Collective listening

One of the polarizing topics in the U.S. Catholic Church today is synodality. While some are excited about it and hope for more participation, others fear it will damage the Church’s tradition. Isn’t the Church founded on the followers of St. Peter? Can the laity – or a majority – change our faith tradition?

It is essential to examine what synodality means and how Pope Francis, who called for the Synod on Synodality (2021-2024), describes its goals. Synodality comes from the Greek words synodía, which means “journeying together,” and synod derives from the two stems of sýn (meaning “together”) and hodós (“way” or “journey”). The concept describes the process of discerning the Holy Spirit's guidance for the Church through collaboration and listening.
Journeying together as the People of God indicates a way of listening to each person as a member of the Church to understand how God might be speaking to all of us. While the Church’s hierarchy (especially the pope, the cardinals, and the bishops) has a specific role in the guidance of the faithful, the Holy Spirit is not limited to clergy. Synodality reminds us of the work of the Holy Spirit through each of us and through all of us working together for our joint mission.
 
 
Synods were always part of the Church
In the history of the Church, synods have already taken place in the first centuries. In the Church’s history, they were called ecumenical councils. The first one is known through the Acts of the Apostles (chapter 15) and happened around the year 50. Paul and Barnabas went to Jerusalem to clarify if Gentile converts needed to follow the Law of Moses. They met with the Church elders and apostles. After discussing the matter, a concluding letter was written: “It has been decided by the Holy Spirit and by ourselves not to impose on you any burden beyond these essentials: you are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and illicit marriages. Avoid these, and you will do what is right” (Act 15:28-29).

Throughout the following centuries, councils were held to decide cornerstones of the faith: The First Council of Nicaea (325) formulated the original Nicene Creed, in Constantinople (381), the divinity of the Holy Spirit was expressed, and the Council of Ephesus (431) proclaimed Mary as Theotokos (Mother of God). Later, councils dealt with Arianism and said Jesus was “true God and man.” Questions about the celibacy of priests, liturgy, confession etc., followed up to the Second Vatican Council (1962-65).

After Vatican II, synods appeared on the calendar. They were meetings of bishops meant to discuss different questions and get a global view of the Church's life. These synods were often dedicated to a specific topic. However, often, the final document was already carefully drafted, leaving little space for deep discussions. And the vast majority of the Church—the laity—was mostly not present.

Pope Francis tried to change that by inviting more people to the synods – starting with the Synod on Family (2015) and the Synod on Young People (2018). However, these meetings only took place in Rome, with a few chosen people representing the faithful. He understood that listening and discerning together should be a path for the Church everywhere, on all levels – from the Vatican down to the smallest parishes and missions.
 
Synodality as a way of life
Pope Francis called synodality the path “which God expects of the Church of the third millennium” because it is “a constitutive element of the Church.” In a rapidly changing world, while the truths of our faith will never change, misunderstanding and generally the challenges that people face today need collaboration and discernment. “Precisely at this time, when there is much talk and little listening, and when the sense of the common good is in danger of weakening, the Church as a whole has embarked on a journey to rediscover the word together,” he said to media representatives on August 26, 2023.

“Walk together. Question together. Take responsibility together for community discernment, which for us is prayer, as the first Apostles did: This is synodality, which we would like to make a daily habit in all its expressions,” he added.
 
 
What synodality is not
Many feared that synodality is used by people to launch a specific agenda, to campaign for topics close to their heart (like diaconate for women, allowing marriage for priests). Pope Francis, accompanying and correcting the synodal path in Germany, made clear that this is not the task of a synod. The pope ironically stated that “a very good Protestant Church already exists in Germany” and that “we don't need a second one.”

Some hot topics, like priesthood for women, are not on the agenda for the next synodal meeting, which will be held from Wednesday, October 2, to Sunday, October 27, in the Vatican. The synod's role is not to decide about doctrine but rather to listen to the difficulties and challenges, learn from initiatives that work and bring about new life.

Pope Francis stated that it is not a parliament to demand rights or claim needs. Thus, it is not a democratic body: “Synodality is not even the search for majority consensus... It is not a plan, a program to be implemented.

“No. It is a style to be adopted, in which the main protagonist is the Holy Spirit, who expresses himself above all in the Word of God, read, meditated upon, and shared together” (January 13, 2022).

This way, the Synod on Synodality is not just a temporary experience. Instead, the synod's goal is to help the entire Church, including both clergy and laity, work together more effectively to advance the Church’s mission.
 
 
The role of the Holy Spirit
In his opening remarks for the first session of last year’s sessions of the Synod on Synodality, Pope Francis pointed out: “The protagonist of the Synod isn't us, but the Holy Spirit.” If the Spirit is in charge, the pope continued, it is a good synod, and if He is not, “it is not.”
He mentioned in the opening Mass “trust in the Holy Spirit” as a requirement for synodality because the Holy Spirit is guiding the Church. Therefore, every synodal session or every discernment process should be accompanied by prayer, starting with the prayer Adsumus Sancte Spirite (which is adapted from the prayer that opened each session of Vatican II), and each participant is invited to reflect and listen to the Holy Spirit before speaking. In this way, it will not be a forum to advocate for one’s own preferences but rather a collective listening to what all contributions mean for the Church's future direction.