The newest synod reports: A reader's guide

Two Vatican study groups tied to the synod on synodality released final reports on Tuesday, with one focused on “emerging issues,” including homosexuality, and the other on the selection of bishops.

St. Peter’s Basilica. public domain.

The “emerging issues” group offered no concrete proposals, but included testimonies from two Catholic men in same-sex relationships. By contrast, the group on episcopal selection presented some of the most concrete proposals yet among the study groups.

The groups are two of 14 study groups. Twelve were created by Pope Francis in March 2024, months before the second session of the synod on synodality, which ended in Oct. 2024. Two more groups were established by Pope Leo last year.

The groups are covering various topics including the Eastern Catholic Churches, episcopal ministry, the work of apostolic nuncios, environmental concerns, ecumenism, and the liturgy.

Some groups, such as a group on the digital mission, a group on the participation of women in the Church, and a special group on polygamy, formed exclusively by African bishops have already presented their reports.

The ‘emerging issues’ group

The “emerging issues” group, led by Cardinal Carlos Castillo of Lima, proposed in its a report a “paradigm shift” in how the Church approaches complex doctrinal, pastoral, and ethical questions.

While the group originally was called the study group on “controversial” issues, they decided to change it to “emerging” issues because “the aim is not merely to resolve problems but to build the common good through relational conversion, shared learning and transparency.”

The report is broken down into an introduction, three sections and three annexes with testimonies from two men in same-sex relations in Portugal and the US and a non-violence initiative in Serbia.

The first section focuses on a “paradigm shift” in evangelization based on the practice of relational conversion, shared learning and transparency. The second section discusses the principle of pastorality as the interpretative key of the paradigm shift, and the third offers guidelines to aid pastoral discernment with regards to two “emerging” issues: the experience of homosexual Catholics and the practice of active non-violence.

Introductory section

The document starts by explaining its own methodology, saying that “the topic entrusted to us, even in the way it was formulated, raises a related set of issues that call for careful consideration and a courageous commitment. In this light, we have noted the inadequacy of our current categories and operational paradigms.”

The report talks of a series of methodological difficulties, such as reconciling different sensibilities, expertise, and viewpoints, and clarifying definitions. It also says that after a first draft, they underwent a process of consultation “with people engaged in different ecclesial contexts and with diverse areas of expertise.”

Then, it proposes “synodal discernment” as the methodological key for the report, “starting from [individual] accounts, with attentive and open listening both to the Word of Jesus – made alive and relevant by the Holy Spirit within the space of ecclesial communion and with attention to the “signs of the times” – and to what the People of God have experienced in diverse cultural contexts and in relation to various life situations.”

“Listening to these experiences, in order to be authentic and fruitful, requires careful integration and appreciation of what we are able to learn about them thanks to the contribution of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences,” it adds.

First section: A paradigm shift

The section starts by explaining that after Dei Verbum’s understanding of Revelation as “historical and dialogical,” practicing synodality in the Church implies a“paradigm shift “from the prevalent paradigms of past centuries as regards the way of interpreting and expressing the proclamation of the Gospel and the mission of the Church.”

According to the document this shift is a return to “the saving truth of the Gospel as originally presented in Jesus: the reliable testimony of the agape of God, who is Abbà, present here today for all his sons and daughters, each and every one.”

Then, the document proceeds to define the synodal process as “the unfolding of three dynamics promoting a paradigm shift,” which are relational conversion, shared learning and transparency.

The report spends several pages explaining each of those dynamics, but the executive summary defines them in more concrete terms.

It says that relational conversion are “the processes by which all baptized men and women are able to learn through practices (ecclesial, liturgical, and social).”

Then it adds that shared learning means that ‘“through these practices, people… contribute to co-shaping the linguistic, symbolic, and cultural scene within which problems can emerge, be named, and be worked on together.”

Lastly, it says that “an ecclesial culture of transparency is not only attributable to a need that is felt in contemporary society, but must be understood in light of the evangelical and ethical imperative of ‘speaking and acting in truth.’”

Second section: the principle of pastorality

The document uses “the principle of pastorality” as the main interpretative key of these issues, defining it as “there is no proclamation of the Gospel without taking responsibility for the interlocutor, in whom the Spirit is already at work.”

“This principle, in fidelity to the Magisterium of Vatican II, derives from taking Dei Verbum as the foundational horizon of proclamation, Gaudium et spes as the interpretive horizon of its multiple recipients and spheres of incarnation, and Ad gentes as the contextualizing horizon of its diverse places and actors,” it says.

Then the document discusses the place of authority within the principle of pastorality, saying that “we are dealing not with problems to be solved, but with the construction of the common good,” and therefore, it says that the main focus of the principle is not the doctrinal, pastoral and ethical correction “of situations evaluated as problematic in the concrete experience of faith,” but the prioritization of “the recognition and discernment of the instances that faith practices express and show in action, often through unthematic knowledge.”

Therefore, according to the report, the proper role of authority is “first and foremost, that of listening, setting the discernment process in motion, and accompanying it to reach the expression of a consensus... Thus, the exercise of authority… [takes] particular responsibility for guarding and safeguarding the identity and contribution of each person, especially those who are less visible or less able to express their voice.”

The section then concludes by explaining the methodology of “conversations in the Spirit” used in the synod on synodality as a way to practice the principle of pastorality.

Third section: emerging issues

The report then applies its methodological steps to two emerging issues: “the experience of homosexual persons who are believers, and the experience of active non-violence.”

The report included three appendices: testimonies from two men identifying as gay, one from Portugal and another from the United States, and from a non-violence movement in Serbia..

