The push for a European ecclesial assembly

What, and who, is behind the call for a permanent continental synodal forum?

The Catholic Church’s global headquarters may be in Europe, but the continent is in danger of being left behind amid the “synodal” transformation of Africa, Latin America, and Oceania.

Thomas Söding speaks at a synodal way press conference in Frankfurt, Germany, on Sept. 9, 2022. © Synodaler Weg/Maximilian von Lachner.

That, at least, is the contention of one of Europe’s most prominent laymen: Thomas Söding, the biblical scholar, synod on synodality participant, and vice president of the influential Central Committee of German Catholics (ZdK). 

In an essay posted Sept. 3 on the Communio website, he made the case for what he called a “European Church assembly.”

“The Catholic Church in Europe needs more synodality,” he wrote. “It needs regular meetings with broad participation. It needs the active participation of bishops, but not just bishops’ meetings: The Catholic Church needs a European Church assembly.”

Where does this idea come from? What are the arguments, pro and contra? And will the proposal gain traction at next month’s session of the synod on synodality? 

The genesis

In his essay, Söding contrasted European and Latin American Catholicism, arguing that Pope Francis’ home continent is far ahead in building a “synodal Church.”

“Latin America and the Caribbean have embarked on a journey from being a continental bishops’ assembly to being a Church assembly in which priests, religious and ‘lay people,’ not least Indigenous people, also have a seat and a voice,” he said.

Söding was likely referring to the first Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Mexico City in November 2021. 

The assembly, organized by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), brought together around a thousand bishops and laity, following a consultation involving an estimated 70,000 people in 20 countries.

The assembly took place just a month after Pope Francis formally launched the global synodal process. It foreshadowed the “synodal continental assemblies” held during the “continental stage” of the global process in 2023.

The European synodal continental assembly, held in Prague, Czech Republic, in February 2023, was “a first step towards bringing Catholic Europe together,” according to Söding. 

The sometimes fraught event gathered bishops and laity from dozens of European countries to discuss the adoption of a “synodal style” in Church life. 

Söding said the assembly’s final text was regarded in Brussels — the center of Europe’s political establishment — “as a remarkable document of European consensus culture [Konsenskultur].”

In August this year, 43 people met in Linz, Austria, to discuss the working document of the October session in Rome. Participants included big hitters such as Italian bishops’ conference president Cardinal Matteo Zuppi and Council of Bishops’ Conferences of Europe (CCEE) president Archbishop Gintaras Grušas. Austrian bishops’ conference president Archbishop Franz Lackner and his Swiss counterpart Bishop Felix Gmür were also present.

Söding noted that this was the only big meeting of European participants ahead of the synod on synodality’s second session. Although the CCEE endorsed the gathering, the initiative was driven by academics: Klara Csiszar from Linz, Myriam Wijlens from Erfurt, Germany, and Christoph Theobald from Paris, France, all “experts” at the synod on synodality.

According to reports on the three-day “workshop” in Linz, two of the six small discussion groups, organized by language, called for a “European ecclesial assembly.”

In his closing statement, Theobald suggested the assembly could draw inspiration from initiatives in Latin America, to establish a structure “in our own European style.”

Pro and contra

Why does the Catholic Church in Europe need a new “synodal” structure? It’s not as if there’s a shortage of continental bodies. 

In addition to the 39-member CCEE, which recently moved its headquarters to Rome, there is the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), based in Brussels. 

Both the CCEE and COMECE are episcopal structures, but what Söding has in mind is a body of bishops and lay people: the Ecclesial Assembly of Europe, if you like.

For Söding, there is currently “no strong platform” where Catholics from sharply contrasting cultures (think Poland and Germany) can come together to discuss their differences.

“There are no forums for fraternal exchange and fair criticism in the spirit of the Gospel,” he wrote.

A European ecclesial assembly could fill this gap. But should the priority be the creation of new structures or simply evangelization, given European Catholicism’s deep erosion by secular forces?

Who would pay for the new structure, which would presumably need a secretariat and funding to stage continent-wide meetings? Where would the money come from when even the Church in Söding’s native Germany is cutting back?

And what could an ecclesial assembly do that other structures can’t? It would only be an advisory body, after all, offering recommendations that Europe’s local Churches might well ignore, given the great cultural variations.

The future

The Linz meeting suggests there is a movement in favor of a European ecclesial assembly. But it’s not clear how big it is.

As Söding observed, the Linz gathering wasn’t fully representative as not all European bishops’ conferences were represented. As the event was organized by synod “experts,” it may be that it is principally lay people, rather than bishops, who are pushing the assembly.

The meeting took place in Austria, so it’s possible the idea resonates more with German-speaking Catholics than with, say, Italians or Lithuanians. It will be interesting to see whether participants such as Cardinal Zuppi or Archbishop Grušas come out in support of the proposal. 

The backing of Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, the Archbishop of Luxembourg and the synod on synodality’s general rapporteur, meanwhile, could propel the idea a long way forward.

One measure of support for a European ecclesial assembly will be whether it appears in any texts issued after next month’s meeting in Rome. 

Even if it does, it would need papal approval and then a possibly long process of elaboration with Vatican officials.

A new continental ecclesial assembly could be presented as one of the tangible outcomes of the synod on synodality — a response to critics who dismiss the global synodal process as a mere talking shop. 

Supporters believe the assembly would help to overcome divisions among Europe’s Catholics. But those very differences mean they may struggle to forge the kind of continent-wide consensus necessary to bring an ecclesial assembly into being.