Posted on 09/17/2025 8:40:28 AM PDT by ebb tide
Pope Leo XIV has spoken at length about the role of synodality in the life of the Church in a newly released interview published by Crux on 14 September.
The remarks on synodality form part of a forthcoming biography, León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI, written by Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen and to be published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on 18 September. English and Portuguese editions will follow in 2026.
In the video excerpts, Pope Leo is shown seated against a wall in a darkened room, speaking into a simple recorder on the table before him.
The Pope, elected in March, described synodality as “an attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand”. He said it meant that every member of the Church had a voice and a role to play “through prayer, reflection … through a process”.
He said that synodality should not be seen as diminishing episcopal or priestly authority. Some clergy, he noted, had felt threatened by the process, but he insisted that synodality was about creating communion. “It’s not on an institutional hierarchy, but on the idea of ‘us together’ and ‘our Church’,” he said.
Pope Leo linked synodality to his pastoral experience in Latin America. Half of his ministry was spent in Peru, where he said the Church had long practised forms of consultation that later became more widely known. “Some of the Latin American Church has really contributed to the universal Church,” he said.
He added that synodality could be a way of helping the Church remain united. “If we listen to the Gospel, and if we reflect upon it together, and if we strive to walk forward together, listening to one another, trying to discover what God is saying to us today, there is a lot to be gained for us there,” he said.
The Pope also reflected on the broader challenges of his ministry, saying he had moved easily into the pastoral side of the papacy but was still adjusting to the global dimension of the role. “The role of pope is certainly new to me,” he said. “I am learning a lot and feel very challenged but not overwhelmed.”
He described his election as the work of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit is the only way to explain how I was elected to this office,” he said.
Other subjects addressed included peace in Ukraine, the role of the United Nations, and economic inequality. On Ukraine, Pope Leo said the Holy See continued to advocate for peace but described the possibility of acting as mediator as “less realistic”. He said the UN had lost the ability to bring people together on multilateral issues. He also pointed to the disparity between the earnings of company executives and workers, citing the news that Elon Musk was expected to become the world’s first trillionaire.
The full text of the interview will be available when the biography is published on 18 September.
What is God trying to tell us today that's different from 2,000 years ago?
Has He changed His mind on morals and theology?
Pope Frank II.
What little I know about this new Pope makes me long for John Paul II...as I’ve done ever since his passing.
Critics also point to a lack of clear goals, fear that the synodal process could become an end in itself rather than a means to evangelize and question the "exodus" necessary for true dialogue before "syn-hodos" (walking together) can occur effectively.
Some argue the term is vague and subject to manipulation, while others worry about the neglect of traditional teachings and the neglect of core issues like abuse and declining vocations.
It’s the vague way synodality is used. Sure it may have a place to bring in different perspectives to answer prudential questions, like how best to serve a particular community, but it has no place when it comes to discussing matters of doctrine that are settled.
Has He changed His mind on morals and theology?
________________________________
While the new age revisionists obviously want to change everything these days (Cracker Barrel, etc.) religion, belief, and faith ought to be something that remains constant and unchangeable.
We need "Unity" around the Truth of the Gospel!....not some watered down compromise with modernity.
Probably agree
Odd how all the cries for the synodal leadership from the bottom get crushed under the heel when the people are demanding something like the Latin mass.
synod
[sin-uhd]
Phonetic (Standard)
IPA
noun
an assembly of ecclesiastics or other church delegates, convoked pursuant to the law of the church, for the discussion and decision of ecclesiastical affairs; ecclesiastical council.
any council.
I read Eccliastes, Soloman, the wise one. I’m OK with that.
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