VATICAN CITY (RNS) — When the 450 bishops, priests, nuns and lay Catholics who participated in October’s nearly monthlong Synod on Synodality finished their work and made their recommendations in a closing report, they had not called for women to be ordained or the doctrine on homosexuality to be overhauled as many hoped and others feared.It turned out that the synod was indeed mainly about synodality itself, which under Pope Francis means an openness to dialogue, with a focus on lay involvement and collegiality. As for changes to church governance, the most immediate action item seemed to be for bishops who didn’t already have a council of lay people institute one.
Kim Daniels, director of Georgetown University’s Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, who was on the synod’s communications commission, said the synod made a priority of “co-responsibility and the involvement of lay people,” adding, “in particular of lay women.”
But when a church’s codes revolve so tightly around its hierarchy of popes, cardinals and bishops, inviting lay people into the everyday management …
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source