Renovation and Renewal

Series on the Synod on Synodality:
Part 1: “Wasn’t There Something About a Synod Last Fall?”
Part 2: When the Synod Came to St. Ignatius
Part 3: Trying to Hear the Lord
Part 4: Renovation and Renewal

Renovation and Renewal

Part Four of our series on the Synod on Synodality

Rather than saying that the Church has a mission, we affirm that the Church “is” mission. “As the Father has sent me so I send you” (John 20:21): the Church receives from Christ, the One who is sent by the Father, Her own mission. Supported and guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church announces and witnesses the Gospel to those who do not know it or welcome it.

-A Synodal Church in Mission, II, 8, a

If the first session of the Synod on Synodality aimed at defining the call of the Church and the community of discernment, and the second session will be aimed towards how the insights of the Synod might be best implemented in the ongoing life of the Church, the intermediate period in which we find ourselves—this period between Octobers—must be more than just a time to catch our breath. Rather, the promise of the Synod is that it is already at work in the Church, before those who meet in Rome gather and certainly before they regather. The discernment of the Synod is a discernment aimed at recognizing what the Holy Spirit is already doing, a discernment aimed at putting us, as a community, in line with the work of God alive in the hearts of the faithful and in the heart of Creation. Thus, in reflecting on the fruits of the first session, and anticipating the work of the second, we—the Church at St. Ignatius—must look at what is beginning to become evident, and find the “wind and fire” by which the Spirit is being revealed.

In the global Church, a number of things have arisen since the completion of the first session of the Synod—and since its articulation of the issues needing to be addressed. Pope Francis, soon after the first session, appointed a number of study groups, aimed at exploring the theological and ecclesiological issues necessary for the Synod to take up effectively the substantive issues which the assembly had raised. Articulating ten areas of study, the Pope directed the General Secretary of the Synod to assemble pastors and experts from all continents to examine “not only existing studies, but the most relevant current experiences in the People of God gathered in the local Churches.” These groups, whose work may extend even beyond the second session of the Synod, are called to assist in answering the second session's primary question: “How to be a synodal Church in mission?”

The topics of these study groups, as directed by Francis, come directly from the Synthesis Report:

1. Aspects of the relationship between the Eastern Catholic Churches and the Latin Church;
2. Listening to the Cry of the Poor;
3. The mission in the digital environment;
4. The revision of the document for the training of priests, so as to create a missionary and synodal perspective;
5. Theological and canonical matters regarding specific ministerial forms (e.g. the renewal of the diaconate for women);
6. The revision, in a synodal missionary perspective, of documents regarding the relationships of Bishops to religious communities and ecclesial associations;
7. Aspect of the person and ministry of Bishops (including criteria of selection, judicial function, and content of ad limina visits with the Pope), from a synodal missionary perspective;
8. The role of Papal Representatives (e.g. Papal Nuncios) from a missionary synodal perspective;
9. Theological criteria and synodal methodologies for shared discernment on controversial doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical issues.
10. The reception of the fruits of the ecumenical journey in ecclesial practices (i.e., how to engage ecumenism in the daily life of the Church).

Each of these areas, tied to various paragraphs within the Synthesis Report, demonstrate Francis’ desire to ensure that the Synod on Synodality takes root within the life of the Church, while also recognizing that the various issues arising in the Synod are not without controversy in the wider Church.

The potential challenges and controversies emerging from the Synod became apparent in the wake of the first session, though not through a direct response by Francis, but through a move clearly inspired by the spirit of the Synod. In the publication of the document on blessings, Fiducia Supplicans, in which the institutional Church affirmed and even encouraged the blessing of those in “irregular” relationships—specifically in same-sex or divorced-remarried relationships—the Holy See sought to articulate a deepening understanding, in line with the tradition, which would encourage a more welcoming attitude towards groups often left at the margins. Yet, even this rather modest document—which did not call for the recognition or even acceptance of same-sex marriages (as some had hoped)—raised great concern, and even the specter of schism, in some parts of the Church. Even though it seeks dialogue and discernment, it is thus clear that as real decisions are made, the implementation of the Synod will require courage and constancy on the part of the faithful and of leaders. What seems a self-evident movement of the Spirit to some can seem an abandoning of the patrimony of the Christ to others; hence, Francis calls us to avoid ideology and rigidity, calling us always back to the table of synodality and mutual, prayerful discernment.

How shall this be played out at St. Ignatius? How can we contribute to the dialogue—so much a part of our own Jesuit, Ignatian history, and yet so different as it becomes part of the larger ecclesial discernment invited by the Synod? We are just beginning to find the answer to these questions, through the work of our various Commissions, through our relationships with other communities, and through our own discussions as companions—lay and Jesuit, rich and poor, gay and straight, immigrant and native born—who make up this community.

One opportunity to join in a part of the greater dialogue, which suggests where we might go, is a recent invitation provided by one of our partners in mission—Discerning Deacons. This group, dedicated to working with the Holy See in discerning the role of women in the Church, and specifically the role of women as deacons, is sponsoring an electronic synodal meeting with several delegates to the Synod on Monday, April 29, at 1 pm. In the spirit of the Synod, this will be a time to listen and to speak, to hear and to pray, and it is offered to members of St. Ignatius who wish to broaden their synodal participation. If you want to register for this opportunity, visit DiscerningDeacons.org.

Whether through Discerning Deacons or in some other way, we are called in this season to recognize an opportunity for grace in the Church and the world. The Synod on Synodality, though it may seem a slow process to those of us desiring instantaneous reform, is a work of the Holy Spirit—perhaps the most significant such work since the Second Vatican Council. May we take up our role in it as individuals and as a Jesuit parish—renovating not just the building of our church, but its essence.

Fr. John Whitney, SJ

Register for Monday April 29, 1 pm: Discerning Deacons event