One of the innovations following the Second Vatican Council was the institution of what has come to be called the Synod of Bishops. The bishops who deliberated at the three sessions of the Council from 1962-1965 urged that both the experience and the helpfulness to the life and faith of the Church that emerged from their discussions should find some way to continue.

 

Pope Paul VI accepted that suggestion and instituted a meeting of representative bishops from all over the world that would convene every three years to consider a specific theme or topic to be chosen by the Roman pontiff. Their deliberations would then be summarized and forwarded to the Holy Father as advice and counsel for him as the Successor of Peter.

 

At first it was hoped that each synod would issue its own concluding statement to summarize its work. However, over time it has become the practice that the synod makes public its conclusions but then forwards them to the pope who has issued a post-synodal document with his own authority. 

 

Pope St. John Paul II wrote some of his most important reflections in this manner including those on the sacrament of penance, the formation of priests and the ministry of bishops. Pope Francis’s exhortation on marriage (Amoris Laetitia) and on the Amazon were also the result of the synod gatherings.

 

Several points are worth noting to understand the nature and role of a Synod of Bishops. 

 

First, a synod differs from a council and especially from an Ecumenical Council such as Vatican II. Councils, going back to the first meeting of the early Church described in Acts 15, are convened to address and have the authority to decide about the correct understanding or application of the faith. Synods do not have the same inherent authority of making a decision. They are, rather, an advisory body.

 

For that reason, we should not apply to a synod the mindset of our democratic society. A synod is therefore not like our legislature or a parliament that meets periodically with the authority to pass laws that change society or meet current circumstances. 

 

Instead, like a council, synods are means of following Jesus Christ and His teaching faithfully. 

 

They are also part of the unity of the Church. That means that they always reflect the search for unity with the faith of the Church always and everywhere. It is unswervingly looking therefore to the faith held and taught by those who have gone before us but seeking to apply it to our own place and time.

 

Additionally, councils are linked to the charism of the bishops of a given region or of the whole world if it is an ecumenical council. All bishops of a region or of the whole world are by nature invited to participate. A synod however, envisions a wider dialogue and consultation. For this reason, representative bishops are selected and lay observers and participants play a different and important role.

 

Recently, the Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will convene the next Synod of Bishops in October of 2023. In the meantime he has asked for an extensive consultation including in each diocese.

 The topic he has chosen is “For a Synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.”

 

That means that there will be work for us to do in the Diocese of Rockford to fulfill the request of the Holy Father. How that will take place will need to be planned and communicated subsequently. In the meantime, I ask that all of us add to our prayers the request for the grace of fidelity and love for the Church as we prepare to engage this process.