Women Deacons, ‘Sexuality’ and More: Here’s How the Synod Final Document Changed From the Draft
When the final document of the Synod on Synodality’s was confirmed on Oct. 26, it emphasized that the possibility of women deacons remains unsettled.
“The question of women’s access to diaconal ministry remains open,” reads the document, which was expressly approved by Pope Francis after each of its 155 paragraphs were affirmed by 355 voting members. “This discernment needs to continue.”
But that language wasn’t included in the initial draft that members of the monthlong assembly were presented with earlier in the week.
In fact, according to a copy of the draft obtained by the Register, there was no mention of the possibility of women deacons at all.
The language’s last-minute insertion may be an indication of why the paragraph in question received significant push-back from synod delegates in the final vote, with a full 27% (97 out of 355) voting against it. The number of “no” votes wasn’t enough to reach the one-thirds threshold required to strike the paragraph from the final document, but it came far closer than any other paragraph.
The change is just one indication of how the draft, which was first received by synod members on Oct. 21, was altered in several small, but sometimes significant ways.
1,000 Amendments
While some progressive Catholics expressed disappointment with the Synod in its final week, synod delegates cautioned that the final document could still undergo big changes via amendments.
According to organizers, 1,000 amendments to the draft were submitted by delegates, 900 of which were approved by small group tables while another 100 were submitted by individuals. The amendments were submitted to a team of writers ahead of an Oct. 23 deadline, and then were incorporated into the final version, which was presented to synod delegates on the morning of Oct. 26 ahead of the evening vote.
The total was less than the 1,200 amendments that were submitted to the synthesis document of last year’s synod session, which resulted in changes like the term “LGBTQ+” and a proposal to establish a permanent, Vatican-based synod being dropped from the text.
But the amendments, or other avenues for affecting what was included in the text, still made significant difference in the 2024 text on a number of topics, including sexuality and the selection of bishops.