Bishop Rhoades Reflects on the Conclusion of the Synod of Bishops on Synodality Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades sits in the Vatican Gardens behind St. Peter’s Basilica Oct. 11, 2024, in-between sessions of the 2024 Synod on Synodality. (OSV News photo/Gretchen R. Crowe) In late October, Bishop Rhoades returned to the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend after having spent a month in Rome as a delegate at the Synod of Bishops on synodality, which closed with a final Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica on Sunday, October 27. Bishop Rhoades and his fellow delegates spent Saturday evening, October 26, voting paragraph by paragraph on the synod’s final document, which Pope Francis announced he would let stand, forgoing the usual post-synodal apostolic exhortation. In a wide-ranging interview with Today’s Catholic, Bishop Rhoades shared highlights of the synod’s final document, why he was pleased that so much of the focus of the synod was on the missionary aspect of the Church, and how he sees the practical conclusions of the synod being filtered down to dioceses, parishes, and the faithful of the Church. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Today’s Catholic: You’ve returned home after your second consecutive October spent participating as a delegate at the synod. What do you see as the fruits of your time at the synod and of your experiences with your fellow delegates? Bishop Rhoades: It was a good experience. I enjoyed meeting up with delegates whom I got to know last year, especially those from Spain and Latin America that I got to know in the Spanish working groups I was a part of. This year, I enjoyed getting to know other delegates in the two English-language working groups I was a part of. There was great diversity in the two groups. In the one group, there were delegates from Japan, Taiwan, Lithuania, Canada, Germany, India, Turkey, and Bangladesh. In the other groups, there were delegates from England, Ukraine, Jordan, France, South Sudan, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Australia. In both groups, a few members were part of Eastern Catholic Churches. We had some great sharing and good discussions and got to know one another on a personal level, just as I experienced last year. know other delegates in the two English-language working groups I was a part of. There was great diversity in the two groups. In the one group, there were delegates from Japan, Taiwan, Lithuania, Canada, Germany, India, Turkey, and Bangladesh. In the other group, there were delegates from England, Ukraine, Jordan, France, South Sudan, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Australia. In both groups, a few members were part of Eastern Catholic Churches. We had some great sharing and good discussions and got to know one another on a personal level, just as I experienced last year. Overall, I think the synod went well. I believe the final document is much better than the working document. I think there were some very good areas of consensus. One of the things that struck me that the final document does well, and I think is a very good thing to remember, is that synodality, as we say in the final document, is not an end in itself. It serves the mission that Christ entrusted to the Church. I think it’s important to keep that in mind. The title of the second session of this plenary assembly was “How to be a missionary synodal Church,” and I think the emphasis on mission was very good. All of this is ordered to carry out the mission that Christ entrusted to the Church – the mission of salvation, the mission of spreading the Gospel, of spreading the love of Christ to the world – and I think having that idea as the focus helped us to put synodality in its context. I also think there’s one paragraph in the final document that gives some needed clarity about synodality. It’s paragraph No. 28, and it talks about synodality in three distinct ways – first of all as a particular style of the Church’s life and mission, that, for example, we operate in a way where everyone is called to participate, that we are all called to listen to the word of God and, as we journey together as disciples of Christ, everyone is co-responsible for the mission. I think that’s really important. It brings out the important notion from the Second Vatican Council that the laity also participate in the threefold mission of Christ – to teach, sanctify, and govern – and they do so primarily in the world. However, they are to be active members of the Church and, therefore, are part of the Church’s decision-making. That was a major theme of the synod: the importance of the input of the faithful, the importance of bishops and priests listening to the laity. It’s key to know that the style of the Church’s life is a synodal style. A second aspect has to do with the structures and the processes in which the synodal nature of the Church is expressed. And it’s more specific than just the style – that we actually have synodal structures that we need to use, and I would say use better. Some examples that we have already would be parish pastoral councils, presbyteral councils, which are councils of priests, diocesan pastoral councils, which we have here in Fort Wayne-South Bend, diocesan finance councils, etc. So, we have synodal structures, but we can use them much better, and they should be focused on mission. These shouldn’t just be focused on conducting business; they’re meant to discern the Holy Spirit. Let’s take for example a parish; if you have strong, active members, you talk about the needs of the parish and ask questions, like: How are we evangelizing? How are we Christ’s presence here in this neighborhood? What