Catholic Church and Synodality

 

"The journey of Synodality is the path God expects from the church in the 3,000th century."

These are the words of Pope Francis reported in the Catholic Peace Weekly by a professor in the humanities department. One theologian said that if Synodality is not realized, the Second Vatican Council will be a "broken path". Synodality is actually the way to realize the blooming of the church declared by the Council in the 20th century.

In Korean churches, many shepherds and believers expect Synodalitas to give the church new vitality. And it seems that such expectations include the 'democratization of the church'.

The basis of Synodality is the equal dignity of all members. Believing in Jesus we received a "new" identity as the children of God, and this identity one of the noblest can't be compared to anything else.

All Christians, whether shepherds or believers, confess the same faith in Jesus Christ, share the same bread, love with the love of God revealed in Jesus, and have the same hope for eternal life. Therefore, all Christians are fundamentally united by brotherhood and also carry out the same mission of testifying and proclaiming Jesus Christ. This is what it means to have equal dignity.

Shepherds and believers testify to Christ in their own ways and serve the truth, as active subjects. The shepherds and the believers have common responsibilities in testifying to the truth, although in different ways. This Synodality is very much like democracy. It is understandable that not a few people regard Synodality as a democratization of the church.

However, Synodality has more to think about. Not all Christians are active subjects, but they are not the "main characters" of the church. Because it is the Holy Spirit who makes the church live, proclaims the gospel, makes people confess Jesus as Christ, and call God Father. The main character of the church is the Holy Spirit. We are actively participating in the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, the Synodality journey needs a third reference point in addition to its members. There is a common point that both shepherds and believers should look at: the Holy Spirit, the Word, the Success, and the Love of God. In short, like a triangle, God's domain is needed in addition to the relationship between humans. For a community connected by the brotherhood to be truly a people of God, not just a fraternity, a third vertex is needed to illuminate, guide, and interpret what we do. In the Synodality journey, important listening and identification is the process of recognizing this reference point, and implementation is to follow this reference point. This is the fundamental reason why Synodality cannot be identified with democracy even though there are many democratic elements.

Therefore, the church of Synodality is not simply about creating a "church from below." A church that moves around the reference point is a church that communicates in various directions, from top to bottom, from bottom to top, and horizontally. While shepherds and believers play their own roles and respect each other's dignity, they look at the same reference point together. In the language of democracy, there is a democratic element, but it is Synodality that goes beyond democracy. Synodality is not just a decision-making process, but a 'process' that takes place throughout the life of the church.