Was the synod's dynamic going to influence that of the "joy of the Gospel"?

In any case, it would have been more appropriate to affirm that the power of government in the Church does not derive "exclusively" from the sacrament of Holy Orders, but "also" from the canonical mission. There is indeed a dialectic between the sacramental gift received and the particular mission received. This is true not only for ordained ministers but also for the lay faithful in positions of responsibility, whose ecclesial capacity is based above all on the baptism and confirmation they have received. The idea that a kind of canonical positivism could simplify ecclesial developments would imply writing off the nearly twenty years of work done in the wake of the Second Vatican Council to draw up the 1983 Code, which is not just a legal construction but the fruit, which can only be changed in depth with great care, of that major act of ecclesial discernment received from the Lord that a Council constitutes. Under the guise of modernisation, we would be returning to a pre-conciliar canonical ecclesiology, or even to a kind of Bellarminism. The relationship of the synodal assembly of 2023 to the teaching of Lumen gentium, to the Church understood as mystery and to the sacramentality of the episcopate in particular, took on particular importance in this context.

"The entire journey [of the Synod]”, announces straight away the summary Report, is “rooted in the Tradition of the Church, [and] is taking place in the light of conciliar teaching" (Intr.). Lumen gentium is cited several times as an essential and perennial reference: in chapter 2, which founds communion and mission in the Holy Trinity (2.a); in chapter 8, to situate the mission that the Church “is" in the perspective of the Kingdom (8.a); in chapter 11, to situate the mission of priests and deacons, before thanking and encouraging them (11.a). The very structure of the synthesis report, with the chapters on mission (8) and "women in the life and mission of the Church" (9) placed before the chapters on deacons and priests (11), bishops (12) and the bishop of Rome (13), along with the section on consecrated life which is reminiscent of chapter 6 of Lumen gentium, follows a similar logic. The chapters on "The Eastern Churches and Latin Church Traditions", on the one hand, and "On the Road Towards Christian Unity", on the other, appear to be a reprise and an update of the conciliar decrees Orientalium ecclesiarum and Unitatis redintegratio. Chapter 12 on "The Bishop in Ecclesial Communion" opens with a certain solemnity that reminds us of the evangelical and ecclesiological force of chapter III of Lumen gentium:

Several themes of the synodal discussion, widely announced and expected, were indeed treated with care: the effective recognition of people living in poverty as full subjects in the life of the Church (chapter 4), the wider participation of women in all ecclesial responsibilities (chapter 9), a more appropriate welcome for everyone, whatever their life situation (chapters 15 and 16), new missionary areas (chapter 17). But other themes have emerged with unexpected force as foundational conditions of the possibility of synodality in all these areas. Such is the case with the relationship between primacy, collegiality and synodality. How can progress be made in the local participation of all the baptised in the Church's mission if the relationship between the Bishop of Rome and his services with the particular Churches as a whole does not, in some way, set the tone?

The summary report asks for a study of how a renewed understanding of episcopacy within a synodal Church affects the ministry of the Bishop of Rome and the role of the Roman Curia. This question has significant implications for the way in which co-responsibility in the governance of the Church is lived (13.d).

It would undoubtedly be important to better define the Roman Curia, not only as the operational extension of the Pope's own responsibility, but also as the place where episcopal collegiality and baptismal synodality are truly exercised alongside him. From this point of view, it is regrettable that the constitution Praedicate evangelium has taken up the ancient legal term, incomprehensible to most people, of "dicastery" to designate the bodies of the Roman Curia, to the detriment of "congregation" and "council", which have a clearly more communitarian, more synodal connotation. "Synodality, collegiality, and primacy refer to each other: primacy presupposes the exercise of synodality and of collegiality, just as both of them imply the exercise of primacy" (13.a). The synthesis report mentions a number of concrete aspects of the improved coordination that would be desirable: more appropriate consultation of local episcopates by the Roman dicasteries (13.h), more regular work by the College of Cardinals (13.e), revision of the procedure for ad limina visits (13.g). To give practical effect to this readjustment, the Synod proposed that an initial ethical and pastoral discernment on a subject that concerns it more directly should be carried out by the African episcopate:

What is at stake today in an enriched articulation of primacy and collegiality is both subtle and important. The famous Nota explicativa praevia appended to Lumen gentium, while rightly preventing an autonomist understanding of collegiality, perhaps restricted the full meaning of the constitution itself, the reception of which the synod is deepening. In the classic expression of "primus inter pares", we must, without fear of paradox – a figure that is the opposite of the authentically Christian truth according to Fr. de Lubac – emphasise both primacy and parity: this is true of pontifical primacy in relation to episcopal parity, so that it is also true, mutatis mutandis, of ministerial responsibility in relation to baptismal parity.

