The role of the bishop in the synodal process

Letter of Cardinals Grech and Hollerich to the Bishops of the World

Vatican City, 30 January 2023

On the eve of the celebration of the Continental Assemblies, it is with a letter addressed to all the eparchial bishops of the Eastern Catholic Churches and diocesan bishops around the world that the Secretary General of the Synod, Cardinal Mario Grech, and the General Relator of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, address the topic of the bishop’s role in the ongoing synodal process.

Recalling the process-oriented nature of the Synod on Synodality convened by Pope Francis, the two cardinals recall the responsibility of Pastors, “the principle and foundation of unity of the holy People of God” (LG 23), with respect to the synodal process.

In fact, write the two cardinals, “there is no exercise of ecclesial synodality without the exercise of episcopal collegiality,” testifying to how these two ‘dimensions’ of the Church’s life are not in opposition, but that one cannot exist without the other.
To avoid any misunderstanding, the letter then strongly reiterates the primary theme – that of synodality – chosen by Pope Francis for the work of the synodal assembly of bishops next October. “There are in fact some who presume to already know what the conclusions of the Synodal Assembly will be. Others would like to impose an agenda on the Synod, with the intention of steering the discussion and determining its outcome. However, the theme that the Pope has assigned to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is clear: ‘For a Synodal Church: communion, participation, mission’. This is therefore the sole theme that we are called to explore in each of the stages within the process. The expectations for Synod 2021-2024 are many and varied, but it is not the task of the Assembly to address all the issues being debated in the Church”.

On the eve of the continental Synod Assemblies, the letter then dwells on the primary goal of these assemblies: to grow in the synodal style of being Church. “The more we grow in a synodal style of Church, the more all of us as members of the People of God — faithful and Pastors — will learn to feel cum Ecclesia, in fidelity to the Word of God and Tradition. Besides, how could we address pointed questions, often divisive, without first answering the great question that has been challenging the Church since the Second Vatican Council: “Church, what do you say of yourself?”.

The full letter is attached and available in Italian (original) – English – French – German – Portuguese – Spanish.

Letter in English

SECRETARIA GENERALIS
SYNODI
Via della Conciliazione, 34 – 00120 Città del Vaticano
Tel.: (+39) 06 698.84324/84821 – Fax: (+39) 06 698.83392
E-mail: synodus@synod.va – https://www.synod.va
Vatican, 26 January 2023
Prot. No. 230028

Dear Brothers,
As you know, at the conclusion of the consultation stage “in the particular Churches”, the
Synod 2021-2024 process foresees the celebration of Continental Assemblies. It is in view of this
Continental stage that we address all of you, who, in your particular Churches, are the principle and
foundation of unity of the holy People of God (cf. LG 23). We do so in the name of our common
responsibility for the ongoing synodal process as Bishops of the Church of Christ: there is no exercise
of ecclesial synodality without exercise of episcopal collegiality.
The apostolic constitution Episcopalis communio reminds us that “each Bishop possesses
simultaneously and inseparably responsibility for the particular Church assigned to his pastoral care
and solicitude for the universal Church” (EC, n. 2). To enable the exercise of the latter has been the
raison d’être of the Synod of Bishops since its inception. With great foresight, in his own founding
document, Apostolica Sollicitudo, St Paul VI states that the Synod “like all human institutions, can
be improved upon with the passing of time”. This is what we are experiencing now: Episcopalis
communio, far from weakening an episcopal institution, in highlighting the process-oriented nature
of the Synod, makes the role of Pastors and their participation in the various stages even more crucial.
Thank you therefore for all that each of you has already contributed to the service of Synod 2021-
2024, by allowing the consultation of the People of God in the particular Churches and discernment
carried out within the Synods/Councils of the Churches sui iuris and the Bishops’ Conferences.
On the eve of the Continental Assemblies, we feel the urgency to share a few considerations
for a common understanding of the synodal process, its progress and the meaning of the current
Continental stage. There are in fact some who presume to already know what the conclusions of the
Synodal Assembly will be. Others would like to impose an agenda on the Synod, with the intention
of steering the discussion and determining its outcome. However, the theme that the Pope has
assigned to the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops is clear: “For a Synodal
Church: communion, participation, mission”. This is therefore the sole theme that we are called to
explore in each of the stages within the process. The expectations for Synod 2021-2024 are many and
varied, but it is not the task of the Assembly to address all the issues being debated in the Church.

