Synod on Synodality

The Church is in Synod! The word "synod" literally means "on the way together," and refers to a gathering of the Church for discernment or decision-making.

This Synod is unprecedented in the breadth of participation. In the fall of 2021 and the winter and spring of 2022, millions of people all over the world participated in listening sessions-the widest consultation of the people of God, and indeed of the human family, in history. In our own Archdiocese of Seattle, 11,000 people took part in listening sessions, in their parishes or online.

In October 2023, lay people as well as bishops served as official delegates to the Synod in Rome-a first.  Archbishop Paul Etienne was chosen as one of 20 participants.

The Synod is more about the experience of listening to one another and to the Holy Spirit than it is about documents. Indeed, the preparatory documents for the Synod stated: "The purpose of the Synod… is not to produce documents, but to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to be nourished, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another, and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, [and] give strength to our hands." That being said, the Synod has created a number of significant documents, at the local, the national, and the worldwide levels.

Each round of consultation has produced a synthesis document, which in turn have informed further listening.

• Archdiocese of Seattle Synthesis (English)
• Archdiocese of Seattle Synthesis (Spanish)
• Synthesis for Region XII (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Alaska)
• Synthesis for the United States of America
• Document for the Continental Stage (DCS): Enlarge the Space of Your Tent
• North American Synthesis Document (response to DCS)
• Instrumentum Laboris for October 2023
• Letter to the People of God from the Synod Delegates
• A Synodal Church on Mission: Synthesis of the October 2023 Synodal Assembly

The Instrumentum Laboris which guided the work of the delegates in fall 2023 asked a wide range of questions focused on how the Church can foster communion, strengthen participation, and carry out its mission. Topics considered include caring for creation, ecumenism, the participation of the baptized in the life of the Church, the role of women, and the inclusion of marginalized groups, as well as considerations around leadership and decision-making at the local, national, and global levels.

All of the work that has happened to this point prepared the way for the gatherings of delegates in Rome in October of 2023. The work of the delegates was guided by the Instrumentum Laboris for the Synod.

During the interim phase between the two Synod Assemblies, the Vatican invited local Churches to undertake a second consultation, this time on the theme of the co-responsibility of the baptized. From January through March 2024, the Archdiocese of Seattle undertook listening with several groups, including priests, youth, the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, and Chancery leadership.

The Synod will continue into a second session in Rome in October of 2024.