Panel: RECEIVING SYNODALITY IN GLOBAL CATHOLICISM



272.1 - TOWARDS AN INCLUSIVE AND SYNODAL CATHOLIC COMMUNITY. MOVING BEYOND THE BINARIES IN THE 2024 FINAL DOCUMENT

AUTHORS:
Van Rompaey J. (KU Leuven ~ Leuven ~ Belgium)
Text:
The Final Document of the 2024 Synod of Bishops states that "every new step in the life of the Church is a return to the source", Christ himself. At the same time, it is an experiences that made the participants feel "His presence in our midst as we lived conversation in the Spirit and listened to one another" allowing them to establish "harmony amidst differences" (n° 1). In my reading, the participants of the synod experienced both a ressourcement and aggiornamento of Christ's presence. Their synodal work enables them to connect with the revelatory experience of the disciples, and it is, in itself, revelatory in the present day. While the document addresses concrete and challenging topics, I argue that traditional binary oppositions or dichotomies continue to exert influence within the theological reflection, shaping the synodal discussions. The binary of ressourcement and aggiornamento is, in general, theologically constructive. Yet, other binary oppositions, such as harmony and disagreement, unity and separation, inclusion and exclusion, center and margins, can easily become categories that divide, name, essentialize, conceptualize, and interpret people and their experiences. In this paper, I will expose how these binaries are still at work and show what their respective consequences and ramifications have been and might still be. To move forward, I propose developing Pope Francis's ecclesiological comments from his 2024 speech to Belgian authorities. In this speech, he offers a concrete key to overcoming ecclesiological binaries, which could provide a way beyond the binaries identified in the final document.