Synod Rules Out Women Deacons; Meetings Called to Be "laboratories of synodal life"

“I invite you not to think that these groups are separated from the life of the Church but they are true labs of synodal life,” he continued.

“I really hope that they become opportunities that allow us to learn together as a Church in a different way; in a participative manner with different perspectives, ministries, roles — all different — but all within this journey so that the Church may proclaim the Gospel, listen, and be a sign of unity and hope in a world which is so fragmented.”

This year, 10 small study groups — “established at the will of the Holy Father” — were formed to facilitate deeper study into various theological, ecclesial, and pastoral issues outlined in Instrumentum Laboris, the Vatican’s working document for this month’s synod session published in July.

Although the synod’s general rapporteur, Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, stated on Thursday that “nothing new” specifically emerges in Module 1 of the Instrumentum Laboris, titled “Foundations,” it is nevertheless key for synod participants to know and study it in order to “deepen our understanding of the mystery of the Church.”

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“Without having the ambition of being a treatise on synodal ecclesiology, ‘[Instrumentum Laboris] seeks to outline the foundations of the vision of a missionary synodal Church,’” Hollerich told synod participants inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall. 

Shedding some light into the evolving operations of the 10 study groups, Cardinal Mario Grech, general secretary of the synod, stated that these groups have an additional function to promote “broader participation” beyond the October meetings held at the Vatican. 

“During the entire time in which the 10 groups will remain operational — and with them also the canonical commission — that is until the month of June 2025, it will be possible for everyone to send contributions, observations, proposals,” Grech communicated in a statement.

“Pastors and ecclesial leaders, but also and above all every believer, man or woman, and every group, association, movement, or community will be able to participate with their own contribution,” the statement reads.

Toward the conclusion of the press conference, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Texas, said the work of participants in the second session of the Synod on Synodality is to find the “cohesive voice” that expresses the life of the Church.

“There’s a ‘we’ involved essentially in the work of the synod, even more important than the many ‘I’s that are there,” Flores said. “We are searching for the ‘we’ and it’s the work that goes on in these smaller groups and it’s a work in progress.”