by Tom Magill

In certain quarters of the Church, expectations of the Synod of Bishops, which begins in Rome on 4 October, are running in two different directions. For some, the Synod will be a failure if it doesn’t address questions such as married priests, women’s ordination, and human sexuality. For others, the synod is not only doomed to failure but is positively leading the Church into heresy. The recent publication of The Synodal Process Is a Pandora’s Box: 100 Questions & Answers is a rather hysterical example of the latter.

What is needed are expectations which reflect the world-wide discussions that have taken place, based on the Preparatory Document and brought together in the Working Document for the Synod (the Instrumentum Laboris).  This working document points us to what we might expect by the three questions it asks of synod participants:

How can we be more fully a sign and instrument of union with God and of the unity of all humanity?

How can we better share gifts and tasks in the service of the Gospel?

What processes, structures and institutions are needed in a missionary synodal church?

Dr Tom Magill is the parish priest of St Athanasius, Carluke.