are we doing to reach out to the sick and the suffering? How do we serve and help the poor? We should be talking about all the different aspects of the life of the Church. It shouldn’t just be business as usual or just keeping the status quo. We should dream a little bit and ask and pray, “What is the Lord calling our parish to do?” And everyone’s voice should be heard, and there should be respectful listening – that’s the synodal style. And when there are disagreements, we need to maintain that respect and work toward consensus. The third distinct aspect of synodality would be synodal events when the Church gathers together – let’s say, as an example, a bishop could call a diocesan synod. I don’t know when the last diocesan synod was in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend. We haven’t had one while I’ve been bishop, but that’s already a possibility in canon law, and it’s a way to get all the people in the diocese involved in setting the pastoral direction for the diocese. So, I’m thinking about that as something that may be one of the fruits of my own participation at the synod in Rome. One of the things I also want to point out from the final document is the statement that synodality is primarily a spiritual disposition. I think that’s important to keep in mind, because we’re talking about the Holy Spirit as the protagonist of the synodal journey. And really, when we think about it, the Holy Spirit is the protagonist of the Church’s mission of evangelization. So that’s why prayer is such an integral part of synodality. There are some issues that came up during the synod – for example, the role of women in the Church. That was an issue, especially in those places where women find obstacles in having their particular charism or role in the Church not really recognized as it should be. So that was an important discussion. Today’s Catholic: In many ways, regarding what you’ve said, the synod seems like a real continuation of the Second Vatican Council, which spelled out our universal call to holiness. Now, it seems, this synod was formed partly to help take that next step of calling the laity to action and co-responsibility within the Church – and leaders of the Church to listen. Bishop Rhoades: I agree with you, and I’d say there’s real variety around the world of how much this is already going on in certain places, and even in places where it is going on, there still could be more lay participation. We do have a lot of lay participation in the United States; however, we also have opportunities to involve people even more in ministerial activity and apostolic work. Today’s Catholic: What are some other key points the faithful should be aware of in the final document? Bishop Rhoades: I’ve been highlighting some of the very positive things. Listening to the Word of God is always the starting point, the criterion for discernment; the whole notion of discernment is really important. In my opinion, one of the theological weaknesses of the final document is its treatment of the sensus fidei. I realize that the final document was not meant to be a theological treatise, but a proper explanation of the sensus fidei would avoid certain erroneous interpretations. As the Second Vatican Council taught, the sensus fidei is the supernatural appreciation of faith on the part of the whole People of God when they manifest a universal consent in matters of faith and morals. This comes from the Holy Spirit. The People of God share in Christ’s prophetic office. The magisterium of the Church is guided by the Holy Spirit to discern the sensus fidei. The holy People of God is guided by the Holy Spirit to adhere to the faith handed down to us in Scripture and Tradition, penetrates this faith more deeply by the Holy Spirit’s gift of understanding, and applies this faith to life. Unfortunately, some have an erroneous idea of the sensus fidei as if it were some kind of “majority opinion” or political consensus, as if people vote on what is true in matters of faith and morals. Pope Francis has been clear that the synodal process is not a political one. It’s not like Congress or a parliament. I wish the final document of the synod would have made clear the true meaning of the sensus fidei and used some of the great theology of St. John Henry Newman, theologian Yves Congar, and the excellent 2014 document of the International Theological Commission titled “Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church.” It would have been good if the final document cited the ITC’s list of qualifications for discerning the sensus fidei, and explained that it is discerned especially in those who actively practice the faith, have a correct knowledge of the faith, and live lives of prayer and virtue, especially charity. Most of all, we see the authentic sensus fidei in the lives of the saints. The sensus fidei is not just people’s opinions, and it is not found through sociological surveys. Several of us spoke about the authentic sensus fidei at the synod. Today’s Catholic: Do you think that notion will be further perpetuated by the fact that Pope Francis is not going to write a post-synodal exhortation and that this final document, given to the Church, was simply voted on by members of the synod? Bishop Rhoades: I would say that it’s something that I would hope that the pope or even the episcopal conferences would explain more clearly and more faithfully. Yes, it’s unusual for the pope to not write an exhortation following a synod; instead, he’s kind of giving the final document to the whole Church, as it is, to move forward with synodality. Today’s Catholic: What was the reaction among the delegates when that news came – that Pope Francis wasn’t going to write