US bishops at October’s synod on synodality wanted to express “a certain amount of sorrow” over how the Church treats women, says Bishop Daniel Flores.
Flores, who led the US bishops’ national consultation process for the synod, says the bishop delegates spoke out when they were in Rome.
They wanted to show the synod that they recognised “how the Church has not, in her leadership or in the way it works … appreciated the sacrifice and that in so many parts of the world what continues to make the Church viable is the work of women.”
Considering how to make the Church “a more perfect communion where we do work more cohesively in a mutual recognition of gifts” was a particular synod aim, he says.
The delegates hoped the synod would enable us to “model to the world, imperfect as we are, that there is a way to relate to each other that’s not all about power and all about control”.
The synod’s “final document” however reports that action on the possibility of ordaining women as deacons is being postponed.
The interim “final document”
The October synod’s concluding document is an interim report pending further investigation, Flores explains.
It is not the final word on the synod’s decision, he added. The synod assembly delegates see the agreed final text as “an interim document”.
“We need some time to go more deeply into what’s marked there.”
Between now and the second synod assembly planned for October 2024, “we need to think more about this [text], but we need to think about it together and also think about it in context of our local communities.
“I think there’s some theological thinking that has to go on, at least initially, during this year to help us frame the questions” he says.
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