Cardinal Tobin, auxiliary bishops, and others represent Archdiocese of Newark in Synod Continental Phase
The latest phase of the 2021-24 Synod on Synodality is ending as the continental document is written ahead of a March 31 submission deadline. In North America, discussions touched on several highly visible topics such as the inclusion of marginalized groups in the Church (and the “radical inclusion” of the L.G.B.T. community, women, and other groups), the ordination of women as deacons, and concerns around the Synod’s impact on Church doctrine.
Up to this point, the Archdiocese of Newark released its local synod report in September of 2022, highlighting the desire of more than 15,000 faithful for a more inclusive and welcoming Church, with concerns around engaging youth, the role of women in the Church, and faith formation in the 21st century – among many others. That report helped inform the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ National Synthesis (also released that September), and now the voices of the Archdiocese of Newark are being brought to the continental stage.
The North American continental phase gathered the USCCB and the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and more than 900 bishop-selected delegates in 12 virtual Zoom sessions from Dec. 14 to Jan. 26. Every diocese in the U.S. and Canada (a total of 236) was represented by its bishop(s), its synod coordinator, and three-to-five lay delegates.
For the Archdiocese of Newark, its representatives were Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R., its four auxiliary bishops – Bishop Elias Lorenzo, O.S.B, Bishop Gregory Studerus, Bishop Manuel Cruz, D.D., and Bishop Michael Saporito, Deacon Asterio Velasco, director of the Archdiocese of Newark’s Hispanic Ministry, synod coordinator Sister Donna Ciangio, O.P., chancellor of the Archdiocese of Newark, and five lay delegates from various counties.
All Archdiocesan representatives were involved in English and Spanish-language discussions, while Cardinal Tobin also contributed to French-language meetings.
“It has been a tremendous grace to accompany the People of God in North America along the synodal path,” said chairman Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville, Texas. “A deep love for Jesus Christ and the Church animated the Continental Assemblies, and the participants expressed a great desire to pray and work for a more synodal style in the Church going forward.”
What did the process look like?
Meetings were broken down into small groups of around eight people to discuss listening session feedback, and those discussions were reported to a larger plenary assembly of more than 100 people. 18 small groups reported to one plenary assembly each with 15 plenary assemblies across the continental phase reporting to the USCCB and CCCB to inform the written document.
Following the assemblies’ submissions of feedback, a writing committee of eight bishops, three laywomen, two priests, two laymen, and two women religious began working on the continental document. Sister Donna and 16 other diocesan representatives from the U.S. and Canada met virtually with the writing committee and Cardinal Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops, to offer their experience, highlight key points, and voice what was not heard during the assemblies.
What stood out?
In addition to writing her own group’s report, Sister Donna was able to listen to 17 other small group reports and the deliberation of the plenary assembly. In many reports, there was similar feedback:
- Concerning the results of the Synod: will the Church listen to the people?
- Honoring the theme of enlarging the tent with a concrete focus on who needs to be included.
- Parish life was a big point of emphasis with parish councils, governance, and the opportunity to give voice to parishioners.
- Some feared that the rules of the Church would change / nervous about change in doctrine because of the synod.
- Expressed a need for healing in the Church to support those who have been hurt in various ways.
- Discussion of Cardinal McElroy’s article on radical inclusion with some seeing it as a threat of watering down the Truth.
- A concern toward certain age groups walking away from the Church, especially the statistic of women walking away despite being very engaged in Church life. Discussion around women ordained as deacons.
- Conversation on how to form priests, especially younger priests, to be more collaborative with laity.
- Highlight the development of the Church in becoming a Church of true accompaniment through prayerful discernment.
What’s next?
Seven continental documents will be sent from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa and Madagascar, Asia, Oceania, North America, and the Middle East, no later than March 31, to the General Secretariat of the Synod. These continental syntheses will then form the foundation of the Instrumentum Laboris. This document, expected in June 2023, will guide discussions during synodal assemblies for the Universal Phase of the Synod to be held in Rome in October 2023.
While Sister Donna notes that she is not on the writing committee, she says that the Continental document is not “a directive document” – meaning that what is being written is not proposing action, but rather discerning “what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church.”
Then, during the Universal Phase, she said: “They’re going to say, ‘Okay, these are the major concerns that we heard from all of these different regions.’ And they might be different because Africa is different. Latin America is different. Certainly, Europe has different concerns. But what are the commonalities? And I think that’s what they’re going to be looking for. And then I would hope that they would pay attention to regional concerns as well.”
Sister Donna points to regional concerns already being addressed in the synodal process, with the Vatican Working Document for the Continental Stage, “Enlarge the Space of Your Tent,” referencing regions such as Zimbabwe and the Philippines. Similarly, she notes that the USCCB has paid close attention in giving voices to its dioceses in the USCCB National Synthesis.
And while the continental synthesis may not be a “directive document,” action can be taken on a parish level from synod results within the Archdiocese of Newark.
“The Archdiocese is in a planning stage where we’re gathering people to look at specific needs for their parishes, as well as the needs of the whole Archdiocese,” Sister Donna said. “We are in the process of creating a plan for the Archdiocese based on what was heard in listening sessions. That will include feedback from parishes and pastoral councils.”
More information on the Archdiocese of Newark’s synod process can be found on the Synod page of rcan.org, with resources available for parishes in seven different languages. Any additional questions can be addressed to Sister Donna Ciangio at sr.donna.ciangio@rcan.org.
OSV News contributed to this report.
Featured image: Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, C.Ss.R. speaks during the Fall General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on Nov. 16, 2022.