TO DIOCESAN BISHOPS
TO EPARCHIAL BISHOPS
2
Those who claim to impose any one theme on the Synod forget the logic that governs the
synod process: we are called to chart a “common course” beginning with the contribution of all. It is
perhaps superfluous to recall that the apostolic constitution Episcopalis communio transformed the
Synod from an event into a process, articulated in stages. This means that it is since its solemn
opening, on 10 October 2021 in St. Peter’s, the Synod has been addressing and developing the given
theme, first in the stage of consultation of the People of God, then in the discernment of the Pastors
in the Synods/Councils of the Churches sui iuris, in the Bishops’ Conferences, and now in the
Continental Assemblies. It is precisely because of the intrinsic relationship between the different
phases that other themes cannot be surreptitiously introduced, thereby exploiting the Assembly and
disregarding the consultation of the People of God.
It is understandable that, in the first phase of listening, the scope or margins of the theme were
not clearly defined, given the novelty of the method and the difficulty in understanding and
recognising that the entire “holy People of God share also in Christ’s prophetic office” (LG, n. 12).
However, this lack of clarity has diminished in the subsequent steps, as evidenced by the tenor of the
syntheses sent by the Synods/Councils of the Churches sui iuris and the Episcopal Conferences to the
Secretariat of the Synod. It is important to remember that these syntheses are the result of the
discernment of the Pastors regarding the contributions made during the consultation of the People of
God. From these syntheses, the Working Document for the Continental Stage (DCS), in which the
voice of the particular Churches clearly resounds, was drafted.
The decision to restore the DCS to the particular Churches, asking that each one listen to the
voice of the others (a listening which resounds throughout the DCS, thus rereading the stages of the
synodal process at a level of greater awareness), truly manifests that the only rule we have given
ourselves is to constantly listen to the Spirit: “A synodal Church is a Church which listens […] The
faithful people, the college of bishops, the Bishop of Rome: all listening to each other, and all listening
to the Holy Spirit” (Francis, Address for the Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the institution
of the Synod of Bishops, 2015).
The themes that the DCS proposes do not constitute the agenda of the next Assembly of the
Synod of Bishops, but faithfully return what emerges from the syntheses sent by the Synods/Councils
of the Churches sui iuris and by the Bishops’ Conferences, providing a glimpse of the face of a Church
that is learning to listen to the Spirit through listening to one another. It will be the task of the
Continental Assemblies, based on the resonances elicited in each particular Church through its
reading of the DCS, to identify “the priorities, recurring themes and calls to action that can be shared
with other local Churches around the world and discussed during the First Session of the Synodal
Assembly in October 2023” (DCS, n. 106).
This is why we trust that in the Continental Assemblies the voice of the particular Churches
will resound again with even greater strength, through the synthesis carried out by the
Synods/Councils of the Churches sui iuris and by the National Episcopal Conferences. The more we
grow in a synodal style of Church, the more all of us as members of the People of God — faithful
and Pastors — will learn to feel cum Ecclesia, in fidelity to the Word of God and Tradition. Besides,
how could we address pointed questions, often divisive, without first answering the great question
that has been challenging the Church since the Second Vatican Council: “Church, what do you say
of yourself?”. The Council’s long journey of reception leads us to affirm that the answer is in the
Church that is “constitutively synodal”, where all are called to exercise their ecclesial charism in view
of carrying out the common mission of evangelisation.
3
The current synodal process is showing us how this is possible. By virtue of its participation
in the prophetic function of Christ, the holy People of God is the subject of the synodal process
through the consultation that each Bishop carries out in his Church: in this way, in fact, one can truly
listen to the “entire body of the faithful, who anointed as they are by the Holy One, (1 Jn 2.20, 27)
cannot err in matters of belief” (LG 12). The college of Bishops, which “is also the subject of supreme
and full power over the universal Church, provided we understand this body together with its head
the Roman Pontiff and never without this head” (LG 22), participates in the synodal process in the
following two moments: 1) when each Bishop initiates, guides and concludes the consultation of the
People of God entrusted to him; and 2) in the successive stages, when the Bishops together exercise
their charism of discernment in the Synods/Councils of the Churches sui iuris, in the Episcopal
Conferences, in the continental Assemblies and, in particular, in the Synod Assembly. Analogously,
and with regard to an Ecumenical Council, it is the prerogative of the Bishop of Rome who is “the
perpetual and visible principle and foundation of unity of both the bishops and of the faithful” (LG
23) to convoke, preside over and confirm the Synodal Assemblies.
Already in this first phase of the synodal process we have been able to see how each member
has played their own part, respecting the role and contribution of others. We must continue along this
path, not mistaking synodality for a mere method, but taking it on as a form of the Church and a style
for fulfilling the common mission of evangelisation. The Pastors’ ministry thus becomes even more
decisive for the journey of the Holy People of God. We are convinced that, along this path, the Spirit,
who guides the Church’s journey, will allow us to experience how “the Synod of Bishops,
representing the Catholic episcopate, becomes an expression of episcopal collegiality within an
entirely synodal Church” (Francis, Address for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the
institution of the Synod of Bishops, 2015).
The continental stage can help us understand this vision if, as a College of Bishops, we are
united in seeking ways which help the Church to be “the “sacrament of unity”, namely, the holy
people united and ordered under their bishops” (SC 26). Moreover, participation in the synodal
process will enable us to reinforce that collegial union which is “apparent also in the mutual relations
of the individual bishops with particular churches and with the universal Church” (LG 23). If it is
true that all bishops “by governing well their own church as a portion of the universal Church, they
themselves are effectively contributing to the welfare of the whole Mystical Body, which is also the
body of the churches” (LG 23), it is also true that we are called, all together cum et sub Petro, to
represent “the entire Church in the bond of peace, love and unity” (LG 23). What better way than by
“walking together”, in the certainty that “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of
the Church of the third millennium” (Francis, Address for the commemoration of the 50th anniversary
of the institution of the Synod of Bishops, 2015)?
In Christo

• Mario Grech + Jean Claude Hollerich
  Cardinal Secretary General of the Synod Cardinal Archbishop of Luxembourg
  General Relator of the Synod