The General Secretariat of the Synod has published the Final Report of the Canonical Commission for a Synodal Church, a working document that proposes amending various canons of the Code of Canon Law to incorporate into the legal system some of the conclusions of the synodal process carried out between 2021 and 2024.
The text, dated in the Vatican on September 22, has been prepared based on the two General Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023 and October 2024 and, especially, on the Final Document approved on October 26, 2024. The Commission explains that its immediate objective is to identify those reforms that could be applied in the short term, although it also contemplates more profound modifications for later phases.
More functions for the laity
The first part of the report addresses the presence of the laity, men and women, in offices, positions, and ministries within the Church, including some related to ecclesiastical governance.
The Commission recognizes that the current legal system already contemplates numerous possibilities for lay participation, but considers that some provisions should be strengthened so that their application is «more practical and effective.» The proposals affect, among others, canons 145, 204, 208, 212, 228, 230, 275, 476, 483, 749, 1112, 1421, and 1425.
One of the novelties would be the introduction of the figure of the episcopal delegate, who could be a lay faithful considered suitable and exercise by delegation certain functions in areas similar to those currently attributed to episcopal vicars.
It is also proposed to modify canon 1421 to allow the bishop to directly appoint diocesan judges from among both clerics and laity, eliminating the current requirement of authorization from the Episcopal Conference for the latter. In certain cases, when it is not possible to constitute a collegiate tribunal, the single judge could likewise be a layperson, man or woman.
Laity to assist at marriages without permission from Rome
Among the proposed reforms is also a modification of canon 1112.
Currently, when priests and deacons are lacking, the bishop may delegate a layperson to assist at a marriage, but needs the favorable vote of the Episcopal Conference and prior permission from the Holy See.
The Commission proposes eliminating this last requirement. The bishop could entrust the function to a layperson—man or woman—after obtaining the favorable vote of the Episcopal Conference and hearing the presbyteral council.
Additionally, the proposed reform of canon 230 would expressly include assistance at marriage among the functions that the laity may perform when the needs of the Church require it and ministers are lacking.
Mandatory pastoral councils
Another of the most far-reaching changes affects the participatory bodies of dioceses and parishes.
The current Code establishes that the diocesan pastoral council must be constituted when pastoral circumstances so advise. The Commission proposes making it mandatory in all dioceses and establishing that it meet at least three times a year.
The body would also participate, together with the bishop, in the periodic evaluation of the implementation of the diocesan pastoral plan.
A similar modification would affect parishes. Canon 536 currently leaves to the diocesan bishop, after hearing the presbyteral council, the decision to establish parish pastoral councils. The proposal provides, instead, that one exist in each parish.
The new text also provides that this council participate «in the formulation of pastoral guidelines and decisions» that would subsequently correspond to the pastor to execute by virtue of his pastoral authority.
The bishop’s authority remains
The report itself specifies that the reform does not intend to convert these consultative bodies into instances superior to the bishop.
The Final Document of the Synod, assumed as the basis of the proposals, affirms that the authority of the bishop, of the College of Bishops, and of the Roman Pontiff in decision-making is «inviolable,» as it is founded on the hierarchical structure of the Church established by Christ.
At the same time, it maintains that this authority should not ignore without sufficient reason the orientation arising from a regular process of discernment and consultation.
The Commission therefore proposes reviewing the expression «merely consultative» that currently appears in several canons, considering that it may generate an artificial opposition between consultation and decision.
Diocesan synods and provincial councils every ten years
The report also seeks to give greater regularity to existing synodal bodies.
The proposed reform of canon 461 establishes that each diocese celebrate a synod at least once every ten years, intended to study specific issues, evaluate compliance with the pastoral plan, and propose guidelines for the future.
Provincial councils would also be held every ten years. Canon 440 currently provides that they be convened when the majority of the bishops of the province deem it appropriate.
The presence of other members of the People of God in these bodies would likewise be expanded. Current legislation limits the number of presbyters and other faithful convened to half of the participants who attend by reason of their office; the Commission proposes that they may reach the same number.
Less intervention from the Holy See
The Commission also addresses the relationship between particular councils and Rome.
According to canon 446, the decrees of a particular council cannot be promulgated until they have been reviewed by the Holy See. The report offers two possible solutions: that Rome must complete this review within a maximum period of one year or that, if no response exists within that period, the decrees may be promulgated.
The Final Document of the Synod links this question with the so-called «healthy decentralization» and with a strengthening of the role of Episcopal Conferences and particular councils.
Accountability and publication of finances
The third part of the report introduces changes relating to the accountability of dioceses, parishes, and ecclesiastical institutions.
The Commission proposes adding to canon 391 the obligation for bishops to establish norms on the criteria and procedures for accountability and evaluation of the bodies subject to their jurisdiction. These processes should be developed «in a synodal manner,» in accordance with civil legislation and with the participation of experts, including lay faithful.
Parish finance councils would also have to publish annually a report on the administration of the parish’s goods and resources, certified, «to the extent possible,» by independent auditors.
At the diocesan level, a similar obligation is proposed. The council for economic affairs would present each year a financial report to the presbyteral council and the diocesan pastoral council, likewise certified when possible by independent auditors.
A reform not yet approved
The modifications contained in the document have not been promulgated and, therefore, do not modify the Code of Canon Law.
The Commission itself warns that the report continues to be incomplete and that it will be necessary to wait for the other groups constituted during the implementation phase of the Synod to conclude their work before gathering the proposals and studying their eventual translation into legal norms.
In the short term, the document proposes specific modifications to the Latin Code; in the medium term it contemplates new instructions or the revision of existing ones and, in a broader horizon, it proposes a comprehensive revision of the two Codes of Canon Law, the Latin and the one corresponding to the Eastern Churches, to incorporate the theological and ecclesiological conclusions arising from the synodal process.