“There is growing awareness that the synodal conversion to which all the baptized are called is a lengthy process that will prolong itself well beyond 2023,” the Vatican statement said.
“The desire all over the world is this synodal journey which has begun at the local level continue this journey well beyond Synod 2021-2023 so that tangible signs of synodality might increasingly be manifest as constitutive of the Church.”
The statement also announced that the Vatican would send a note to dioceses and bishops’ conferences with further details on how to format reports on the local consultation, which will be sent to the General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops.
“The note proposes the idea that the drafting of the report is itself an act of discernment, i.e. the fruit of a spiritual process and teamwork,” it said.
The synodal process is a global, two-year event featuring “listening and dialogue” that Pope Francis formally launched in October 2021. The first stage is a diocesan phase expected to last until Aug. 15.
The Vatican has asked all dioceses to participate, hold consultations, and collect feedback on specific questions laid out in synod documents. At the end of the current process, an assembly of the Synod of Bishops is scheduled to take place in Rome in October 2023 to produce a final document to advise the pope.
The Synod of Bishops’ statement invited Catholics to read its weekly newsletter, as well as visit its website for prayers for the synod and synod resources page.
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