Synodality as a pastoral conversion for effective collaboration

Apr 12, 2025

By Sr Margarete Sta Maria FdCC
The word “synod”, or synodos in Greek, is an ancient word in the tradition of the Church. It is composed of the preposition syn, meaning “with”, and the noun odos, or “path”. Thus, ‘synodality’ means walking and journeying together. The concept is based on the common dignity and co-responsibility of all the baptised for the life and mission of the Church. There is an immense richness in the diversity of charisms in the Church, and each part has its own proper role. At the heart of the synodal path is mutual listening, collaboration, and a renewed sense of a shared responsibility and wisdom on the part of all for the mission of the Church.

The objective of the synodal process is to involve the lay faithful in the life and mission of the Church. Synodality reminds us of the work of the Holy Spirit through each of us and through all of us working together for our common mission. It expresses the Church’s mission in the ordinary life and work. Synodality bridges the expectation of change, develops and supports the understanding of clergy, religious and laity to the direction of an inclusive and attentive Church. This reflects the Synodal Church where the people that journey together in faith, work in communion.

Synodality in the pastoral field as in collaborative ministry reveals the Synodal Church at its best. This is so because it bears witness to authentic Christian life and is rooted in the spirituality of its Catholicism. Collaboration is the way of sharing responsibility and working together. Collaboration is not simply about delegating duties or about obtaining effective management. It is about being a Synodal Church, about a deep awareness and conviction that the Church is a communion of people with a vision and passion for mission.

God desires unity in diversity, not the unity of sameness
The root meaning of the word collaboration is to ‘co-labour’. In I Corinthians 3:9, the term for co-labour is synergoi, from which we get the modern word ‘synergy’. In short, collaboration means to coordinate, organize, and co-labour in such a way that the sum of our combined efforts produces more than our individual contributions.

Collaboration built on listening, participation, inclusivity, unity, and diversity, is so much more than a strategy for ministry success. It is the expression of God’s heart and nature. Co-labouring in loving diversity, unity with God and each other is how we rise to the scale of the challenges that God has given us; it is how the world comes to recognise that a loving God, powerful enough to change people’s hearts and minds, is seeking them.

Collaborative ministry, was among the many gifts that the Church re-discovered, especially after the Vatican II Council. Generous participation, listening and open collaboration is the very essence of the Gospel.

The recent Synod also spoke explicitly about collaboration: 'Since Vatican II, a new type of collaboration between laypeople and clergy has happily come about in the Church... In this there is a new experience of the fact that we are all the Church.' (Final Report of the Extraordinary Synod. C.6)

Pope Benedict XVI summarised it beautifully stating, “St Paul is an eloquent example of a man open to collaboration: he did not want to do everything in the Church on his own but availed himself of many and very different colleagues.” (Cf. Catechesis of Benedict XVI, January 31, 2007)

Thus, collaborative ministry begins from a fundamental desire to work together because we are called by the Lord to be a company of missionary disciples, not isolated individuals. It grows through a mutual process of conversion, formation and discernment. It also requires a willingness to face and work through conflict because of the attraction and value of a common good, supported by an awareness of participating in the work of the Spirit in the Church.

Collaborative ministry is a ministry committed to mission. It is not simply concerned with the internal life of the Church. Rather, it shows to the world the possibility of transformation, of community and of unity within diversity.

Collaborative ministry for mission can be challenging, However, it creates a sense of direction and focus for any organisation. For this to take effect, leaders need to communicate a clear and compelling mission, inspire their teams to work towards a common goal, and facilitate collaboration by encouraging individuals to work together towards mission. A shared mission can provide a sense of purpose and meaning in the ministry that is being carried out. Ultimately it promotes sense of belonging, participation, communion and lived synodality.

There are obstacles to the Synodality process of journeying together towards a Synodal Church. Daniel Dow in his book on Understanding God’s heart for collaboration, January 26, 2024 narrates the following obstacles:

1. Parish and people’s vision not of the Church of Vatican II.

2. Time and commitment for ministry by the lay faithful is limited due to family and work commitments.

3. Attitude of superiority towards one another which results in arrogance. Arrogance blinds people to the gifts of others as it attempts to protect their images and self-esteem.

4. Spirituality as a private matter. There is resistance to change and renewal.

5. Clericalism as the attitude that overemphasises the power and authority of those who are ordained at the expense of the rest of the baptised people of God. Pope Francis describes the affliction of clericalism as one of the attitudes that must be overcome to enable listening in the Church.

6. Gender inequality effects the fidelity on the demands of the reign of God that the Church is always called to heal all divisions that could wound the mystical body of Christ.

To sum up, in this Jubilee Year of Hope we are also reminded to make the internal pilgrimage. Thus, moving towards a Synodal Church as a pastoral conversion does express this journey of Hope. Someone said, “Until you truly hope for something, God will remain impersonal to you.” As such, we are being invited to dig deeply into our baptismal identity and listen to the Spirit calling us to a future filled with hope towards a Synodal Church.

(Sr Margarete Sta Maria FdCC is the Director of the Kuala Lumpur Archdiocesan Pastoral Institute)