‘Together on the Road’ in a Synodal Church

On the evening of Tuesday 8 June Sister Nathalie Becquart, UnderSecretary to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican joined Synod members on zoom for a presentation ‘Together on the Road’ in a Synodal Church.

She began by stressing the importance of connecting local Churches with the universal Church in order to share experiences and learn from each other. She gave a brief history of the Synod process, which was instituted by Pope St Paul VI on 15 September 1965, at the end of the Second Vatican Council and described as ‘one of the most precious fruits of the Council’. It is an institution - an ancient one in its inspiration - to provide effective support to the Roman Pontiff for the good of the whole Church and it represents the entire Catholic episcopate. Pope Francis has taken a new step forward with the Synod process aimed at the evangelisation of today’s world.

The Synod of Bishops meets in Rome for one month following two years of preparation. During the Pontificate of Pope Francis Synods have taken place to discuss the family (2014 and 2015); young people (2018) and the Special Assembly for the Amazon (2019). A synodal journey is a path of renewal for a missionary Church offering new awareness and new impetus to enter into that ‘permanent state of mission’ which must animate her, to be faithful to her Lord.

Sister Nathalie said that ‘it is clear that all the Church, not only at a local level, as is happening in Liverpool, has to embrace the synodal style…to live with the Spirit.’ Quoting from the International Theological Commission’s document ‘Synodality in the life and mission of the Church (2018) she said, ‘making a synodal Church a reality is an indispensable precondition for a new missionary energy that will involve the entire People of God’. ‘Synodality is a learning by doing’ she continued, ‘which evolves Synod after Synod with a synodalization process in the Church at all levels’.

Pope Francis said on the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, ‘The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve, even with its contradictions, demands that the Church strengthen cooperation in all areas of her mission. It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.’

Referring to the themes of the recommendations for Liverpool’s Synod Sister Nathalie said that they offered to her proof that the world is interconnected, which is particularly relevant in a time of pandemic.

All dioceses throughout the world have been asked by Pope Francis to contribute to the Synod to be held in Rome in 2023 described as. ‘a new process beginning in the local churches with all the People of God’. Sister Nathalie outlined the timetable of preparation for the Synod which unfolds in a series of phases: the preparatory phase; the discussion phase and the implementation phase.

In terms of Synodality being Church is being a community that walks together. ‘It is not enough to have a synod, you must be a synod.’ The Church needs intense internal sharing: a living dialogue between the Pastors and between the Pastors and the faithful. Three aspects revive synodality: listening – co-responsibility and the involvement of the laity: as full members of the Church, who are called to express themselves and give suggestions.

The Synodal process has to be one of sharing at every level of the Church from parishes and ecclesial communities to dioceses, Conferences of Bishops and out to the universal Church. Sister Nathalie concluded by saying that, ‘the challenge for the synodal Church is that we are truly together’.

Throughout her presentation Sister Nathalie used the Archdiocese of Liverpool as an example of the process working at a local level contributing to the life and mission of the universal Church.