Synod Briefing – Day 14: Toward a more decentralised Church

By Edoardo Giribaldi and Roberto Paglialonga

Decentralization is “healthy” when guided by solid principles.

That idea was at the centre of today’s briefing on the work of the Synod, which covered discussions from yesterday afternoon and this morning (October 18).

Dr Paolo Ruffini, Prefect of the Dicastery for Communication and president of the Synod’s Information Commission, gave the opening remarks. The report was then continued by Sheila Pires, secretary of the Commission.

The speakers at today’s synod briefing

Redefining the concept of territory

The recent discussions have centered on Part III of the Instrumentum laboris, dedicated to “Places.”

Dr Ruffini highlighted that many interventions underscored the importance of local churches, noting that “they do not harm, but serve unity” since “the uniqueness of each one” is not a threat but rather “a special gift.”

An example of this are the Eastern Catholic Churches, whose traditions must be protected as a “treasure for the entire universal Catholic Church” and thus “an integral and indispensable part” of it.

Consequently, many pointed out the need not only to ensure the “survival” but also the “revitalization of Eastern Catholic Churches, both in their regions of origin and in the diaspora.”

Some argued that “there has been an understanding of unity in history that wasn’t quite right” and that at times the Latin Church behaved “unjustly toward Eastern ‘sui iuris’ Churches, considering their theology as secondary.”

Today, however, one of the challenges is “to redefine the concept of territory,” which “is not just a physical space.” Due to the diaspora, “there are Eastern Catholics living in territories where the Latin Rite predominates.”

Decentralization

Regarding the widely discussed issue of celebrating Easter on the same date as “sister Churches,” Ruffini noted that an agreement has been reached for this to occur next year.

However, a request arose from the assembly for “a message from the entire Synod to call for a permanent common date.”

Decentralization from Rome to the peripheries was the subject of numerous reflections during these synodal sessions, drawing the curiosity of journalists during various briefings.

Pires explained that the criteria for defining “healthy decentralization” were analyzed, including “proximity and sacramentality,” meaning the sacraments.

Small grassroots communities were also emphasized as “privileged spaces for a synodal Church.”

For these communities, it was noted that the digital environment holds great importance, as it can help keep them connected, “not only virtually but also territorially.”

Walking together with the laity

Many interventions, Pires reported, encouraged not to “fear synodality, because it does not weaken different charisms and ministries nor the specificity of places.”

There was a call to further develop the theme of the parish, where “administrative tasks stifle missionary enthusiasm, so we must think creatively.”

In particular, it is necessary to “hear the cries of those who suffer, as the synodality of the local Church” is also manifested in “realities marked by suffering.”

To fight the good fight of faith in secularized societies, as Saint Paul advised, it is important to “walk together with the laity,” it was recalled: “a healthy decentralization of the Church can increase the dimension of shared responsibility among the people of God,” always within the framework of unity, “fidelity to the magisterium, ecclesial communion with the successor of Peter, respect for local Churches, subsidiarity, and synodality.”

The Gospel must be “incarnated in every culture and every place, inhabiting and strengthening the community dimension of movements and new ecclesial realities.”

A highly applauded intervention, Pires noted, emphasized the Church’s call to “unity in diversity,” describing it as a “living organism with Christ as its heart, and it lives as a body through the existence of its people.”

Welcoming women and young people

On the subject of the female diaconate, some interventions stressed that the “Church must not be a ‘male-only’ affair” and that, even though women ask to be involved in decision-making processes, this alone is not enough.

If young people say “they are spiritual but not religious,” this should spur the Church to “be pastors even in digital spaces,” where young men and women spend their time and interact.

Concluding, Ruffini announced that this afternoon, in addition to meetings of working groups, there will be a session of the canon law commission and another of SECAM, the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar, which is tasked with theological-pastoral discernment on polygamy.

Next week will be decisive in discussions on the draft of the final document, which, as “Cardinal Mario Grech stated this morning,” will need to be approached in a climate of intense prayer.

“For this reason,” Ruffini added, Monday’s session will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a votive Mass to the Holy Spirit at the Altar of the Chair in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Cardinal Aveline with the Pope

Challenges in the Mediterranean

From the Mediterranean to Africa, and Latin America, geographically distant regions are united by similar challenges and a shared desire to solve them.

This was the common thread connecting the interventions and subsequent questions posed to the briefing participants.

