VATICAN: Instrumentum Laboris for Second Assemby of Synod, “Rooted in the Life of the People of God”
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As the Church prepares for the second session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops slated for October, the General Secretariat of the Synod released a working document (Instrumentum Laboris) that they say is rooted in the life of the people of God, to guide delegates in the continued consultation process.
The document published Tuesday, July 9, under the theme ‘How to be a synodal Church,’ has been based on the results of the previous session held October 2023, as it highlights how to engage in deep listening and dialogue.
“The drafting of this Instrumentum laboris for the Second Session has been done in the light of the answers to the guiding question sent in by most of the Episcopal Conferences (EC) and their continental groupings,” reads part of the working tool as it highlights, “In this way, it is rooted in the life of the People of God present throughout the world.”
The working tool for this second phase, the Vatican officials say, has been defined by silence, prayer, listening to the Word of God, dialogue, and joyful encounters. Through this, the People of God, “have matured into a deeper awareness of their relationship with each other as brothers and sisters in Christ, with a common responsibility to be a community of the redeemed that proclaims the beauty of the Kingdom of God to the whole world in word and life.”
This document will continue to guide the people of God, especially the delegates reflect more on the question, “How can the identity of the synodal People of God in mission take concrete form in the relationships, paths, and places where the everyday life of the Church takes place?
When developing the Instrumentum laboris the General Secretariat of the Synod narrated on the day of the release of the document, it does not commence from scratch but it is based on the theoretical reflection of the results from the first session that was presented in the Synthesis Report (SR) and reactions from Churches across the globe.
Besides, the reflections from the International meeting of parish priests that was held in Sacrofano, Rome from 28th April to 2nd May under the theme “Parish Priests for the Synod: An International Meeting” formed part of the working document as well as materials produced by the five Working Groups set up by the General Secretariat of the Synod composing experts from different parts of the world, women and men, and those with different ecclesial roles.
Actually, the Instrumentum Laboris, “Is not a document of the Magisterium of the Church, nor the report of a sociological survey; it does not offer the formulation of operative indications, goals, and objectives, nor the complete elaboration of a theological vision,” Vatican officials quote.
The document is in sections: The first part is on foundational understandings of synodality, which highlights the awareness of synod on synodality, a process that has matured progressively. It is then followed by a section on Relationships; with the Lord, between brothers and sisters, and between Churches. There is a section on pathways that delves into the dynamism of ecclesial relationships and finally, the perspective of the places that are the “tangible contexts for our embodied relationships, marked by their variety, plurality and interconnection, and rooted in the foundation of the profession of faith, resisting human temptations to abstract universalism.”
