Synod announces new study groups, ‘permanent forum’ on synodality
Pope Francis announced on Thursday the creation of 10 new study groups, which will meet in coming months to discuss topics raised in the first global session of the Synod on Synodality.
The work of the study groups will stretch beyond the October synod gathering in Rome, extending the already-lengthened synod process that began with local consultations and listening sessions in 2021.
While the study groups will give a brief report on their work at global synod gathering this October, they are not expected to conclude their work until at least June 2025.
Meanwhile, the second global gathering of the Synod on Synodality, to be held in Rome this October, will narrow its focus to the question of “How to be a synodal Church on mission?”
The General Secretariat of the Synod has also announced that it will create a “permanent Forum” on synodality in the Church, “to deepen the theological, juridical, pastoral, spiritual and communicative aspects of the Church’s synodality.”
The permanent forum will function “at the service of the synodal process in a broader sense” and will work to explore “the terminological and conceptual understanding of the notion and practice of synodality.”