The Vatican has not responded to questions regarding the expense it incurred to organise and host October’s Synod on Synodality, a month-long meeting of more than 400 people held in the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.
However, sources have confirmed to The Pillar that many of the costs associated with the meeting will be borne by bishops’ conferences and local dioceses around the world.
The same is expected for an October 2024 meeting to conclude the process.
The Synod on Synodality was announced by Pope Francis in March 2020 as a years-long process of common prayer, discernment and consultation among ecclesial leaders and lay Catholics.
The Synod was meant to engage Catholics around the world in a “synodal” process of common prayer and spiritual conversation, to assess how the Church could better invite more Catholics into decision-making processes, and — in so doing — better hear the guidance of the Holy Spirit.