Call to adopt Pope’s concept of a synodal way forward

Cardinal Reinhard Marx of Munich has called for the Church to put into practice the concept of a synodal Church, outlined by the Pope on 17 October in his address on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Synod of Bishops, writes Christa Pongratz-Lippitt.

“In his striking address during the Synod in Rome, the Pope made clear that the Church’s path in future could only be one of synodal cooperation,” Marx recalled at a study day on “Salutary Decentralisation – What local structures does a missionary Church need?” at the Jesuit St Georgen College in Frankfurt .

“A synodal Church is a Church which takes all levels into consideration, the Pope, the bishops and the faithful,” Marx explained.

In the light of the Pope’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium, the Church was open for change, Marx continued. “The outer form of the Church can be changed ... without traditions having to be given up”, he recalled.