Beyond the occasional events of synods in the Catholic church, and beyond practices of synodality, stands a church that is synodal in its very nature. This ecclesial identity has its roots in baptism and the formation of the people of God prior to any subsequent division into laity and clergy. These baptismal roots also point to the missional orientation of the church, indicating that a synodal church is not self-referential, but serves the proclamation of God's saving mercy to a world thirsty for hope and healing.
A synodal church is a church on pilgrimage, a church in movement that finds its path by drawing on the accumulated wisdom of the whole people of God as they journey together. This book shows that the path forward only becomes clearer step by step through a process of dialogue, conversion, and co-responsibility. The journey takes place in different locales and different contexts, consequently requiring adaptation to accommodate the circumstances of local churches. Yet, this diversified and de-centered church also requires structures to keep it in communion and unity. Any reform of church structures, including practices of synodality, serves the communion and mission of the church.
Other Christian communions, Anglicans and Lutherans among them, have traveled the path of synodality. The Catholic Church can learn from their experience in the spirit of receptive ecumenism.