In the testimony of a Portuguese man in a same-sex relationship and active in a community based on Ignatian spirituality called thr Christian Life Community, the report criticizes the alleged attempts at so-called reparative or conversion therapies.

“The positivity of this journey coexists with significant difficulties, as seen in the devastating effects of reparative therapies aimed at recovering heterosexuality, and in the contradictory advice received: from those who suggest marriage to a woman in order to “find peace” to those who instead invite the person not to leave “dark or hidden areas” in their relationship with Christ.”

Then, the report says that sin “at its root, does not consist in the (same-sex) couple relationship, but in a lack of faith in a God who desires our fulfilment.”

In the second testimony, a man now also living in a homosexual relationship said that he spent time in college in a group of Courage International, an apostolate focused on accompanying same-sex attracted people with an approach that is in line with Catholic teaching, but that it did “little to help my spiritual and psychosexual development.”

The report says of this that “the testimony… describes the problematic membership in a Catholic group (Courage) which, by pushing for “reparative therapy,” had the effect of separating faith and sexuality.”

After discussing the testimonies, the document discussed the issue of striking a balance between pastoral practice and Catholic doctrine.

“It is not a matter of devising a strategy to hide real difficulties or of forcing the issue to assert a new doctrine: it is a matter of starting from the listening to experiences and fostering pastoral and ecclesial practices of mutual knowledge, collaboration, inclusion, and dialogue among believers,” the document says.

“For it is only in this way – in the light of the lived and shared experience of the Gospel within the Christian community – that one can come to discern and promote the “good” inscribed in experiences and practices.”

The document then criticizes the “theoretical model that derives praxis from a “pre-packaged” doctrine, “applying” general and abstract principles to the concrete and personal situations of life.”

“The task, therefore, is to rediscover a fruitful circularity between theory and praxis, between thought and experience, recognising that theological reflection itself proceeds from the experiences of “good” inscribed in the sensus fidei fidelium,” it concludes.

The study group on the selection of bishops

The drafting report of the study group on the selection of bishops was led by Bishop Felix Glenn of Münster, and had then-Cardinal Robert Prevost among its members before he was elected pope last May.

The report is one of the shortest so far: only nine pages, and offered some of the most concrete proposals in any report.

Synodal bishops and nuncios

After stating that personal dignity and suitability for pastoral ministry in a specific local Church are the two main criteria to select episcopal candidates, the report says that “moral integrity, doctrinal orthodoxy, pastoral sensitivity, leadership ability, and the capacity to administer the Church’s goods” should be some of the main qualities sought in an episcopal candidate.

The group then recommends that special attention should be paid to the “synodal competencies” of episcopal candidates.

“Sensitivity to the needs of a synodal and missionary Church requires in a bishop openness to complexity, a disposition toward innovation, the ability to adapt to new situations, a deep knowledge of local cultures, and a willingness to integrate into them constructively ,” it says.

The document extends the criteria to apostolic nuncios, saying that they “must themselves possess a synodal and missionary profile, so that they can seek these same qualities in those proposed to them as potential bishops.”

The report also mentions by passing that it hopes that “lay men and women may be welcomed in the future” will in the future be welcomed as part of the Vatican diplomatic staff.

Episcopal succession

The document proposes a synodal discernment involving the local church and the bishops’ conference to better understand a diocese’s own state and needs, “processes that can allow, on the one hand, the identification within the Diocese of Priests to be proposed as candidates for the Episcopate and, on the other hand, the formulation of the profile of the future Pastor of that local Church,” the document adds.

The center of the group’s proposals is the creation of a “Committee for the Provision of the Local Church,” to be comprised of “two diocesan priests elected by the Presbyteral Council, two consecrated men/women and two laypersons elected by the Diocesan Pastoral Council, along with the Diocesan Administrator or Apostolic Administrator.”

According to the document, the nuncio should rely on the Committee to “clarify the state of the diocese, the profile of the new Pastor, and to receive opinions on possible candidates.”

“The Group proposes that the Bishop convene at least the Presbyteral Council and the Diocesan Pastoral Council, so that each of the members may submit to the Bishop, in a sealed envelope, the names of Priests operating in the Diocese whom he judges suitable for the Episcopate, and an opinion regarding the profile of the future Bishop of their own local Church, with the names of Bishops or Priests whom they consider suitable for succession,” it adds.

Then, according to the document, the bishop should present the result of these consultations to the bishops of his ecclesiastical province or the bishop’s conference, “who will draw up a list of candidates for the Episcopate that is as much as possible an expression of their consensus.”

Then, after receiving these findings, the nuncio must also consult “a group of informants,” that, according to the report shouldn’t be limited to clergy, “clergy but also a possibly equivalent number of consecrated persons and laity, avoiding risks such as clericalism, politicization or polarization of views, and familial, tribal, or ethnic influences.”

“Informants should include a suitable number of women and young people, representatives of ecclesiastical universities and faculties, members of ecclesial movements, individuals recognized for special charisms, the poor and marginalized, and members of Indigenous communities or ethnic/linguistic minorities.,” it says.

According to the document, having such a varied consultation helps to “bring to light the truth as fully as possible – both regarding the state and needs of the diocese and the dignity and suitability of potential episcopal candidates.”

Then, the document calls on the dicasteries of the Roman Curia with a role in the appointment of bishops - the Dicastery for the Bishops, the Section for First Evangelization and New Particular Churches of the Dicastery for Evangelization, and the Dicastery for Eastern Churches - to review their procedures, so that “the method of ecclesial discernment may increasingly shape their ordinary operations.”

The report concludes by calling for an independent commission to evaluate the application of these criteria within the dicasteries in question.