The first phase of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will start this Wednesday. This is a global consultation on the future of the Catholic Church that will be attended by 464 participants.. Of them, 365 will have the right to vote and this includes, for the first time, lay people and 54 women.

Thus, Pope Francis stressed this Tuesday on his social networks that “the essence of the synodal path” lies in a fundamental truth that must never be lost sight of.. “Its purpose is to listen, understand and implement the will of God,” the pontiff indicated.

Furthermore, on the eve of its start, this meeting has encountered criticism from five cardinals, who have shown their disagreements with the pope regarding different issues, including the blessing of gay couples and the female priesthood, issues that will be present in this assembly.

Thus, the Instumentum Laboris of the Synod will put on the table issues that were already present in previous Synods, such as the access of married men to the priesthood, the access of women to the diaconate or the measures that the Church can take to better welcome LGBTQ+ people. .

In the text, which is neither a document of the Magisterium of the Church nor a sociological survey, it is also made clear that “the majority of continental assemblies and the summaries of numerous episcopal conferences ask that the question of access of women to the diaconate”. In any case, the Synod of Bishops has a consultative character and the votes on the issues have a clarifying function, since it is the Pope who ultimately makes the decisions.

Ten Spaniards will participate in it

Among the Spaniards at the Synod will be the president of the Spanish Episcopal Conference (CEE), the Cardinal Archbishop of Barcelona, Juan José Omella. In addition, the archbishop emeritus of Zaragoza, Vicente Jiménez Mora, attends; the archbishop of Valladolid, Luis Argüello; and the bishop of Solsona, Francisco Simón Conesa Ferrer, elected by the Plenary Assembly of the Spanish bishops.

Likewise, appointed by the pope, Enrique Alarcón García, president of the Christian Fraternity of People with Disabilities, attends; Luis Miguel Castillo Gualda, rector of the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Valencia; the theologian Cristina Inogés Sanz and the vicar for Consecrated Life of the Archdiocese of Madrid Elías Royón Lara. Together with them, the nun Luisa Berzosa González and the professor and priest Eloy Bueno de la Fuente will act as facilitators.

It will last three and a half weeks

The Synod of Bishops began in a new way in 2021 with a consultation of the dioceses and parishes of all the countries of the world. Then it continued with the continental phase in Asia, Africa, America, the Middle East, Oceania.

Regarding the Synod program, the Pope will hold the opening ceremony with a Mass on Wednesday, October 4, the day on which the publication of an apostolic exhortation on the climate crisis is also scheduled.

Likewise, a pilgrimage is planned for October 12 and a prayer for migrants will take place on October 19, with the expected participation of the Pontiff.. The final Mass on Sunday, October 29 in St. Peter's Basilica will bring to an end a Synod that will last three and a half weeks.

They will exchange information and vote

All Synod participants will receive a tablet with which they will read documents, exchange information and vote. For the first time, German will no longer be one of the languages offered. Thus, fourteen of the linguistic groups will work in this Synod in English, eight in Italian, seven in Spanish, five in French and one in Portuguese.

The General Assembly of the Synod will be divided into five modules, the first four on the different parts of the 'Instrumentum laboris' (the working document of the Synod) and the final session to discuss and refine the report and summaries.

The pope is “very interested” in not allowing “opposing individual voices” to emerge, but he invites us to move from what each person has been able to elaborate in their prayer and reflection to a debate.