On Saturday, October 26, 2024, Pope Francis ratified the final report from the Synod on Synodality and approved its immediate publication, which the synod participants applauded. This decision marked a significant moment, as it was the first time he had chosen not to issue a post-synodal document after the synod. Below are three things to look at after this significant synodal process.

In her report, Hannah Brockhaus of the Catholic News Agency quoted Pope Francis saying, “I want, in this way, to recognize the value of the completed synodal journey, which through this document I hand over to the holy faithful people of God. That is why I do not intend to publish an apostolic exhortation; what we have approved is enough.”

The Synod of Bishops, established by Pope Paul VI in 1965, gathers bishops globally to discuss critical issues facing the Church and provide counsel to the Holy Father. However, the just-concluded 2023-2024 Synod on Synodality is expected with significant changes within and without the Church.

The first magisterial document written by the clergy, religious, and laity. “[The Pope] has what he wants,” said Dr. Matthew Bunson, the Vice President and Editorial Director of EWTN News, “that this is an expression of the synodality of the Church, and, I think, he is very happy with that. Therefore, he does not feel the pressure or the need to write an exhortation. He wants the world to read this document and his taking ownership of it.”

Mons. Riccardo Battocchio said in Vatican News that “if the Pope expressly approves it, the document is part of his magisterium—not as a binding norm, but as a set of guiding principles.” The document has magisterial value according to him.

Fr. Thomas Petri, OP, clarifies during  the EWTN special coverage that it does not change any Church teaching. “Many would say that this document has been elevated to the level of the Second Vatican Council, but that is not the case. This document has become part of his ordinary magisterium. But this is more important than an interview in an airplane.”

A new way of explaining how to be a Universal Church. This synodal way is not as a corporation but as a communion of Churches. Pope Francis said, “It is the way that corresponds to the synodal style with which even the Petrine ministry is to be exercised: by listening, convening, discerning, deciding and evaluating. On this path, we need pauses, silences, and prayer. It is a style that we are still learning together, little by little.”

Many agree that the synod gives new life to being Church. “We have walked together, and now we know that we have to (keep walking) together in the future,” Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary-general of the synod, told reporters like Catholic News Service.

The Jesuit Father Giacomo Costa, a special secretary for the synodal assembly also mentioned, “It’s not just about having new approaches and techniques, he said, but an entirely new way of seeing the church as “pilgrims rooted in movement.”

A Church constantly on a pilgrimage. Although the synod was formally concluded last Sunday at Saint Peter’s Square, some open-ended questions still exist that need time to be answered. Some contentions are left unfinished in the document.

Aside from the role (canonical and theological) of episcopal conferences vis-à-vis the autonomy of a bishop in shepherding his diocese, the discussions on female diaconate remain an open issue.

In the press conference after the synod, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, SJ, noted that the Pope did not confirm nor dismiss the possibility of women deacons, thus “keeping it an open question for further discernment.” Even if the synod has concluded, discussions on such matters will still go on. According to the same report by Vatican News, ten study groups of the Synod are expected to conclude their work by June. The process of discernment continues.

Foto: Vhen Fernandez