Synod 2021 – 2024
In preparation for the General Assembly of the Synod on Synodality, which begins in the Vatican in October 2023, the General Secretariat of the Synod has published a working document, known in Latin as an Instrumentum Laboris. The Instrumentum Laboris is a document of some sixty pages, which will be the basis for the work of the participants in the General Assembly and which incorporates the experiences of local churches in every region of the world by drawing together the work undertaken at parish, diocesan, Episcopal Conference and Continental level during the preparation process for the Synod.
The Instrumentum Laboris can be read online here - https://www.cbcew.org.uk/wpcontent/uploads/sites/3/2023/06/synod-instrumentum-laboris.pdf It is composed of an explanatory text and fifteen worksheets that reveal a dynamic vision of the concept of “synodality.” Specifically, there are two main sections: Section A highlights the experience of the past two years and indicates a way forward to become an ever more Synodal Church; Section B – entitled “Communion, Mission, Participation” – focuses on the “three priority issues” at the heart of the work to be done in October 2023. These are elaborated in three main themes: growing in communion by welcoming everyone, excluding no one; recognising and valuing the contribution of every baptised person in view of mission; and identifying governance structures and dynamics through which to articulate participation and authority over time in a Missionary Synodal Church.
