Synod’s final document is 155 paragraphs: Proposals and key themes

After three years of reflection, the Synod on Synodality came to an end on the evening of October 26, 2024, as the 356 members of the assembly gathered to vote on a final document.

In an unexpected act, Pope Francis immediately approved this document, saying that he would not release a postsynodal apostolic exhortation, which is the type of papal document that usually follows a synod. This text thus immediately falls within the Pope's magisterium. However, he did specify that it was non-normative.

The document, made up of 155 paragraphs, contains numerous suggestions and proposals. The question of the place and role of women in the Church, much debated throughout the past years of work, is very present.

The specific issue concerning women deacons, which the Pope had left out of this last session, resurfaces in one paragraph, showing the determination of some members to ensure this reflection does not get lost. 

Beyond the singular proposals - such as holding a Synod for the Middle East, considering whether lay people could be the witnesses for marriages, or reflecting on a ministry of listening - this Synod lays the foundations for a greater emphasis on the role of laity.

It confirms the desire to see lay people take on greater responsibilities in the governance of parishes and dioceses. The document also makes numerous pleas for the establishment of a culture of transparency in the Church, in order to combat clericalism and all kinds of abuses. 

I.MEDIA takes a closer look at the main trends and directions that the document proposes. 

A highly sensitive topic since the beginning of the Synod on Synodality, the question of allowing women to be ordained as deacons was not met with unanimous approval at the assembly. Paragraph 60 of the final document provoked the most resistance: 97 people expressed their opposition during the vote.

The passage states that “the question of women's access to diaconal ministry remains open.” According to I.MEDIA’s sources, this reference was not present in the draft of the document and was therefore added with the amendments filed this week by Synod members. “Discernment needs to continue” on this issue, the document states. 

This question had been excluded from the assembly's debates; the Pope had entrusted the Synod's most sensitive themes to 10 working groups, which will deliver their conclusions in June 2025, and the female diaconate was among these.

“There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church,” the text does state. “Women continue to encounter obstacles in obtaining a fuller recognition of their charisms, vocation, and roles in all the various areas of the Church’s life.”

Concerning permanent deacons, a ministry reserved for men, the document calls for this role to be deepened and promoted in regions where it is still not well known.

To encourage “increased participation of laymen and laywomen in Church discernment processes and all phases of decision-making processes (drafting, making and confirming decisions),” the Synod calls for “participatory bodies” in the Church to be made “mandatory” (point 104).

These are provided for in Canon Law and include organs such as the Diocesan Pastoral Council, the Parish Pastoral Council, or Councils for Economic Affairs. The mandatory nature of this measure could change the governance of many local Churches, even though many, particularly in the West, already feature these kinds of structures. 

“A missionary synodal Church would encourage more forms of lay ministries, that is, ministries that do not require the sacrament of Holy Orders,” the document urges in paragraph 66.

These ministries could include that of lector and acolyte (respectively, one who reads and one who helps the priest during mass), which were recently opened also to women, and that of catechist, which Pope Francis officially created in 2021.

Pastors are urged “to respond with creativity and courage to the needs of the mission” and “not only within the liturgical sphere.” 

Among the new ministries studied by the assembly during this month of discussions was that of a “listening and accompaniment” ministry. In the final document, this proposal was not unanimously endorsed. Some objected, for example, saying that this is “the task of all the baptized.” Others suggested that this ministry “should be particularly aimed at welcoming those who are on the margins of the Church community, those who return after having drifted away and those who are searching for the truth and wish to be helped to meet the Lord.” The members explain that more discernment is needed on this subject (paragraph 78). 

Still in line with this discussion regarding different ministries, the assembly wrote that “consideration should be given to extending and stabilizing” the possibility of allowing lay people to celebrate baptisms and marriages (paragraph 76). Currently this is permitted as an exception under certain specific conditions. (In the West, the sacrament of marriage is understood to be conferred by the couple itself, with the priest acting as witness.)

The Synod members called for the creation of a new study group to evaluate the link between “liturgy and synodality” in order “to adopt celebratory styles that make visible the face of a synodal Church.” This group “could also consider the topic of preaching within liturgical celebrations,” the text says in paragraph 27. This passage was one of the least unanimous during the vote. 

The question of allowing lay people to preach during Mass was on the agenda for this month's discussions in Rome. Although there was no consensus, in making this request the members of the Synod seem to wish to pursue their reflection. Today, canon law reserves the right to preach homilies to members of the clergy (bishops, priests, or deacons). 

The document calls for a thorough review of seminary formation, so as to prepare candidates for the priesthood in “a synodal way” (paragraph 148). “There should be a significant presence of women,” states the paragraph, which drew 40 votes against. 

The document mentions the importance of “formation to enable collaboration with everyone in the Church,” and also invites the implementation of a form of co-education and responsibility (between men and women, and between different states of life) in theological studies, including for those studying to be priests. “Formation must consequently engage all the dimensions of the human person (intellectual, affective, relational and spiritual),” the document insists. 

The text insists on the singular place of the Pope, recalling that in the Gospels, Peter played “a particular role” with Jesus, notably in the story of the miraculous catch of fish (paragraph 109). 

“The synodal process has also revisited the question of the ways in which the Bishop of Rome exercises his ministry,” the document writes. “As the Successor of Peter, he has a unique role in safeguarding the deposit of faith and of morals, ensuring that synodal processes are geared towards unity and witness (paragraph 131).”

