and most importantly, of surrender to the truth that the Church does not belong to us. It belongs to the Holy Spirit. The work of ecclesial leaders is to hear the Spirit's voice guiding them as they join in embracing synodality and then, with the Spirit's ongoing guidance, to chart the pathways in their places....because yes, place matters!
Comments