“What the Spirit Says to the Churches!” (Ap 2:29). In Search of the Optimal Synodal Way of the Universal Catholic Church

Abstract

The background to the study is the Synod of Bishops convened by Pope Francis on the synodality of the Church. The Pope has expressed the desire that the Church in general should become synodal and inclusive, that is, that it should listen to the voice of the whole people of God and involve the faithful in its mission. The main problem of this study, then, can be expressed in the question: How can the synodal process, planned for the next two years, be guided in such a way that it is optimal for the renewal of the universal Church? Answering this question required, on the one hand, an analysis of Pope Francis' teaching and, on the other, an analysis of the current state of the Church in the context of today's challenges. From the combination of these two premises, it was possible to draw several pastoral conclusions, the most important of which are: the involvement of lay people in the decision-making processes in the Church, the appreciation of women in the Church, and the adoption in the life of the Church of some democratic procedures that have proven themselves in the Western world for several centuries.