The question of subsidiarity is also addressed: “one could initiate a theological and canonical study whose task would be to identify those matters that should be addressed to the Pope (reservatio papalis) and those that could be addressed to the bishops in their Churches or groupings of Churches.” 

The synod participants also called for further reflection on “the theological and juridical statute,” and for clarification on “the doctrinal and disciplinary competence,” of episcopal conferences (paragraph 125). 

The document also encourages “a process of assessment” of the “concrete” relationship between the Roman Curia and the local episcopates to evaluate if there are reforms to be implemented. The synod members suggests that these themes be put on the agenda of forthcoming ad limina visits, which are the visits that all the world's bishops are supposed to make to Rome once every five years. 

The document also calls for a greater clarification on the “theological and canonical status” of continental conferences and continental ecclesial assemblies, which include laypeople. The participants ask for these bodies to be enhanced in light of the “legacy” they left with the positive experiences of the synodal process. 

The participants also called for the revival of “particular councils” which they saw as a tool for “sound decentralization” (paragraph 129). The Catholic Church in Australia conducted such an experiment from 2018 to 2022, in the context of the abuse crisis.

The members of the Synod were keen to highlight the value of consultative assemblies. In paragraph 92, one of the most contested during the voting for the final document, it states that when such assemblies produce correct discernment, they should not be ignored by episcopal authority.

While recognizing that the bishop retains decision-making power, they call for a revision of canon law to give greater prominence to the “deliberative” and not merely consultative aspect of such bodies. 

“It is important to help the faithful to avoid excessive and unrealistic expectations of the bishop, remembering that he too is a fragile brother, exposed to temptation, in need of help like everyone else,” the Synod document emphasized in paragraph 71. “An idealized image of the ministry of the bishop can be a hindrance to the sometimes fragile nature of his ministry. On the other hand, his ministry is greatly enhanced when, in a truly synodal Church, it is supported by the active participation of all the People of God.”

More broadly, the Synod calls for “a more courageous discernment of what properly belongs to the ordained ministry and what can and must be delegated to others” (paragraph 74). This division of tasks and responsibilities will help combat abuse in all forms such as “sexual or economic” or “of conscience and of power, by ministers of the Church.” 

The document repeatedly uses the expression “exchange of gifts,” to encourage local churches to support each other according to their strengths and weaknesses. In particular, the text welcomes new forms of ecclesial cooperation that are emerging “within large transnational and intercultural geographical areas such as the Amazon, the Congo River basin, and the Mediterranean Sea.” 

Nevertheless, the various forms of support need to be better framed, particularly in regards to the movement of priests. “Priests who help Churches experiencing shortages of clergy not only be a functional remedy but a resource for the growth of the Church that sends them and that which receives them,” the document underlines. “Similarly, it is important to ensure that economic aid does not degenerate into welfarism, but promotes evangelical solidarity and is managed in a transparent and reliable way” (paragraph 121). 

On several occasions, the final document refers to the “scandal” of abuses committed within the Catholic Church. In response, the members of the Synod insist on a culture of safeguarding, so that the Church can always be a safe place for minors and vulnerable people (paragraph 150).

Acknowledging the efforts made in the fight against abuse, the Synod participants call for the Church to continue in this path, and in particular for compulsory training for all those working with minors and vulnerable people in the Church. At the local level, the document also calls for annual reports to be drawn up on safeguarding initiatives.

Transparent governance should help combat clerical culture, the Synod members explain in the text. “Transparency and accountability should not only be invoked when it comes to sexual, financial and other forms of abuse. These practices also concern the lifestyle of pastors, pastoral planning, methods of evangelization, and the way in which the Church respects human dignity, for example, in regard to the working conditions within its institutions,” reads paragraph 98 of the final document.

Further on, the text insists on the involvement of “competent members” in the pastoral and economic planning of local Churches. In regards to creating a culture of accountability, the Synod assembly insists on the production of annual reports, particularly on financial matters. 

Synod members plan to evaluate the “progress made in terms of synodality and the participation of all the baptized in the life of the Church.” The final document advises Episcopal Conferences to identify people capable of accompanying this movement, in liaison with the Synod's general secretariat in Rome. More broadly, they recommend that procedures be put in place for “periodic evaluations of all the ministries and roles within the Church.” 

“The [Synod] Assembly proposes that the Holy Father convene a Special Synod to promote the consolidation and re-flourishing of the Eastern Catholic Churches,” the document states in paragraph 133. In 2010, Pope Benedict XVI had already convened a synod for the Middle East, but the situation of these Churches has changed considerably after more than a decade of major crises in the region.

The final document also proposes to establish a “Council of Patriarchs, Major Archbishops and Metropolitans of the Eastern Catholic Churches presided over by the Pope.”

Finally, the document calls for the creation of instruments to aid collaboration between Latin and Eastern Churches, especially concerning Eastern Catholics exiled in countries of Latin tradition. This would help protect their traditions and foster the “exchange of gifts.” 

The text also calls for the creation of a “Church-based research center on disability” in paragraph 63. The Synod members strongly condemns all discrimination against disabled people, and calls for them to be valued as “active agents of evangelization.” 

“We acknowledge [people with disabilities’] experiences of suffering, marginalization, and discrimination, sometimes suffered even within the Christian community itself due to attempts at showing compassion that can be paternalistic,” the text explains.