The Catholic Herald: The Problems With the Synod

The Synod on Synodality, which starts at the beginning of this month, is something unique in the history of the Church. It is a synod about a process; in fact you could say, it is listening about listening. In a sense, Pope Francis, whose idea this very much is, has achieved his end simply by the Synod happening at all. In its essential meaning, a synod is “a path with”, so it is an engagement with others; the International Theological Commission suggests that it might be understood by the similar concept of Concilium, or Council, which Catholics are familiar with.

Yet if the idea of Synod is not new, the concept of “synod-ality” is something novel. And so too is a synod that includes members of the laity. The Synods of Bishops that followed the Second Vatican Council were gatherings of descendants of the apostles; their status was clear. But Pope Francis has extended membership of this synod to others: women, laypeople, religious. In fact the number of cardinals present is exactly the same as the number of women, a symmetry which may not be accidental.  ….

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