Synod Session 2, Part 6: The Final Report

​The Second Session Final Report: Process, Context, and Content

The final week of the Synod session was structured differently from the earlier weeks. The delegates no longer met in the 10-person table groups, but gathered in general sessions to discuss and vote on the final report of the second session.

During the prior weeks’ table group meetings, written reports from the tables were submitted to a coordinating group of Synod members who summarized and presented them back in general sessions for comment and suggestions for revisions. This eventually led to 155 paragraphs which were brought before the Synod in general sessions during the final week for discussion, possible amendments, and voting. All the paragraphs of the final report were approved by a two-thirds vote of the 368 synod members.

It is worth noting that in most prior Synods, the results have been submitted to the Pope, who then decided what was to be published, often in a papal document expressing the Pope’s interpretation of the results. Pope Francis has expressly changed that process, stating that the Synod’s concluding report should be authoritatively and immediately published as a whole, describing it as a “gift from the Synod to the People of God” and saying that it “corresponds to the synodal style with which even the Petrine ministry is to be exercised: listening, convening, discerning, deciding, and evaluating. And in these steps, pauses, silences, prayer are necessary. It is a style that we are learning together, little by little.”

As of this writing, total text of the report is available only in Italian and the document is being closely examined by experts and commentators, but some initial high points are worth summarizing.

The document presents synodality as a style of Christian life and ministry based on the “equal dignity of all the baptized” with the recognition that all the baptized have something to give to the mission of the Church as a whole. Some of the practical suggestions coming from this include:

• Making pastoral councils mandatory for every parish and ensuring that they are truly representative of the parish members

• Expanding women’s ministries in recognition of the contributions of women to the life and ministry of the church
• Overhauling training for future priests, including hiring more women and laymen to teach in seminaries
• Greater lay involvement in selecting bishops
• Greater transparency and accountability throughout the Church

Immediate responses to the Synod report have been many and varied. Some are positive reflections, like that of our own Cardinal Cupich, who said that the final document makes it clear that the “whole hierarchy is called to embrace this important effort of building a synodal, missionary church” (NCR Interview, 27 October 2024). Others are cautious: “Without concrete changes in the short term, the vision of a synodal church will not be credible, and this will alienate those members of the people of God who have drawn strength and hope from the synodal Journey" (from the second Synod session final report). Some advocates of certain positions have voice their disappointments: “It [the Final Report] stops short of proposing certain dramatic changes – such as the restoration of the female diaconate or greater recognition of LGBTQ Catholics – that many reform groups have sought during the multiyear project” (National Catholic Reporter, 26 October 2024).

There will undoubtedly be much further commentary over the coming days, which will be the subject of the next Synod article.

Next Time:  The Second Session Final Report - Further Analysis and Responses
Click here to start from part 1 of our coverage of the second Synod session.

Want to learn more? Check out our series on the Synod on Synodality, from the first session, to our parish listening sessions, to today!