Synod members: Expect a dynamic start to the World Synod

The second session of the World Synod is starting these days. I am already in Rome and am looking forward to the discussions and hopefully also to forward-looking consultations and recommendations to Pope Francis in the coming weeks. The fact that I am one of 54 synod women with voting rights is still exciting and an honour for me. At the same time, it is my mission to stand up for the many women and men in all parts of the world who want an equal church that excludes no one and who cannot participate here. I have travelled a lot through my professional work for a church aid organisation and have experienced how important it is for church networks in the most remote areas of the world to work for respect for human rights, justice and peace. This commitment urgently requires adjustments in church structures and changes in the admission to the ordained ministries so that the message to the outside world and its realisation within the church are consistent.

I now know the Instrumentum Laboris very well and look forward to setting and discussing call signs and question marks with the other synod members and also to making suggestions for further work, deepening and change. Last year, all local churches were called upon to submit their reflections on the synthesis report and send it back to the synod office. For the most part, this was done with great commitment, so that very detailed processes were carried out in the countries worldwide.

In Switzerland, I repeatedly perceive a strong reluctance or even resignation with regard to the synodal process. On the other hand, we have already established a Synodality Commission in Switzerland, which held its constituent meeting on 23 September. The synod is therefore already making itself felt in the Swiss church and synodality is thus being lived out step by step.

Penance for abuse

Before the world synod starts, there will be another retreat for us synod members with contributions from Madre Ignazia Angelini and Timothy Radcliffe. We can then draw from the silence and from these spiritual impulses in the subsequent deliberations. I would like to thank Pope Francis for beginning with a large penitential celebration in St Peter's Basilica, during which he himself will ask for forgiveness for abuse in the Church. I think this is a very important gesture. However, it is just as important that the Synod then discusses binding regulations and changes that address the systemic causes of the abuse crisis.

The Pope has seen that the Catholic Church, as it is organised today, cannot get its message across as well as it should. Because it is losing its credibility and people are running away from it. For me, one thing is very clear: we need genuine, bindingly regulated participation and involvement - including and especially the involvement of women at all levels of the Church - that is my fundamental concern. Francis comes from Latin America, where dialogue with the faithful has been practised for a long time and a church assembly has been set up to complement the continental bishops' conference. This experience seems to me to be a great advantage for the Synod. We Europeans in particular can learn a lot from the Church in Latin America.

The European synod members met for consultations in Linz at the end of August. It was very important for us to establish a natural and binding dialogue among ourselves in Europe as well. This will certainly continue to occupy us after the World Synod.

I notice that the synod members have come together better than last year. Many have really taken a lot of time to prepare. However, I hope that the substantive work of the theologians, countries and local churches will be taken seriously. I wonder whether enough work has been done on the content in advance?

Working with commission reports

Another topic in Linz was the involvement of the ten commissions in the Synodal Assembly. The topics dealt with there have grown out of the Synod and should also be linked back to it. The commissions will provide us with their interim report at the beginning of October. However, the final results will not be available until June 2025. As synod members, we still need an opportunity to discuss the results. In my opinion, this should be an important topic at the beginning of the Synod: I expect the Synod to get off to a dynamic start.

The women's issue will also quickly become a topic of discussion again. It is not primarily a European issue. Not at all! Gender justice is demanded - in varying degrees - all over the world: There was not a single report at continental level that did not mention it. The time is ripe to initiate courageous changes in the Church.

I also sense a certain amount of pressure from our faithful to bring back results at the end of October. Expectations are particularly high with regard to women and the laity. In addition to the topics of justice and equality, I will be focussing on participation at leadership level and on the competences of the local church at the synod. Only if the local church is given more competences can we also transform the church.

It is important to me that the final report can be discussed in detail by all synod members and is not written by a small editorial team alone. If we talk about joint decision-making and transparency - as was worked out very well in the Instrumentum Laboris - then I also expect corresponding work on a final document.

People keep asking me how strong my patience and how much optimism I still have? This optimism and my patience are as strong as ever. I come from a background of human rights work and I cultivate contemplation and lingering in silence. That gives me strength. For example, I have been campaigning for climate justice for years, even if it sometimes seems hopeless. I have staying power here. And: the Catholic Church is more diverse and colourful than you might think! We will recognise this again at the World Synod and bring it to bear as a treasure.