On October 10 2021 Pope Francis celebrated the start of the preparations of the next Synod of Bishops. This Synod will be held in Rome in October 2023. Its theme is Synodality, For a Synodal Church: communion, participation and mission.
The General Council invites all confreres to participate in the steps that the local Churches will organize in the diocesan phase of preparation for the Synod and which has as its objective the consultation and participation of the people of God (See Vademecum for the Synod on Synodality).
Furthermore, he invites all confreres to an exchange and community sharing on this theme of the Synod, using the questions proposed in the Preparatory Document for Synod 2023 in nr 26 and nr 30. A short report of this sharing may be sent to the Provincial/Section Superior who will communicate it to the General Council during their meeting in Rome in February 2022.
The purpose of the Synod, and therefore of this consultation, is not to produce documents, but “to germinate dreams, to arouse prophecies and visions, to make hopes blossom, to stimulate confidence, to bandage wounds, to weave relationships, to resurrect a dawn of hope, to learn from one another, and to create a positive imagination that illuminates minds, warms hearts, and restores strength to hands” (nr 32).