The Synod of Bishops – what is it?
The Synod of Bishops was established by Paul VI towards the close of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, at its 128th General Assembly on 15 September 1965, in response to the desire of the Council Fathers ‘to keep alive the positive spirit engendered by the conciliar experience’.Footnote 2 Before the Council, the establishment of Bishops’ Conferences and the use of particular councils was part of the desire to connect decision-making at a universal levelFootnote 3 and the tensions between universal and particular, and between primatial and collegial governance can be seen in them. A Synod of Bishops for the Universal Church was proposed by Cardinal Silvio Oddi on 5 November 1959 as a ‘consultative body’:
From many parts of the world there come complaints that the Church does not have a permanent consultative body, apart from the Roman congregations. Therefore, a kind of ‘Council in miniature’ should be established and include persons from the Church worldwide who would meet periodically, even once a year, to discuss major concerns and to suggest possible new paths in the workings of the Church. This body would extend over the whole Church as the episcopal conferences bring together all or part of the hierarchy of a country or countries.Footnote 4
Shortly after, on 15 December 1959, Cardinal Johannes Alfrink, Archbishop of Utrecht, expanded the concept of the Synod of Bishops from the consultative body, the emphasis of which was advising the Roman Pontiff as Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church, to a collegial body which represented in some way the Bishops, the College of Bishops being of divine origin and therefore the subject of supreme authority in, of and over the Universal Church:
In clear terms the Council proclaims that the government of the Universal Church is by right exercised by the College of Bishops with the Pope as its head. From here it follows that, in one sense, the care of the universal Church is the responsibility of every bishop taken singularly, and also, in another sense, that all bishops participate in the governing of the Church worldwide. This can be done not only in calling an ecumenical council, but also in the creation of new institutions. Perhaps some permanent council of specialised bishops, chosen from the Church, could be given the charge of a legislative function in union with the Supreme Pontiff and the cardinals of the Roman Curia. The Roman Congregations would then maintain only a consultative and executive power.Footnote 5
In other words, a Synod of Bishops was to take on legislative functions with the Roman Pontiff to recognise that the Bishops themselves have the supreme authority given to them by Christ. While still Archbishop of Milan, Giovanni Montini (Paul VI) spoke of ‘ongoing collaboration of the episcopate that is not yet in effect, which would remain personal and unitive, but given the responsibility of governing the whole Church’. After his election to the supreme pontificate, he kept returning to the concept of collaboration within the College of Bishops, namely, the bishops as the successors of the Apostles in union sub et cum Petro, the Roman Pontiff as the successor of St Peter – in a talk he gave to the Roman Curia (21 September 1963), at the opening of the Second Session of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (29 September 1963) and again at its closing (4 December 1963).Footnote 6
This tension between consultation and collegiality can be seen in Paul VI’s allocution on 14 September 1965 in which he announced the establishment of the Synod of Bishops, and saw it in terms of cooperation, or collaboration, between the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him:
We intend to give you some institution, called for by this Council, a Synod of Bishops, which will be made up of Bishops nominated for the most part by the episcopal conferences with our approval and called by the Pope according to the needs of the Church, for his consultation and collaboration, when for the well-being of the Church it might seem to him opportune. It goes without saying that this collaboration of the episcopate ought to bring the greatest joy to the Holy See and to the whole Church. In a particular way it will serve a useful purpose in the daily work of the Roman Curia, to which we owe so much recognition for its most valuable help, and for which, as bishops in their diocese. We also have permanent need in Our apostolic concerns.Footnote 7
It can also be seen in the Magisterium of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, 21 November, which has been ‘canonised’ in the current Code of Canon Law, which declares in c 330:
Just as by the Lord’s decision Saint Peter and the other Apostles constitute one college, so in a like manner the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, and the Bishops, the successors of the Apostles, are united among themselves.
While the Bishop of Rome, in whom the office of Supreme Pastor of the Universal Church enjoys ‘supreme, full, immediate, and universal ordinary power in the Church, which he is always able to exercise freely’ (c 331), the College of Bishops’ possession of the same supreme authority has been a bit more nebulous (c 336):
The College of Bishops, whose head is the Supreme Pontiff and whose members are Bishops by virtue of sacramental consecration and hierarchical communion with the head and members of the college and in which the apostolic body continues, together with its head and never without this head, is also the subject of supreme and full power over the universal Church.
The use of ‘is also’ (quoque) is more than just a grammatical point – the College of Bishops is both subject to the Roman Pontiff and equal to the Roman Pontiff in being the subject of this same supreme power over the Universal Church, which is of the divine law. How this is practically expressed is where the difficulties lie – the Second Vatican Council was one of the largest meetings of physical persons in history, but the likeliness of it being repeated, or able to be repeated in that form is remote, although new technology has made more possibilities possible. While the College of Bishops exercises power over the Universal Church in a solemn manner in an ecumenical council, it can also exercise ‘the same power through the united action of the bishops dispersed in the world, which the Roman Pontiff has publicly declared or freely accepted as such so that it becomes a true collegial act’ (c 337, §2), but no one really knows what that means – yet.