While it is not possible to reflect in depth on communion, participation and mission without questioning the way in which the ultimate ministry of communion entrusted to the Successor of Peter is exercised, it also became clear that it was essential to situate this work in the perspective of the full unity of all the baptised. This ecumenical dimension of the research on synodality came to the fore at the synodal assembly, perhaps more strongly than expected, following on from the Second Vatican Council and thanks to the presence and active participation of "fraternal delegates" who were both benevolent and compelling. The proceedings of a major colloquium on synodality in Orthodox traditions, held in Rome in November 2022, were published and presented at the Augustinianum at the beginning of the October 2023 session5. Chapter 7 of the summary report, "On the Road to Christian Unity", begins with a strong statement:

How can we make sure we do not miss this "kairos"? The summary report mentions John Paul II's opening words in Ut unum sint in 1995. Referring to the Petrine ministry of primacy, the Polish Pope wrote :

For a great variety of reasons, and against the will of all concerned, what should have been a service sometimes manifested itself in a very different light. But ... it is out of a desire to obey the will of Christ truly that I recognize that as Bishop of Rome I am called to exercise that ministry ... I insistently pray the Holy Spirit to shine his light upon us, enlightening all the Pastors and theologians of our Churches, that we may seek—together, of course—the forms in which this ministry may accomplish a service of love recognized by all concerned (Ut unum sint 95).

And the summary report comments: "Responses to the invitation made by St. John Paul II in the encyclical Ut unum sint […] can help the Catholic understanding of primacy, collegiality, synodality and their mutual relationships" (13.b). However, the many responses received by the Holy See on this subject need to be worked on together in order to make real progress, both within the Catholic context and from an ecumenical perspective.

Among the other proposals for unity made by the members of the Synod, we might mention the invitation to honour the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea in 2025 in a profound and ecumenical way (7.k), as well as the desire to work towards a common date for Easter for all baptised Christians from 2025 onwards (7.l): the "technical" solutions are within reach; all that is needed is for everyone's desire and determination to grow. The experience of unity with Rome and of the relative autonomy of the Eastern Catholic Churches already sketches out a model of relationship to the primacy that could be envisaged, at least on an exploratory basis, for certain Orthodox Churches, and also nourishes the reflection of all on synodality: "their experience of unity in diversity can make a valuable contribution to the understanding and practice of synodality" (6.a). In any case, the Church will not make real progress on the road to synodality if she does not commit herself as resolutely as possible to the path of true unity in faith and charity.

Among the non-bishop members of the Synod appointed by the Pope there was only one permanent deacon. This diaconal discreetness made the question of the diaconate, paradoxically and as if implicitly, a veritable synodal subject. "As part of the rethinking of the diaconal ministry,  the Church should promote a stronger orientation towards service to those who are poor", we read in chapter 4 (4.p). The synod's universal perspective enabled us to gauge the variety of diaconal experiences around the world:

In the Latin Churches, the permanent diaconate has been implemented in differing ways in different ecclesial contexts. Some local Churches have not introduced it at all; in others, there is concern that deacons are perceived as a kind of substitute for the shortage of priests. Sometimes, their ministry finds expression in the liturgy rather than in service to those living in poverty and who are needy in the community. We therefore recommend an assessment of how the diaconal ministry has been implemented since Vatican II. (11.g).

The way in which the diaconate is referred to is sometimes unclear, even approximate:

From a theological point of view, there is a need to understand the diaconate first and foremost in itself and not only as a stage of access to the presbyterate. Qualifying the first form of the diaconate as “permanent”, to distinguish it from the "transitional" form, is itself an indication of a change of perspective that has not yet been adequately realized (11.h).

Why insist in this way on the diaconal dimension of synodal discernment? Because one of the leitmotifs of the Synod was precisely the call to service addressed to all the faithful, and to clerics in particular, as a condition for the authentically Christian exercise of every office in the Church. "The expression ‘an all-ministerial Church’, used in the Instrumentum laboris, can lend itself to misunderstanding”, stresses the report. “Its meaning will have to be clarified in order to remove any ambiguities" (8.m). This expression, however open to criticism, at least attempts to highlight the fundamental identity of the Servant Church as the body of Christ the Servant. The diaconate is like the sacramental source of service from which the Church "veluti sacramentum" (Lumen gentium 1) cannot fail to draw. The report mentions Lumen gentium 29, the refounding act of the diaconate as a stable degree of the sacrament of Holy Orders:

At a lower level of the hierarchy are deacons, upon whom hands are imposed "not unto the priesthood, but unto a ministry of service." For strengthened by sacramental grace, in communion with the bishop and his group of priests they serve in the diaconate of the liturgy, of the word, and of charity to the people of God. […] Dedicated to duties of charity and of administration, let deacons be mindful of the admonition of Blessed Polycarp: "Be merciful, diligent, walking according to the truth of the Lord, who became the servant of all."