an exhortation, as is customary. Bishop Rhoades: I wouldn’t say it was a big surprise. At least, it wasn’t a big surprise for me, because I think all along it was being said that the pope may or may not issue an apostolic exhortation. So, it really didn’t surprise me. Today’s Catholic: What else stood out to you in the conclusions of the synod? Bishop Rhoades: One other thing reflected in the final document that I was really very pleased with is entitled “The Exchange of Gifts.” For example, we discussed sharing more the gifts of our Eastern Catholic Churches with the Western/Latin Church. The gifts of our Eastern Catholic brothers and sisters, their traditions, liturgical life, etc., should be better known and appreciated since they enrich the faith of us all. The exchange of gifts also pertains to the need for greater solidarity among the local Churches (of the Catholic Church) throughout the world. For example, in our diocese, we have had the blessing of relationships of solidarity with the Church in Nigeria, Uganda, India, and Sri Lanka. Even within dioceses themselves, there should be a communion and solidarity between parishes, parishes sharing their gifts with other parishes. I think, for example, of material sharing: wealthier parishes helping poorer parishes, as well as spiritual sharing in which our poorer parishes can also help wealthier parishes. The sharing of spiritual gifts is a beautiful example of ecclesial solidarity that goes beyond one’s own parish community. I think that’s an important thing – within dioceses, between dioceses, and really between the Church in various countries. I also wish to highlight the importance of the solidarity of our diocese and dioceses throughout the world with the Church in areas afflicted by war, violence, and religious persecution. I was blessed to sit next to, and get to know, the Major Archbishop of Kyiv, of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. I learned a lot about the suffering our Ukrainian brothers and sisters. Archbishop Shevchuk was very grateful for the prayers and material help from Catholics in the United States, including through CRS and the Knights of Columbus. Decentralization was a major theme. I think it’s important to speak of “healthy” decentralization. You can’t go so far with decentralization that the Church becomes divided. There always has to be unity, but everything doesn’t have to come from Rome. We talked about provincial and plenary councils that have kind of fallen away, but in the 19th century in the United States, the plenary councils of the bishops did great work in expanding Catholic schools dramatically, creating the whole Catholic school system. That wasn’t something that came from Rome; that was something that was created by the plenary council of bishops. There was support at the synod for the revival of plenary and provincial councils in the Church. Formation was another major topic, formation of missionary disciples. We were talking about formation in synodality, but you can’t have synodality unless you first have well-formed disciples. Of course, that’s always been a high priority for us – forming our children and young people through Catholic school and religious education and youth ministry, but also formation of adults, formation of parents, formation through a strong OCIA program, and, of course, forming our people for synodality, for this participatory style of the life of the Church. Today’s Catholic: What are your initial thoughts on how the final document of the synod and its teachings will be filtered down through the parishes to the people so that some of the things that you want to prioritize are being accomplished at the parish level? Bishop Rhoades: I just met with our diocesan pastoral council to share with them about the synod. I look forward to sharing with our priests. I think to get our priests on board is going to be really necessary to ensure this synodal style of leadership is taking place in our parishes, just as I strive to have that style as a bishop; this is really essential. And also, we need to use the synodal structures that we already have in place, and to think about the synodal events, especially a potential diocesan synod. Today’s Catholic: I would imagine it will be important to make sure that the faithful feel empowered to discern how the Holy Spirit is calling them to be active in the Church, as well. Bishop Rhoades: Definitely. I think with, as I mentioned, the diocesan pastoral council, but also in parish pastoral councils it will be important to engage the people of the parish. We’ve done some of this already. We have had about a dozen parishes doing the Next Generation Parish, which is an example of synodality, run by the Catholic Leadership Institute. Our Sunday Visitor is working on helping parishes become more vibrant synodal missionary parishes as well. I am looking forward to OSV’s development of innovative ideas for parishes throughout the U.S., including right here in OSV’s home diocese. There are a lot of good things to think and pray about as we move forward. And all of this, remember, is geared toward mission. That’s really what is most in my heart and mind at this point – that we truly have a missionary spirit that I’d love to see grow in our diocese, in all of our parishes, in all of our communities, and our schools, and to have that desire to participate and work together, journey together, in becoming a stronger Church, and helping each other grow in faith, hope, and charity. And then, spread that and invite others to become part of our community of faith. Scott Warden is editor-in-chief of Today’s Catholic. The post ‘All of This Is Geared Toward Mission’ appeared first on Today's Catholic.