Synod: Pope Leo XIV establishes reflection group on liturgy

The second group will work on “the statute of episcopal conferences, ecclesial assemblies and particular councils.”

The Synod on Synodality is a major process launched by Pope Francis in 2021. It addressed a wide range of topics concerning the life of the Church. Given the variety of issues raised, the Argentine pope decided in March 2024 to create 10 study groups. The aim was to examine in greater depth certain sensitive issues that had emerged during the Synod.

Composed of about 10 people, these groups are reflecting on topics such as shared governance, the role of bishops, seminary reform, and women's access to the diaconate. Initially, the ten groups were to submit their reports in June 2025, but the date was postponed by Leo XIV to December.

Pope Leo also accepted the Synod Secretariat's request to create two new groups.

The first of these groups will work on “the liturgy in a synodal perspective”; the second on “the statute of episcopal conferences, ecclesial assemblies, and particular councils.” The list of members of these two groups has not yet been made public.

The final document published at the end of the last synodal assembly last October — a text voted on by the participants and ratified by Pope Francis — explicitly requested the creation of the first group dedicated to liturgy. The document emphasized the necessary articulation between the “unity of the sacramental mystery and the variety of liturgical traditions” and called for “deepening the link between liturgy and synodality.”

Article 27 of the document, which addressed this theme, was among those that received the fewest votes (43 voted against it, out of 356 votes). In particular, it mentions the possibility for lay people—especially women—to preach at Mass. To date, canon law reserves the preaching of homilies to members of the clergy (bishops, priests, or deacons). The document also calls for greater participation of women in the liturgy.

The creation of this group comes at a time of strong tensions within the Catholic Church over liturgical issues, which were particularly acute during the pontificate of Francis. In 2021, the publication of the motu proprio Traditionis custodes greatly restricted the possibility of celebrating Mass according to the pre-conciliar rite, breaking with the liberalization decided by Benedict XVI in 2007 (Summorum Pontificum).

In recent weeks, the debate has resurfaced after the Holy See criticized an article claiming that the majority of bishops consulted before the publication of Traditionis custodes had opposed reform. According to a Vatican source, this issue “could be raised,” but it is not the “main focus” of the group's agenda, which is more concentrated on the need to propose a “more synodal” liturgy.

Group 12 will dedicate itself to the “statute of episcopal conferences, ecclesial assemblies, and particular councils.” As such, it has the task of reflecting on the place of these numerous “intermediate bodies” of the Church, which have been particularly called upon since the launch of the synodal process in 2021. The issue will be addressed primarily from a canonical perspective.

“The place of episcopal conferences in relation to dioceses has been a very important issue within the Church for decades,” says a Vatican source. According to the source, the doctrinal authority of these institutions was at the heart of discussions during the synodal assemblies of 2023 and 2024. The goal, the source said, is to allow for “a better inculturation of the faith,” meaning adapting the way the faith is communicated to the cultural context.

As with the liturgy, Article 125 of the final document on the doctrinal authority of episcopal conferences was one of those that met with the most resistance from the 356 participants (45 against).