What the Church lacks today is not so much a doctrine and theology of the diaconate as a sufficient awareness of the sacramental root of the spirit of service, which is embodied in the diaconate of some for the benefit of the authentically baptismal commitment of all. This renewed sacramental awareness is the condition for the possibility of elucidating the question of the female diaconate, which gives rise to divergences that the report does not conceal (9.j), divergences that arise less from the question of femaleness than from the question of the diaconate approached in a way that is more functional than sacramental. On this theme as on others, the Synod of 2023 constitutes a deepening of the reception of the spiritual event that the Second Vatican Council continues to be, which did not imagine the permanent diaconate to be, as has sometimes been said, an ersatz of worker priests or a strengthened form of lay apostolate, but which rediscovered in the treasure of Revelation the properly sacramental source of service, particularly precious for today and tomorrow, to be welcomed in the obedience of faith.

This sacramental reawakening promoted by the Second Vatican Council also sheds light on the disputed question of lay ministries. Before undertaking any reflection on lay ministries in their variety and deployment, is it not necessary to solidify membership of the laos, the People of God, thanks to the trinity of the sacraments of initiation? This is what the beginning of chapter 3 does, with its suggestive and stimulating emphasis on confirmation:

The grace of Pentecost abides in the Church through the Sacrament of Confirmation. It enriches the faithful with the abundance of the gifts of the Spirit. It calls them to develop their specific vocation, rooted in their common baptismal dignity, in the service of mission. Its importance requires greater emphasis and it needs to be located in relation to the variety of charisms and ministries that form the synodal face of the Church (3.d).

It is astonishing that the pneumatological discourse, abundant to the point of sometimes being one-sided, which surrounded the preparation of the synod has generally given little place to the sacrament par excellence of the Spirit. Perhaps a renewal of Confirmation, on which the Eastern traditions have much to say to the Latin tradition, is one of the levers for deepening synodality. "Before any distinction of charisms and ministries, ‘we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body’ (1Cor 12:13)”, as the synthesis report reminds us. “Therefore, among all the baptized, there is a genuine equality of dignity and a common responsibility for mission, according to the vocation of each" (3.c). The development of new lay ministries must take place within this sacramental equality so as not to create a kind of ministerial class cut off from the body of the baptised-confirmed. "There is a danger, that was expressed by many at the Assembly, of 'clericalizing' the laity, creating a kind of lay elite that perpetuates inequalities and divisions among the People of God" (8.f).

Once this framework of sacramental rootedness and equality has been established, the question of properly lay ministries can and must be addressed. We must not remain at the level of the ersatz minor orders instituted by Saint Paul VI in the motu proprio Ministeria quaedam in 1972. The lack of success and understanding of the lectorate and acolytate for more than fifty years, outside the path of seminarians and future deacons on their way to ordination, seems to show that the proposal, even if extended to all the baptised as Pope Francis' motu proprio Spiritus Domini did in 2021, is hardly appropriate. A synod is also, following on from a council, a time for discernment and authentication or not of practices already outlined or implemented with varying degrees of success. This is why, on the other hand, it is stimulating to read:

We need more creativity in establishing ministries according to the needs of local churches, with the particular involvement of the young. One can think of further expanding responsibilities assigned to the ministry of lector, responsibilities that re already broader than those performed in the liturgy. This could become a fuller ministry of the Word of God, which, in appropriate contexts, could also include preaching. We could also explore the possibility of establishing a ministry assigned to married couples committed to supporting family life and accompanying people preparing for the Sacrament of Marriage (8.n).

One element of "creativity" in "establishing" authentically lay ministries, which the summary report does not yet take up, would be the possibility of instituting the faithful for a specific period of time. The bishops of the Paris, Lyon and Auvergne regions, on their ad limina visit in September 2021, heard both Cardinal Ladaria - then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - and Pope Francis clearly state or even (in the case of the Supreme Pontiff) announce the possibility. In a sense, this is what is happening in many French dioceses by the sending of "lay people on ecclesial mission" on renewable three-year missions. Wouldn't the stable and at the same time limited dimension of instituted ministries consolidate their truly lay nature and allow the varied charisms of the same faithful to be exercised successively in different directions?