Walking Together in Communion, Participation and Mission
Walking Together
The word synodality comes from an ancient idea of journeying together. Within the Church it describes a way in which the whole People of God are called to walk together, listening to one another and discerning where the Holy Spirit is leading them. It does not mean that everybody will think alike. The Church embraces people of different ages, cultures, experiences and responsibilities. Synodality asks how those different voices can remain in communion while sharing responsibility for the Church’s mission. Three words have therefore become central to the Synodal Process: Communion, Participation and Mission. Communion reminds us that the Church is not simply a collection of individuals. Through baptism, Christians belong to one another in Christ and are called to live their faith as a community. Participation means recognising that every baptised person has something to contribute. Bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay people have different vocations and responsibilities, but all are invited to participate in the life and mission of the Church. Mission turns that participation outwards. The purpose of walking together is not simply to discuss the Church internally, but to help the Church proclaim the Gospel and serve the world more faithfully. Synodality is therefore both simple and demanding. It asks Christians to walk together without pretending that their differences do not exist. The starting point is not uniformity. It is communion.
Listening, Discernment and Participation
If synodality means walking together, listening is one of the ways that journey becomes possible. That involves more than waiting for somebody else to finish speaking. It means making room for experiences and perspectives that might otherwise remain unheard, while listening together for what the Holy Spirit may be saying to the Church. For that reason, synodal listening is closely connected with prayer and discernment. Discernment asks a different question from ordinary debate. Rather than beginning simply with Who is right? or Which side has the most support?, it asks how Christians can listen prayerfully to one another and recognise what serves the Church’s mission and the common good. Synodality should therefore not be confused with turning the Church into a parliament in which every question is decided by majority vote. Nor does listening remove the particular responsibilities entrusted to bishops and ordained ministers. Instead, it seeks a Church in which responsibility and authority are exercised alongside a genuine willingness to listen to the People of God. That makes participation important. People who have rarely felt heard may have experiences from which the wider Church can learn. Equally, participation carries responsibilities: to listen as well as speak, to approach disagreement with charity and to remain open to discernment rather than simply defending a predetermined position. Synodality is therefore not simply something the Church has been doing since the beginning of the Synodal Process in 2021. It describes a way of being Church: walking together, listening together and discerning together how the Holy Spirit is calling the Church to fulfil its mission.
References and Sources
What is Synodality?
The explanation of synodality as “journeying together” and as an expression of the Church as the pilgrim and missionary People of God is based upon the official Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality and the Preparatory Document for For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.
Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality — General Secretariat of the Synod
For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission — Preparatory Document — General Secretariat of the Synod
Communion, Participation and Mission
These three words form the central theme of the Synodal Process. The Preparatory Document describes journeying together as enabling the Church to live communion, achieve participation and open herself to mission.
Preparatory Document — For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission
Listening, Discernment and Participation
The Vademecum identifies Listening, Discernment and Participation as essential principles of a genuinely synodal process and places listening to the Holy Spirit and to one another at the heart of the synodal journey.
Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality — General Secretariat of the Synod
The Synod is not a parliament
At the opening of the Synodal Process on 9 October 2021, Pope Francis stressed that the Synod is not a parliament or an opinion poll, but an ecclesial process in which the Holy Spirit is the protagonist. This provides the basis for the distinction made on this page between synodal discernment and decision-making based simply upon majority voting.
Pope Francis — Address for the Opening of the Synod, 9 October 2021