It seems that the Synod of Bishops straddles this tension between consultation proposed by Cardinal Oddi and the collegiality proposed by Cardinal Frinks and comes together in the cooperation proposed by Cardinal Montini – in the words of c 343:
It is for the synod of bishops to discuss the questions for consideration and express its wishes but not to resolve them or issue decrees about them unless in certain cases the Roman Pontiff has endowed it with deliberative power, in which case he ratifies the decisions of the synod.
It has reminded an advisory body since, and the canons concerning the Synod of Bishops comes Chapter II of Section I, the Supreme Authority in the Church, before those canons concerning the Cardinals of Holy Roman Church (Chapter III), the Roman Curia (Chapter IV) and papal legates (Chapter V). The Synod is defined by canon 342 as:
A group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet together at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world.
The Synod is under the authority of the Roman Pontiff and can meet in ordinary general assemblies, of which there have been sixteen so far and which meet in Rome every three or four years or so, and also extraordinary general assemblies, of which there have been three so far, both of which discuss matters that directly pertain to the good of the Universal Church, and special assemblies, which discuss matters that concern a given area of the world, both of which are summoned by the Roman Pontiff. Ordinary and special assemblies are followed by a post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation.
The XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for a Synodal Church – communion, participation and mission
The XVI Ordinary General Assembly met between 4 October 2023 and 27 October 2024 and was called the ‘Synod on Synodality’. It met in two sessions, in Rome, in accordance with the Apostolic Constitution Episcopalis communio, promulgated on 15 September 2018 by Pope Francis, and which implements his vision of episcopal communion, consultation and cooperation.
He states that all Bishops are appointed ‘for the service of the holy People of God, to whom they themselves belong through the sacrament of Baptism’: the bishops are not above their siblings in Baptism, but come from among them, to govern by serving. This aspect of service to the People of God comes out in the Pope’s emphasis on the importance of listening:
Similarly, the Synod of Bishops must increasingly become a privileged instrument for listening to the People of God: ‘For the Synod Fathers we ask the Holy Spirit first of all for the gift of listening: to listen to God, that with him we may hear the cry of the people; to listen to the people until breathing in the desire to which God calls us’.
Although structurally it is essentially configured as an episcopal body, this does not mean that the Synod exists separately from the rest of the faithful. On the contrary, it is a suitable instrument to give voice to the entire People of God, specifically via the Bishops, established by God as ‘authentic guardians, interpreters and witnesses of the faith of the whole Church’, demonstrating, from one Assembly to another, that it is an eloquent expression of synodality as a ‘constitutive element of the Church.Footnote 8
The mutual indwelling of the Universal Church and the particular Churches, ‘in which and from which the one and only Catholic Church exists’ (c 368) is expressed in this listening and consultation, so that consultation is an expression of communion:
The history of the Church bears ample witness to the importance of consultation for ascertaining the views of the Bishops and the faithful in matters pertaining to the good of the Church. Hence, even in the preparation of Synodal Assemblies, it is very important that consultation of all the particular Churches be given special attention. In this initial phase, following the indications of the General Secretariat of the Synod, the Bishops submit the questions to be explored in the Synodal Assembly to the priests, deacons and lay faithful of their Churches, both individually and in associations, without overlooking the valuable contribution that consecrated men and women can offer. Above all, the contribution of the local Church’s participatory bodies, especially the Presbyteral Council and the Pastoral Council, can prove fundamental, and from here ‘a synodal Church can begin to emerge’.Footnote 9
This strikes me as getting to the heart of what synodality actually is, with ‘a synodal Church’ emerging from this interplay between the Universal and particular Churches. As such, this consultation is more than just a formal exercise, but a material expression of the communion of the particular Churches in the Universal Church, by the participation of the particular Churches in the Universal Church so that the mission of the Universal Church can be better expressed in the particular Churches. This participation was expressed in the preparatory phases, which involved dioceses, parishes and other organisations throughout the Catholic Church, but also in the Assembly itself. The Constitution says that members of the Synod of Bishops are those listed in canon 346, but goes on to say, in article 2, §2:
According to the theme and the circumstances, certain others who are not Bishops may be summoned to the Synod Assembly; their role is determined in each case by the Roman Pontiff.
This can be seen in dramatic effect at the first session of the current ordinary general assembly, in which participants could be seen in the Paul VI Audience Hall sitting around round tables rather in the rows of seats previous Synod members sat in the synod hall. The Synod was attended by non-Bishops, ordained and lay, from throughout the Church, and from siblings of other Churches and ecclesial communities sitting together, around round tables, at which everyone can see everyone and hear everyone to listen to each other, and to bring to the synodal assembly the joys and hopes, the griefs and sorrows of their siblings, fellow Christians and others, so that the voice of the periphery could be heard at the heart of the Universal Church.
