From draft to final text: 10 ways the synod report changed

Michie

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The report issued at the end of the synod on synodality’s first session evolved considerably from the day a draft was presented to delegates to its Oct. 28 release.

An initial draft of the “synthesis report” prompted more than 1,000 amendments after it was shared with participants Oct. 25.

The 42-page final report, published Saturday (only in Italian), differed in many respects from the 40-page draft text, previously reported by The Pillar.

Here’s a guide to 10 notable changes.

1) ‘Permanent synod’ dropped​

❌ Before: “It is proposed to establish a permanent synod of bishops elected by Episcopal Conferences to support the Petrine ministry” (chapter 13, section j).

✅ After: “It is proposed to enhance and strengthen the experience of the Council of Cardinals (C-9) as a synodal council at the service of the Petrine ministry” (13, j, approved 319-27).

♂️ What changed: When Pope Paul VI established the synod of bishops as a permanent institution with the 1965 apostolic letter Apostolica sollicitudo, he said it would enable bishops to “offer more effective assistance to the supreme Shepherd.” He also decreed that members would include “bishops elected by individual national episcopal conferences.”

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