Cardinal Jean-Marc Aveline of Marseille, France, was the first to speak. He highlighted his role in coordinating the Church’s efforts in the Mediterranean region, a mission given to him by Pope Francis.

The cardinal traced a timeline of his commitment, which began in 2020 with about forty bishops and continued through other meetings, including one in September 2023, when Francis “expressed his desire to continue, coordinate, and support this work.”

The focus has been mainly on listening to the difficulties of different ecclesial communities. “The Mediterranean is not just a topic for study,” Aveline said, “but a region where dramatic scenarios play out: wars, violations of freedom, corruption,” not to mention migration, for which dedicated support networks have been created.

“We must understand how the Church can contribute to efforts for justice and peace in this region,” Aveline emphasized, recalling his proposal for a possible Synod dedicated to the Mediterranean.

Suffering and hopes in Latin America

Next, Cardinal Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, Colombia, spoke about the faith experiences in his country and across Latin America, a “young continent” with “both suffering and hope.”

The local Church strives to cultivate a “spirituality increasingly close to the poor,” poverty being an issue exacerbated not only by migration toward North America but also by problems related to drug trafficking.

In this challenging context, “the Church has managed to unite and find ways to approach reality, seeking to view it through the eyes of faith and hope.”

The result, in the cardinal’s view, is a concrete “presence of the Kingdom,” aimed at expanding to achieve an “integral evangelization” across the entire continent.

Struggles in South Sudan

Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, Archbishop of Juba, South Sudan, spoke next, addressing the challenges faced by his country and neighboring Sudan.

He said the South Sudanese people had fought a war in pursuit of freedom, only to find themselves still far from peace, plagued by many unresolved issues.

The peace agreements signed in South Sudan remain only partially implemented—a topic raised by a high-level delegation in a historic meeting with Pope Francis in 2018.

Since then, however, little has changed, even after the Pope’s visit to the African country.

For this reason, the Archbishop said, he believes synodal dialogue can address the social and political issues we face.

Another scourge afflicting the nation is global warming. Cardinal Mulla cited the city of Bentiu, which is now completely flooded due to heavy rains in South Sudan.

In an increasingly interconnected world, according to the Archbishop of Juba, no one can say that such problems are nothing to do with them.

Cardinal Mulla in the Vatican

Enthusiasm surrounding the synod

Lastly, Bishop Luis Marín De San Martín, an Augustinian and Undersecretary of the Synod’s General Secretariat and a member of the Information Commission, reflected on the challenges facing the world, as highlighted in the previous interventions.

He explained how the Synod “responds” to these questions, nurturing an open Church with clear language capable of addressing today’s issues.

The Bishop identified four fundamental pillars the Church must stand on: it must be Christ-centered, fraternal, inclusive (“Those who see power struggles within the Synodal Assembly are mistaken; this doesn’t exist,” added the bishop), and dynamic.

“If only we could share our enthusiasm in a world full of crises.”

The Synod discussions, meanwhile, have revolved around several dichotomies: synodality and listening to the signs of the times, unity and diversity, center and peripheries. The undersecretary’s final call was not to be discouraged by the “pessimism that sometimes grips us.”

Immediate answers

During the press briefing, the usual space was given for journalists’ questions. Addressing the implementation of the concept of “unity in diversity,” Cardinal Rueda Aparicio pointed out that this concept is already reflected in a “new and innovative Synod style,” where the presence of female Synod members is the most visible sign of “novelty and progress.”

On the topic of responding to those who demand immediate answers from the Synod, Bishop Marín de San Martín compared it to the Christian faith itself: “It is an experience of Christ. If we do not live it, we will never fully grasp it.”

Nevertheless, the Augustinian bishop emphasized that the entire synodal process must not remain abstract but instead “root itself in reality.” In this context, parishes remain crucial as the “primary communities.”

Final document

Participants were also asked about discussions concerning the role and authority of bishops. “It has been discussed extensively,” admitted the Colombian cardinal, citing Saint John XXIII’s belief that the deposit of faith remains “always the same,” yet it “must be adapted to each situation.”

The Archbishop of Bogotá also touched on the difficulties faced in his country, including a “toxic polarization,” which has caused communities with similar views to become “enemies” of one another.

Cardinal Aveline then offered some insight into the drafting of the Synod’s final document. His “synthesis commission,” he said, aims to “ensure that the proposed text for voting does not stray too far from the opinions expressed during these weeks of work.”