Schönborn, Lackner and progressive female theologian Csiszar nominated for the Synodal meeting in Rome

Vatican publishes list of members and participants of the first assembly of the synod of bishops for a synodal church scheduled for October 2023 and 2024 - Around 375 members invited, including 275 bishops, around 50 priests and religious and around 45 women and men in the laity

The Vatican on Friday published the list of members and other participants for the Synod of Bishops for a more synodal church taking place from October 4 to 29 in Rome. The Austrian Bishops' Conference will be represented at the Synod Assembly by its chairman, Archbishop Franz Lackner. Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, who belongs to the Vatican Synod Council, is also an official member of the Synod of Bishops. The synod has a total of 375 members ("membri"), including around 275 bishops, a little more than 50 priests and religious, and around 45 women and men in the laity. The total number of invited non-bishops is almost 100, a little more than half of them are women.

In addition to the 375 "members" of the synod, there are also eight "guests/observers" and around 75 men and women who are "participants" in the assembly as so-called "experts" in the sense of theological advisers or as employees of the synod general secretariat without voting rights. Among these invited "experts" is the Austrian pastoral theologian Klara-Antonia Csiszar, who teaches as a Professor for Pastoral Theology at the Catholic Private University (KU) Linz.

Community, Mission, Participation

In a world synod proclaimed by Pope Francis, the Catholic Church has been dealing in detail since autumn 2021 with the question of how to make its decisions and what forms of co-determination there should be. The global synodal process is guided by the motto "One synodal church: community, mission, participation" and takes place in three phases, first at the level of the dioceses, then at the continent level and now at the universal church. In two assemblies from October 4 to 29, 2023 and in 2024 in Rome, the World Synod of Bishops will discuss the results of the worldwide consultation and consultation process. For the first time at a synod, non-bishops and non-priests will have voting rights on a large scale. According to canon law, it is nevertheless a "bishops' synod".

On June 20, the Vatican published the final working paper as the basis for the deliberations of the Synod of Bishops. On 71 pages, the "Instrumentum Laboris" first presents in two sections the characteristics and distinguishing features of a synodal church and develops three priority questions that have crystallized most strongly on all continents in the worldwide synodal phase and "submitted to the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops for differentiation". should be. This is followed by 15 worksheets with specific questions that the members of the synod should work on.

Source