In comments made shortly after the conclusion of the synod’s Oct. 2-27 final session, Bishop Matthieu Rougé of Nanterre told the Register that many of the synod’s proposals for a more participatory and inclusive Church are already possible within existing structures and canonical frameworks.
Speaking specifically about opportunities for the lay faithful to be involved in decision-making while also respecting the appropriate ecclesial authority’s final say, he suggested that the Synod on Synodality’s now-commenced implementation stage should focus on better usage of current possibilities, such as provincial and plenary councils, rather than making dramatic changes.
“Before turning canon law upside down, as the document says we need to start by fully implementing all the provisions it makes, especially for councils, which are sometimes all too neglected,” said Bishop Rougé, whose diocese includes the western suburbs of Paris.
The French bishop, who was selected by his national episcopal conference to serve as a delegate at the Synod on Synodality, added that the synod’s final document was a welcome affirmation of several practices already in place in Nanterre.
For instance, the document calls for a greater presence of women in all positions of responsibility currently allowed for by canon law; the chancellor of the Diocese of Nanterre, Bishop Rougé pointed out, is a woman, as are the leaders of other important diocesan services.
Bishop Rougé also noted the importance of parish pastoral councils in his diocese, another emphasis of the synod document. These councils will all meet later this month to discern how to develop the diocese’s missionary commitments.
And in January, Bishop Rougé will host a day of formation for both clergy and lay leaders, consistent with another emphasis called for by the synod.
“The synod now completed encourages us in all these initiatives and will generate new ones,” said Bishop Rougé, whose diocese includes just under 1 million Catholics.
The French bishop’s emphasis on instances of synodality being lived out in his local Church echoed similar comments made by some U.S. bishops who took part in the synod. For instance, Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, has noted that “‘synodal’ institutions” and practices are already in place in many dioceses in the U.S., including the significant presence of women in positions of ecclesial responsibility.
However, others involved in the synod have framed the event as a pretext for dramatic reform.
For instance, in one of the Synod on Synodality’s official theological forums held last month in Rome, the Italian canonist Donata Horak called for giving synods decision-making power and also for modifying canon law to limit a bishop’s ability to make a decision contrary to the one expressed by the community.
The synod’s final document does propose “a revision of canon law from a synodal perspective,” particularly in terms of clarifying “the distinction and relation between consultation and deliberation” as it applies to ecclesial governance, and the respective role pastors and the lay faithful play in decision-making.
A Commission of Canon Law, whose membership has not been made public, has also been established “to work on innovations needed regarding ecclesial norms,” the final text states.
Need for Unity
Regarding the possibility of decentralizing doctrinal authority, Bishop Rougé said he was glad that the final document “moved on” from an initial proposal to recognize the “doctrinal authority” of bishops’ conferences and instead speaks more modestly of their “competences.”
As the Register previously reported, the proposal to decentralize doctrinal authority led to significant pushback within the synod hall.
In his post-synod comments, Bishop Rougé stressed that the unity of faith and sacramental discipline are “so important in a world that is both globalized and fractured, where Christians have to give more than ever a witness of communion and peace.”
The bishop of Nanterre added that the document’s overall “precision and balance” improved via the amendment process, but that “whatever the amendments and the evolution of the text,” he “would have found it better if the work entrusted by the Pope to specific study groups had been welcomed with greater confidence by all.”
The French bishop’s comments are a likely reference to the question of the possibility of women deacons. Despite the issue being turned over to a separate study group by Pope Francis, advocates for women deacons continually attempted to center the issue, both inside and outside of the synodal hall, throughout October.
The synod’s final document includes an affirmation that the possibility of women deacons is still open and should be discerned, language that was not present in the draft version.
All in all, Bishop Rougé described the synod’s final document, which Pope Francis expressly approved, as a helpful “organizational road map,” but stressed that any possible resulting reforms must be pursued with evangelization and fidelity to Christ in mind.
“The synod will bear fruit not only if we make different councils work better,” said Bishop Rougé, “but above all if the means suggested by the synod really promote spiritual rootedness and the missionary commitment of all the baptized, so that the Good News of salvation may reach to the ends of the earth!”