Almost four years after Pope Francis opened the Church’s path toward synodality, his successor has thrown his support behind the last leg of the Church’s synodal journey. Source: CNS.
The Synod of Bishops, which admitted women, lay and other non-bishop voting members among its ranks during its two universal assemblies in October 2023 and 2024, “naturally retains its institutional profile and at the same time is enriched by the mature fruits of this season,” Pope Leo XIV told the ordinary council of the Synod June 26.
“You are the body appointed to reap these fruits and make a prospective reflection.”
Over two days, the council convened to approve a document for the Synod’s final implementation stage intended to improve dialogue between local churches and the Vatican Synod Office, the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops said in a statement June 30.
The document will be released July 7 at www.synod.va.
The council also discussed the work of study groups instituted by Pope Francis to deal with hot-button topics – such as women’s ordination and changes to priestly formation.
The study groups were scheduled to present interim reports on their findings in June 2025, but the Synod office noted that “due to the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV, there have been delays.”
In agreement with Pope Leo, the deadline to submit the final reports was extended to December 31, 2025, and the interim reports will be published on the Synod office’s website as they are received, it said.
The late Pope launched the diocesan phase of the worldwide synodal process in October 2021, and it was originally scheduled to culminate with an in-person assembly in Rome in October 2023.
Another assembly was held in October 2024, and in March, Pope Francis launched a three-year implementation phase of the Synod that will culminate in an ecclesial assembly at the Vatican in October 2028.
Pope Leo told the Synod’s ordinary council on June 26, “I encourage you in this work, I pray that it may be fruitful and as of now I am grateful.”
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With Pope’s support, Vatican to publish document on Synod’s final phase (By Justin McLellan, CNS)
