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PiusV and I had a spirited discussion on a related thread about whether or not a synod of bishops, by its nature, constitutes part of the "Ordinary Magisterium" of the Church, or whether it should be considered part of the "Ordinary Magisterium" only if its teachings agree with the previous, perennial teaching of the bishops in union with the pope.

We both agreed to research the question more. If anyone has authoritative insight or resources to help us decide this question, we'd be grateful.

I think it's a huge question, given where this synod sometimes appears to be headed, especially after reading through the Instrumentoum Laboris.

We both agreed to research the question more. If anyone has authoritative insight or resources to help us decide this question, we'd be grateful.

Perhaps this provides some insight.

However, what’s less well known is that an official proclamation from the Pope isn’t the only way for the Catholic church to issue an infallible teaching. If all bishops throughout the world at any given time agree on a particular belief, then that belief is considered to automatically be infallibly true and dogmatically binding on all Catholics present and future. The church calls this the “ordinary and universal magisterium”. Pope John Paul II, for example, explicitly stated that the prohibition on women priests is a permanent and infallible part of Catholic faith because of this doctrine.

The odds of that happening at this synod are comparable to those of an asteroid making a direct hit on the White House.