Dear Friends,
The Synod journey we are now living is not something new—it is the continuation of a vision that the Church has been discerning since the Second Vatican Council (1962–65). The recent Synod document, Pathways for the Implementation Phase, makes this clear: synodality is not an “extra program” but the way of being Church that Vatican II set before us.
The Australian theologian Ormond Rush, who took part in the Synod, expressed it simply: “Synodality is the Second Vatican Council in a nutshell.” All the Synod’s work—including the Final Document and these new Pathways—points back to the Council’s teaching on the Church as the People of God, united in Christ and called to mission.
To put it another way: Synodality is the way we continue to receive and live Vatican II. The Council is not fully implemented everywhere; this Synod is helping us take the next steps in that reception.
At the heart of this vision are the three words that form the Synod’s logo and guide its mission: communion, participation, mission.
- Communion – Vatican II taught that through baptism we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, bound together as one Body.
