If faithful Catholics were asked what is the most pressing issue of the day that they wish the Church hierarchy would tackle, the top answers would include the shortage of priestly vocations, the decline in Catholics’ belief in the Real Presence, attendance at Mass, and the secular culture’s indoctrination of our youth. Nowhere in the list of answers would one find “the Church needs to be more synodal” as a crisis needing attention. I doubt most Catholics could even define “synodal” or pronounce “synodality.” Yet, it was two years ago this October that Pope Francis opened a comprehensive, multi-year process and series of worldwide events called “a Synod on Synodality.”
The Vatican defines “synod” as:
A religious meeting or assembly at which bishops, gathered around and with the Holy Father, have opportunity to interact with each other and to share information and experiences, in the common pursuit of pastoral solutions which have a universal validity and application. …
