During the season of Lent, the Catholic Church’s call to conversion intensifies. As a human and divine institution, the Church is not exempted from Jesus Christ’s call to both personal and communal conversion. According to Vatican II, the Church is “ecclesia semper reformanda” (the Church always in need of reform): “Christ summons the church, as she goes her pilgrim way, to that continual reformation of which she always has need, insofar as she is a human institution here on earth.” (Unitatis Redintegratio n. 6) “The church, however, clasping sinners to its bosom, at once holy and always in need of purification, follows constantly the path of penance and renewal.” (Lumen Gentium n. 8) The second session of the Synod on Synodality which concluded in October last year specifically called for the synodal conversion of the Church – towards a more inclusive Church faithful to the Gospel.
In an interview published in America, Cardinal Pablo “Ambo” David shared that his takeaway from the synod was to build “a church that is accountable, a church that is transparent, a church that is open to evaluation, a church that is humbler and more inclusive, a church that is welcoming, a church that does not declare that the Eucharist is an exclusive meal for the righteous and the deserving.” In other words, opening wide the doors of the Church for everyone – Pope Francis’ dream for the Church. In this inclusive vision, the Church welcomes the complex world in its bosom.
Pope Francis already set an example at the start of the year when he appointed Sr. Simona Brambilla, M.C., as the Vatican’s first female prefect on January 6, 2025. She will serve as prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. A significant reform done by Pope Francis on the Roman Curia is to allow non-ordained men and women to head Vatican dicasteries, therefore empowering them to be truly part of the Church’s governance and to bring their charisms at the service of the Church. This is a major step in the synodal reform of the Church. “There is no reason or impediment that should prevent women from carrying out leadership roles in the Church: what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped,” the final document of the Synod on Synodality clearly stated.
Inclusivity within the Church does not end in recognizing the presence of diverse individuals and communities. The Church can always welcome everyone into the Church without seriously listening to their voices, concerns, and wisdom. Each member of the Church should be open and respectful enough to each other trusting in the gift of the Spirit. Synodality is redefining what it means to be a “teaching Church” (ecclesia docens) and “learning Church” (ecclesia discens) in our age.
Traditionally, the hierarchy consisting of male clerics is the teaching Church, while the laity is the learning Church. However, synodality is deconstructing this model of the Church because of the risk of authoritarianism at the expense of ecclesial communion. Many years ago, the Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff prophetically proposed that the functions of teaching and learning do not divide the Church into two factions for these are functions of the same Church: “The hierarchy becomes a member of the Ecclesia discens and the laity becomes a member of the Ecclesia docens. Each one is teacher and disciple of the other and all are followers of the Gospel.”
In his recently published autobiography titled Hope, Pope Francis sees this traditional model of the Church as an obstacle to synodality. “There is much resistance to the overcoming the image of a Church rigidly divided between leaders and subordinates, between those who teach and those who must learn, forgetting that God likes to reverse positions,” the Pope observed. In response to this issue, he pointed to the synodal path as a guiding light: “The synodal Church clears the horizon where our sun, Christ, rises, while erecting hierarchical monuments means covering it. True shepherds walk with their people: sometimes in front, sometimes in the middle, sometimes behind.” Authentic inclusivity embraces the people of God, especially the voiceless and marginalized. A synodal Church faithful to this attitude allows itself to be transformed by the varied experiences and wisdom of the people in the world.
As we celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope, my hope for the Church is for it to grow in greater inclusivity. In its relationship with the world, we can draw inspiration from Vatican II’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes. Describing the Church-world relationship according to the document, Edward Schillebeeckx, OP, said that “for the first time the church declares that it not only has something to give the world but has herself much to receive from it.”
Inclusivity is not confined to the four corners of the Church. An open Church learns from those who are considered outside the institutional Church yet possess genuine wisdom and sincerely aspires for a better world such as atheists, agnostics, etc. The Church learns from creation as well. Pope Francis heard the cry of the earth when he published the historic encyclical on care for our common home “Laudato Si’.” We must not forget that the Church is grounded in the world and the two cannot be separated until the eschatological fulfillment of the Church. The Church is not outside the world, but in the world, not of the world, meaning subscribing to all “worldliness.”
For the Church to live out its synodal mission, she must be more creative, courageous, and dialogical. “The Church must grow in creativity, in understanding the challenges of the modern day, opening itself to dialogue, not closing itself in fear. A Church that is closed, frightened is a dead Church. We need to have faith in the Spirit, which is the Church’s engine and its guide, and which always makes a noise,” said Pope Francis. In a world riven by polarization, racial discrimination, and a variety of inequalities, a synodal Church can serve as a sacrament of unity in diversity countering the prevailing negative global ethos. Only a synodal Church embodying the attitude of inclusivity both within and with the world will have the credibility to be a prophetic and concrete sign of inclusivity the world badly needs. – Rappler.com