The Synod on Synodality is over. What does the final document say?

VATICAN CITY — The Synod on Synodality has concluded, and the final document underscores the need for concrete reform in becoming a more inclusive and egalitarian Church—though without enforced changes. 

355 delegates, including lay men and women voting in the Synod of Bishops for the first time ever, approved the text on Saturday before it was signed by Pope Francis. In a shift, the Holy Father opted not to write his own apostolic exhortation to accompany the document, meaning that it will enter the Church’s Magisterium, or authoritative body of teaching, in its own right.

"There are already highly concrete indications in the Document that can be a guide for the mission of the Churches, in their specific continents and contexts," he said during an address after the conclusion of voting.

“In this way, I wish to recognize the value of the synodal journey accomplished, which by means of this Document I hand over to the holy faithful people of God.”

Though released officially only in Italian for now, a working translation of the text was released by the Holy See immediately after its approval by the voting body.

The 52-page text is divided into five parts, covering the need for internal conversion, conversion of relationships, reform in Church processes, and increased cooperation between elements of the global Church and its hierarchy. The final section, which is the shortest, covers a single theme of formation for missionary discipleship.

The document was voted on paragraph by paragraph, a process that constituted the final days of the monthlong series of meetings throughout October, the second such process in the three-year synod process that began in 2021. What began as global surveys and listening sessions was eventually distilled at the diocesan, national, and continental levels before being hashed out in-person at the Vatican by the delegates.

Coming from a wide variety of Church contexts, the assembled group held to a diversity of thought that did give way to universal agreement during their “conversations in the Spirit,” which fostered active listening and discernment. While the general public was not privy to the discussions, it is known that a number of hot-button topics were surfaced both last October and at this month’s session.

In a controversial move, Pope Francis moved to excise several such issues from the discussions this month to send them to independent study groups—including women’s ordination, polygamy, Eastern Catholicism, and papal primacy. However, related conversations persisted and were ultimately some of the most contentious topics addressed in the final synod document.

Paragraph 60, on women in the Church, was the first in either monthlong synod session not to eclipse 80% approval, likely due to its statement that—despite recent Vatican hints to the contrary—there may still be hope for women’s ordination.

“There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church: what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped,” reads the paragraph, which received 97 negative votes—well over a quarter of the delegate total, and more than twice as many nays as any other section.

“Additionally, the question of women's access to diaconal ministry remains open. This discernment needs to continue.”

Other controversial sections included those on the authority of episcopal conferences, which have been noted as a possible conduit of contextualized Catholic practices, or—in more radical blueprints—modified doctrine. Five paragraphs in total that concerned Church decentralization or teaching authority received at least 25 “no” votes.

The most opposed among them, paragraph 125, calls for research on the canonical status of national and regional episcopal conferences, as well as their doctrinal competence, functions, authority, and need for reforms. It received 45 nays.

As with the report approved last fall, the final document declines to refer to LGBTQ+ specifically, though lamenting in paragraph 50 the existence of discrimination against people for their “marital situation, identity or sexuality.” (That section received 22 nays.)

Racial prejudice was included alongside a number of “evils” mentioned in paragraph 54, alongside sexism, caste divisions, ableism, xenophobia, the culture of death, and lack of concern for ecological issues. It was among the least controversial inclusions in the document, receiving more than 98% of the vote.

Roughly two-thirds of the document’s 156 paragraphs received less than 10 “no” votes, indicating a general consensus on most of the document’s contents, which are chiefly concerned with the life of the Church in a swiftly changing and globalized context. Unlike the October 2023 synthesis report, several paragraphs this year received unanimous approval and 37 had two or fewer nays.

Building upon the Church’s previous synodal foundations is a recurring theme in the new document, which repeatedly references the documents of the Second Vatican Council.

“The daily life of believers, the experience of the Churches in every people and culture, the many testimonies of holiness, and the reflection of theologians represented the soil upon which [Vatican II] has sprouted and grown,” reads paragraph 5.

“The Synod 2021-2024 continues to draw upon the energy of that seed and develop its potential. The synodal journey is indeed putting into practice what the Council taught about the Church as Mystery and Church as People of God, called to holiness through continual conversion that comes from listening to the Gospel.”

Per reports from synod delegates, the collegiality of the group this year—which featured only slight changes in personnel—benefited from increased familiarity after a year of interactions, in person and in the interim year between synod sessions. The fruit of their labor in the final document represents what Pope Francis calls “a gift to all the faithful people of God.”

Though the document has entered the Magisterium, it does not present new doctrine nor does it have any binding authority on the Church worldwide. As of now, the implementation of its recommendations will be at the discretion of local bishops and, reflecting the nature of the new-look synod, the people of God at large.

“It is obvious that not everyone will set out to read [the final document],” Pope Francis told the delegates on Saturday. 

“It will largely fall to you, together with many others, to make what it contains accessible in the local Churches. The text, without the witness of lived experience, would lose much of its value.”

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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