Modernists see Synod document as a green light for a new form of Church

Synodal Process: Catholic Action welcomes Vatican roadmap

President of Catholic Action Kaineder: Synodal Church should now get substantially underway

Catholic Action Austria (KAÖ) welcomes the next steps in the Synodal process, which were set out by Pope Leo XIV and published on Monday. "We also read the document as a call to immediately take the next possible steps towards greater participation and synodality," KAÖ President Ferdinand Kaineder said in a press release on Tuesday. The synodal Church should get concretely underway.

With regard to the current issues, there is a broad openness. "All challenging topics remain open for attentive discussion, even sensitive issues such as the ordination of women," Kaineder said. The focus now will be on "engaging in dialogue and implementation of the relevant issues at the diocesan level and in the bishops' conferences." Catholic Action, he added, desires and participates in a "Church design in Austria that truly gets moving."

The Vatican text repeatedly speaks of the active participation of non-ordained women and men in the process, Kaineder continued. The Catholic Action Association (KAÖ) and all its branches have repeatedly contributed to the work to date, for example, thematically through the KA dossiers.

The Catholic Action Association (KAÖ) gladly accepts every invitation at the diocesan and Austrian levels "to help toward broader synodal participation of all believers in their profound responsibility arising from baptism," Kaineder said: "We are ready to make our contribution to this."

However, according to the KAÖ president, no time should be wasted. Because: "Many Catholics have grown tired of expecting reform." Furthermore, dioceses only have 18 months to put their ideas, concepts, and innovations into practice. These are supposed to be evaluated in diocesan assemblies as early as the first half of 2027.

Kaineder: "Every Diocese must now take its steps toward profound synodality in its structures and establish broad pastoral responsibility." The "pilgrim people of God" is the subject of pastoral care. Some dioceses have already taken steps that must also be reflected in new parish council regulations and pastoral responsibilities. This particularly affects decision-making processes at the parish level, which must be regulated in this regard.

Pope Leo XIV not only wants to continue Pope Francis's path toward greater involvement of lay people in decision-making processes, but even goes a step further, Kaineder says in the press release. The liturgy and bishops' conferences should also be included in the change toward greater participation of all baptized people. "This will promote a new physical form of the Church, where women and men, ordained and non-ordained, young and old will form the common face of the Church," the KAÖ president is convinced. The focus on a new type of priestly training also demonstrates that bold steps are possible here.

By explicitly inviting critics, the Vatican under Leo XIV is also pursuing a courageous path of dialogue and a willingness to allow itself and its own viewpoints to be questioned. In any case, Kaineder says, he is hopeful "that this process will lead to a new understanding and action as a Church by 2028."

Synodal Roadmap to 2028

The World Synod of the Catholic Church, initiated by Pope Francis for greater active participation of the faithful, concluded with a meeting in Rome and a final document on October 26, 2024. According to the Vatican document published on Monday, the implementation phase will now take place in five phases.

First, the results will be implemented in the dioceses, as well as at the national and international levels, by December 2026. This will be followed by assemblies at the diocesan level in the first half of 2027, and in the second half of the year by assemblies at the level of bishops' conferences and cross-border bishops' councils. The fourth phase will be the evaluation in continental church assemblies in spring 2028. A "general church assembly" is planned for October 2028 in the Vatican as the final phase.

The paper is titled "Outlines for the Implementation Phase of the Synod." The author is the head of the Synod Secretariat, Cardinal Mario Grech, who signed the paper on June 29 with the Pope's approval.

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