by Tom Magill

Pope Francis presented his teaching on synodality as the implementation of the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council, specifically in relation to the church as the People of God

This fundamental image evokes the equal dignity of all the faithful through baptism before differences of office or charism. It presents the Church as a people journeying through time and space in a spirit of accompaniment and in a process of growth and development. Together, all the baptised are charged with discerning the ‘signs of the times’ so that the Church can respond in the light of the Gospel and from deep within her tradition to the changing needs and situations of humanity.

A synodal church in the teaching of Pope Francis is at heart an evangelising church, renewed and repurposed to bring the Good News of Christ to our world. Most especially, it is a church which is not marked by self-obsession or self-entitlement but is deeply sensitive to and shaped by the cries of the poor rather than the demands of the powerful. As the church moves from the centre to the periphery, she herself is re-shaped ever more into the image of Christ.

A new way

For this to happen, Pope Francis understood that a conversion of heart both at a personal and ecclesial level is required. At heart, synodality is a deeply spiritual process. We stand ready to be formed by the movements of the Holy Spirit. This is why the Pope said that synodality is not first and foremost about creating new structures or institutions but rather is a new way of being and acting as Church.

Dr Tom Magill is a retired priest of the Diocese of Motherwell.

Photo by Dominic Cullen