VATICAN: Secretariat Extends First Phase of Synodal Process to August 2022

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA

At the commencement of the first phase of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops’ synod scheduled for 2023, the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops has extended the period that was to be culminated in a pre-synodal meeting by April 2022, to 15, August 2022.

“During this period, we have heard, over and over again and from many quarters, the request to extend the duration of the first phase of the synodal process in order to provide a greater opportunity for the people of God to have an authentic experience of listening and dialogue,” reads part of acommuniquéshared with AMECEA Online Friday, October 29.

The General Secretariat noted that after the launch of the synodal process in the Local Churches October 17, they received communications from Episcopal Conferences, dioceses and eparchies  requesting for an extension of the period, a gesture they say is “truly an encouraging confirmation of those in the Church who are committed to celebrating the first phase of the synodal process.”

The two-year Synodal process themed For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission is a decentralized synod that is expected to unfold in three phases: Diocesan phase, continental phase and universal phase, calling on everyone to fully participate and journey together.

According to the statement that was published earlier expounding on the phases, the three-stage process “will help to make possible a true listening to the People of God to ensure the participation of all in the synodal process.”

The Diocesan phase which is a period of consultation and participation of the people of God was meant to be for 6 months to engage the different groups in church to share their ideas concerning the synod but the extension to August allows for more consultation, “so that the synodal process is carried out through listening to all of the baptized.”

“Aware that a synodal Church is a Church that listens, and considering that this first phase is essential for this synodal path and evaluating these requests, and always seeking the good of the Church,” members of the Secretariat highlight in their Friday message and continues, “the Ordinary Council of the Synod of Bishops has decided to extend until August 15, 2022 the deadline for the presentation of the summaries of the consultations by the Episcopal Conferences, the Oriental Catholic Churches sui iuris and other ecclesial bodies”

The Diocesan phase for consultation will conclude with a pre-synodal meeting and the contributions from the laity and various groups are compiled and a report shared with the national bishops’ conference where the second phase will start to “deepen discernment within the specific cultural context of each continent.”