The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB), through its Communication Advisory, presented a new hotsite dedicated to the Synod on Synodality. The platform has been renewed to accompany the current stage of the process, focused on the reception and implementation of the Final Document in the local Churches.
The space brings together in one place documents, news, videos, formation and reflection content, synodal experiences, and materials to download. It also allows for retracing the path started in 2021 and knowing the next steps, especially those related to the implementation and the preparation of the ecclesial assemblies planned for 2027 and 2028.
The father Julio Rezende, a member of the Animation Team of the Synod in Brazil and collaborator in the construction of the platform, explained that one of its main objectives is to facilitate the access of the People of God to the contents of the process. “The main objective of the hotsite on synodality and the Synod is to enable laypeople, religious men and women, ordained ministers, and all interested parties, in general, to access the information, documents, and materials that help to accompany this journey that the Church has been living since 2021,” he noted.
Space to share experiences
Beyond functioning as a repository of documents, the new site aims to become a meeting space between the different ecclesial realities of Brazil. Dioceses, groups, movements, new communities, and organizations will be able to share concrete initiatives related to the experience of synodality.
For Father Rezende, this possibility allows local experiences to be known and to inspire other processes: “More than a space to gather documents, the hotsite is also a meeting place, a place to share and, as the Final Document says, a place for the exchange of gifts and experiences”.
The platform will thus make visible initiatives that are already being developed in different regions of the country and promote mutual learning among communities.
From the path started in 2021 to the implementation
The Synod on Synodality, convened by Pope Francis in October 2021 under the theme “For a synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission,” opened an extensive process of listening, dialogue, prayer, and discernment in the different expressions of the People of God.
The new hotsite incorporates a timeline that allows one to go through the main stages of the process: the diocesan phase of 2021-2022, the continental stage, the two sessions of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops held in Rome in 2023 and 2024, the approval of the Final Document and the current phase of reception and implementation.
In Brazil, more than 270 dioceses participated in the first listening stage. Subsequently, in March 2023, Brasilia hosted the Continental Assembly of the Southern Cone, with representatives from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay. With the approval of the Final Document in October 2024, a new phase began: to bring forth the discernments made during the synodal process into the daily life of the communities and ecclesial structures.
The Final Document, the focus of the new stage
One of the main spaces of the site is dedicated to the Final Document of the Synod, which presents synodality as a constitutive dimension of the Church and proposes directions to deepen communion, participation, and mission. The section on implementation gathers guidelines such as the study of the Final Document, the creation of permanent processes of listening and community discernment, the strengthening of councils and other participatory structures, greater co-responsibility of the laity, the participation of women, training in synodality, and the use of the methodology of conversation in the Spirit.
Father Rezende believes that the hotsite itself can be a tool in service of this implementation: “The hotsite is also an instrument in service of the implementation of the Synod. It seeks to give visibility to the path we are taking. By facilitating, for example, access to these contents and promoting greater transparency and participation, we are implementing what was requested by the Final Document”, he explained.
The availability of documents and supporting materials aims to help the dioceses understand the Final Document, delve into its proposals, and discern how to apply them according to their own realities.
Path towards the assemblies of 2027 and 2028
Another of the highlighted sections presents the itinerary towards the ecclesial assemblies planned for the coming years. The process is organized into four actions: remember, interpret, guide, and celebrate.
The dioceses must review the path taken, recognize experiences and fruits, identify challenges, and discern the next steps. Subsequently, the contributions will be further explored in the regionals of the CNBB and at the national level, with the purpose of recognizing convergences, challenges, and priorities for the synodal path in Brazil.
This process will have 2028 as its horizon, when an Ecclesial Assembly is scheduled in the Vatican to evaluate the implementation of the Synod throughout the Church.
Training and access to materials
The new digital space also incorporates specific areas for training and reflection, videos, news, and downloadable materials. Among the available contents are the Final Document, guidelines for the implementation phase, materials related to the assemblies of 2027 and 2028, the Instrumentum Laboris and texts developed during the continental stage.
Likewise, the hotsite relates the synodal process to the General Guidelines of the Evangelizing Action of the Church in Brazil, considered by the CNBB as an important tool for the reception and application of the Final Document in the Brazilian context.
“The sharing of these experiences allows people and communities to present their initiatives, but also to learn from others. Everything helps to strengthen a synodal culture of listening, participation, discernment, and co-responsibility in view of the mission”, concluded Father Julio Rezende.
Visit the hotsite: https://www.cnbb.org.br/igreja-sinodal/
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