The set-piece addresses, in which Synod Fathers read pre-prepared talks in the Synodal Assembly, have been replaced by a consultation which, by expressing communion within the particular Churches and Universal Church, enables the whole People of God, including the Sacred Pastors, to listen more attentively to the Holy Spirit who breathes through the infallible People of God:
Hence the Bishop is both teacher and disciple. He is a teacher when, endowed with the special assistance of the Holy Spirit, he proclaims to the faithful the word of truth in the name of Christ, head and shepherd. But he is a disciple when, knowing that the Spirit has been bestowed upon every baptized person, he listens to the voice of Christ speaking through the entire People of God, making it ‘infallible in credendo’. Indeed, the universal body made up of the faithful, whom the Holy One has anointed, is incapable of erring in belief. This is a property which belongs to the people as a whole; a supernatural sense of faith is the means by which they make this property manifest, when ‘from Bishops to the last of the lay faithful, they show universal agreement in matters of faith and morals’. So the Bishop is called to lead his flock by ‘walking in front of them, showing them the way, showing them the path; walking in their midst, to strengthen them in unity; walking behind them, to make sure no one gets left behind but especially, never to lose the scent of the People of God in order to find new roads’. A Bishop who lives among his faithful has his ears open to listen to ‘what the Spirit says to the churches’, and to the ‘voice of the sheep’, also through those diocesan institutions whose task it is to advise the Bishop, promoting a loyal and constructive dialogue.Footnote 10
Where do we go from here?
The Synod of Bishop is not an optional extra, but is described by Francis is a ‘constitutive element of the Church’, and maybe this is leading to a way of expressing what the Code of Canon Law refers to as the same power through the united action of the bishops dispersed in the world, which the Roman Pontiff has publicly declared or freely accepted as such so that it becomes a true collegial act’ (c 337, §2) with its emphasis on preparation and implementation:
The diocesan or eparchial Bishops see to the reception and implementation of the conclusions of the Synod Assembly, once they have been accepted by the Roman Pontiff, with the help of the participatory bodies provided for by law.
The Synods of Bishops of the Patriarchal Churches and Major Archbishoprics, the Councils of Hierarchs and the Assemblies of Hierarchs of the Churches sui iuris and the Episcopal Conferences coordinate the implementation of the aforementioned conclusions in their territory, and to this end they may set up common initiatives.
For the Synod to be implemented in particular Churches, dioceses, and from there in local Churches and parishes, it will require Bishops and parish priests to implement it. In my parish, we have begun to implement it, with the Parish Pastoral Council and parish meetings discussing the matters at hand in a synodal way, with round tables and conversations in the spirit. It is a different way of doing things, in which the Parish Pastoral Council, mandatory by particular law in the Diocese of Nottingham but always being implemented, is seen as constitutive, collegial, consultative and cooperational. It is this interplay between the Universal, particular and local Church which will ensure that the Church continues on a synodal path.
The Church of England has been described as ‘episcopally led and synodically governed’.Footnote 11 While the two communions may share the fundamental concept of synodality as being exercises in discernment and decision-making at a universal, national, provincial, particular and local level, with the tensions and possibilities which this implies and necessitates, the Synod of Bishops is not a deliberative assembly, but a discerning assembly. At the Eucharistic Celebration with which Francis opened the first session of the current assembly, he was at pains to stress that it was not a parliament:
This is the fundamental question. And this is the primary task of the Synod: to refocus our gaze on God, to be a Church that looks mercifully at humanity. A Church that is united and fraternal – or at least seeks to be united and fraternal – that listens and dialogues; a Church that blesses and encourages, that helps those who seek the Lord, that lovingly stirs up the indifferent, that opens paths in order to draw people into the beauty of faith. A Church that has God at its centre and, therefore, is not divided internally and is never harsh externally. A Church that takes a risk in following Jesus. This is how Jesus wants the Church, his Bride, to be.Footnote 12
So maybe we can see the Catholic Church as synodally led and episcopally governed, with a broader concept of leadership and governance, rooted possibly in Francis’ own vocational journey as Christian, Jesuit, superior, Bishop and Roman Pontiff, in which discernment is not the preserve of the few, for all have a part to play, and all must play their part.
Acknowledgements
This article is based on a paper delivered to the Twenty-Third Colloquium of Anglican and Roman Catholic Canon Lawyers, ‘Canon Law and Synodality’, meeting at the Pontifical University of St Thomas of Aquinas, The Angelicum, Rome, 24–27 September 2024. A version of this article was originally published in edition 206 of the Newsletter of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland and is published here with the permission of the Canon Law Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
