An unprecedented global canvassing of Catholics has called for the church to take concrete steps to promote women to decision-making roles, for a “radical inclusion” of the LGBTQ+ community and for new accountability measures to check how bishops exercise authority.
The Vatican on Tuesday released the synthesis of a two-year consultation process, publishing a working document that will form the basis of discussion for a big meeting of bishops and laypeople in October. The synod, as it is known, is a key priority of Pope Francis, reflecting his vision of a church that is more about the faithful rank-and-file than its priests.
Already Francis has made his mark on the synod, letting lay people and in particular women have a vote alongside bishops. That reform is a concrete step toward what he calls “synodality,” a new way of being a church that envisions more co-responsibility in the key mission of spreading the Catholic faith.
The document highlights key concerns that emerged during the consultation process, which began at the local parish level and concluded with seven continent-wide assemblies. It flagged in particular the devastating impact that clergy sexual abuse crisis has had on the faithful, costing the hierarchy its credibility and sparking calls for structural changes to remove their near-absolute power.
The synthesis found a “unanimous” and “crucial” call for women to be allowed to access positions of responsibility and governance. Without raising the prospect of women’s ordination to the priesthood, it asked whether new ministries could be created, including the diaconate – a reflection of a yearslong call by some women to be ordained deacons in the church.
The document noted that “most” of the continent-wide assemblies and several bishops conferences called for the diaconate question to be considered by the synod.
The document also asked what concrete steps the church can take to better welcome LGBTQ+ people and others who have felt marginalized and unrecognized by the church so that they don’t feel judged.
Perhaps most significantly, the document used the terminology “LGBT+ persons” rather than the Vatican’s traditional “persons with homosexual tendencies,” suggesting a level of acceptance that Francis ushered in a decade ago with his famous “Who am I to judge” comment.
“There is a profound need to imitate the Lord and Master in the ability to live out a seeming paradox: ‘boldly proclaiming its authentic teaching while at the same time offering a witness of radical inclusion and acceptance,’” it said.
Unlike past working documents, the synthesis doesn’t stake out firm points, but rather poses a series of questions for further discussion and discernment by the synod itself, which will be unique because laypeople and bishops will be on equal footing, with each granted the right to vote.
The synod process continues in 2024 with the second phase, after which Francis is expected to issue a concluding document considering the proposals that have been put to him by the assemblies.
