Implementation Phase of the Synod on Synodality

The Synod: A Continuous Process

Many thought that the Synod had concluded with the celebration of the second session of the Assembly last October. The Apostolic Constitution, Episcopalis Communio, has fundamentally transformed the nature of the Synod, shifting its status from a one-time event to a continuous process. This process is systematically divided into three distinct phases: i) The preparatory phase, ii) The celebratory phase, and iii) The implementation phase (EC, art. 4). 

Implementation Phase Begins: March 2025 Letter to Bishops and Eparchs

The i) preparatory and ii) celebratory phases are over by October 2024. Now begins the implementation phase. On 15 March 2025, the General Secretariat of the Synod distributed a letter to all Bishops and Eparchs. This letter, approved by Pope Francis on 11 March 2025, is intended for the entire People of God under their pastoral care. This letter addresses the accompaniment process for the implementation phase of the Synod’s Final Document “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission,” and this is coordinated by the General Secretariat of the Synod.

Applying the Synod's Conclusions Across All Church Levels

Cardinal Mario Grech, the Secretary-General of the Synod, announced that the third phase of the Synod will concentrate on applying the conclusions of the Final Document across all levels of the Church. Several important meetings will be held to assess the progress made during this implementation phase, which is set to culminate in 2028 with an Ecclesial Assembly in Rome. This Ecclesial Assembly will look at how Catholic communities around the world have put into action the recommendations from the recent Synod on Synodality, based on the Final Document. As a result, a new synod will not be held in 2028. Instead, the focus will be on continuing the progress made so far.

Key Priorities of the Final Synod Document

The Final Document of the Synod on Synodality, approved by Pope Francis in October 2024, emphasised synodality as essential to the Church’s mission and called for greater lay participation in participatory bodies, mandatory pastoral councils, stable lay ministries, the culture of transparency and accountability, organs of evaluation and continued study on women in ministry and seminary formation. Over the next three years, dioceses, Episcopal conferences and religious communities will work to integrate these synodal tenets into Church life. The new implementation timeline begins in May 2025 with the publication of detailed guidelines, followed by a “Jubilee of Synodal Teams” in October 2025. Cardinal Grech highlighted the essential role of local “synodal teams” composed of “priests, deacons, consecrated men and women, and laypeople” working alongside their Bishops.

Scheduled Evaluations Leading to the 2028 Assembly

From 2027 to early 2028, Evaluation Assemblies will take place at diocesan, national, and continental levels to review progress. Then, in October 2028, there will be a final Ecclesial Assembly. “The goal is not to add work upon work but to help Churches walk in a synodal style,” Grech wrote. “This process does not diminish the role of each Church in receiving and applying the fruits of the Synod in its own unique way,” the cardinal wrote. “Rather, it encourages a great co-responsibility that values local Churches while associating the Episcopal College with the Pope’s ministry.” As Pope Francis immediately clarified at its conclusion, the Final Document of the 16th General Assembly is part of the ordinary Magisterium of the Successor of Peter and must be received and implemented. Cardinal Grech specified that the implementation phase should not be seen as “a simple application of directives from above” but rather as “a reception process” of the Final Document in a manner “appropriate to local cultures and community needs.”

Between early and late 2027, evaluation Assemblies will occur in dioceses, eparchies, and Episcopal Conferences. The first and second halves of 2028 will focus on continental evaluation Assemblies and the publication of the _Instrumentum laboris_ (working document) for the October 2028 Ecclesial Assembly. The journey to the Ecclesial Assembly in October 2028 will allow sufficient time for implementing the Synod’s instructions and the findings from 10 study groups. The implementation phase is structured as follows:

Step-by-Step Schedule of the Implementation Phase

1. March 2025: Announcement of the accompaniment and evaluation process;

2. May 2025: Publication of the Support Document for the implementation phase, with guidelines for its conduct;

3. June 2025 – December 2026: implementation paths in local Churches and their groupings;

4. 24-26 October 2025: Jubilee of synodal teams and participatory bodies;

5. First Half of 2027: Evaluation Assemblies in Dioceses and Eparchies;

6. Second Half of 2027: Evaluation Assemblies in national and international Episcopal Conferences, Eastern hierarchical structures, and other groupings of Churches;

7. First Half of 2028: Continental evaluation Assemblies;

8. June 2028: Publication of the _Instrumentum laboris_ for the works of the Ecclesial Assembly in October 2028;

9. October 2028: Celebration of the ecclesial Assembly in the Vatican. 

By Rev. Dr. Merlin Rengith Ambrose

Executive Secretary of the Commission for Canon Law in the CCBI