Ecclesial assemblies are called to be more than occasional meetings within the life of the Church. They can become permanent spaces for listening, discernment, decision-making, action, and evaluation, capable of involving communities from their concrete realities and articulating the different levels of ecclesial life.
This was one of the main proposals of the seventh implementation meeting of the Synod, dedicated to the regular holding of local and regional ecclesial assemblies.. The day aimed to reflect on the periodicity of these spaces, the appropriate moments to convene them, their preparation and composition, as well as their profile as discernment bodies, pastoral projection, decision-making, evaluation, and accountability.
The meeting included the participation of Brazilian theologian Agenor Brighenti, Argentine religious Daniela Cannavina and the Peruvian Jesuit priest Juan Bitón, who addressed, from theological and pastoral perspectives, the challenge of bringing synodality to communities, parishes, dioceses, and other areas of the Church.
Listen, discern, and decide together
Agenor Brighenti explained that assemblies are necessary bodies to enable the participation of the People of God. In a synodal Church, he noted, the participation is linked to three inseparable actions: listening, discerning, and making decisions. “The church as a whole” is called to exercise these functions as part of the same process, he said. In this sense, he distinguished between the pastoral council and the pastoral assembly. While the former has the task of accompanying and following up on decisions, the assembly constitutes a space for listening, discerning, and making decisions.
Brighenti also emphasized that a synodal assembly cannot be composed arbitrarily. Its members must truly represent the communities and, according to the final document of the Synod, the representatives can be delegates and even elected by the communities themselves.
The participation, he argued, must also reach those who hold leadership responsibilities. Bishops, priests, laypeople, women, religious men and women are part of the same People of God, even though they perform different functions. “The one who presides does not decide alone”, he recalled. His task consists of “harmonizing participation and the shared decision-making among all.”
Periodicity that allows for evaluation and accountability
The Brazilian theologian also proposed distinguishing the times of the assemblies according to their purpose. Assemblies intended to project pastoral action could be held every four or five years, while those for review, evaluation, and accountability should have an annual frequency.
Pastoral councils, on the other hand, would need to meet more frequently, even monthly, to accompany the execution of the decisions made by the assemblies. For Brighenti, this dynamic prevents decisions from being concentrated at higher levels. The process should begin in the communities, continue in the parishes, and then reach the dioceses and other broader areas.. “A synodal process must be inductive from below,”, he stated.
In this way, a diocesan assembly could gather the path previously taken in parishes and communities, generating a representation that arises from the bases. The model responds, he explained, to the principle of subsidiarity and allows broader areas to serve the more basic ones, avoiding a logic of centralization.
Church of all the People of God
Brighenti also recalled the process of transformation of the Synod of Bishops during the pontificate of Francis. Participation ceased to be reserved exclusively for bishops and began to include women, presbyters, laymen, and laywomen, included with the right to vote in the synodal process..
In Latin America, he explained, there is a prior experience of diocesan, parochial, and community assemblies with participation from the People of God. The pending challenge, in his opinion, is especially in the national sphere, where the bishops' conferences need to move towards more inclusive forms of participation. As an example, he mentioned Brazil, where since 1986 national assemblies of the People of God have been held with participation from bishops, priests, religious, laymen, and laywomen. Initially, they were held every two years and, since the 2000s, they have been held every four years.
In the same vein, he noted that at the level of the universal Church, an ecclesial assembly is scheduled for 2028 and he raised the possibility that Latin America could continue the experience of the first Ecclesial Assembly through a second continental experience, instead of returning to a model centered exclusively on bishops.
The assembly is not synodality, but it can teach it
Sister Daniela Cannavina shared the ecclesiological significance of assemblies based on number 107 of the final document of the Synod. In her opinion, the proposal to hold local and regional ecclesial assemblies regularly goes far beyond an organizational issue. “The assembly does not in itself constitute synodality”, she explained. It is, rather, “a privileged space” for the Church to learn to listen to itself, discern, walk together, and make decisions.
For the religious sister, the periodicity of these spaces stems from recognizing that the Church is a living community that needs to interpret what happens in each time and context. This implies listening to the local reality, the experiences of people and communities, the cries of those who suffer, the questions of new generations, and the diversity of local churches. Listening, it was clarified, cannot be limited to gathering opinions. It requires time and space for experiences that usually have less chance of being heard to emerge.
In this process, Sr. Cannavina described a circular dynamic: listening leads to discernment; discernment leads to decision; decision leads to action; and action leads to evaluation. After evaluating, the community goes back to listening. “A process of back and forth in growth is embraced”, she assured.
Church that learns from its territories
The holding of assemblies at different levels also allows for the recognition of the value of local experiences. For Sr. Cannavina, communities, dioceses, and regions do not constitute secondary spaces in relation to the universal Church. Their experiences can provide new understandings of reality and mission.
“Synodality” fosters a “fruitful interaction” among the different levels: the local contributes its experience, the regional articulates and discerns, and the local receives back what has been discerned to enrich its daily path. This dynamic, she explained, helps to overcome excessively vertical models and allows for the recognition of a more polycentric Church. Diversity should not be eliminated in the name of quick uniformity. On the contrary, differences can become a source of wealth to seek together what can be recognized as a common path.
Participation also raises questions about the exercise of authority: who has the floor, who is heard, who is left out, and what happens to what the communities have expressed.
For Sr. Cannavina, it is not enough to open spaces for consultation while decisions remain unchanged. “Authentic listening has consequences”, she stated, because it can demand transformations in styles, relationships, and ways of exercising authority. That is why she defined assemblies as a possible “school of synodality”. Synodality, she argued, is not learned only through documents, speeches, or webinars, but “by practicing it.”
Open listening to the territory and to other confessions
The proposal for assemblies also incorporates an ecumenical and interreligious dimension. Sr. Cannavina pointed out that the consultation should not be limited to within the Church, but should open up to other churches and Christian confessions and to those who share the same territories. “The church does not only listen to itself”, she recalled. The openness to other experiences and searches requires an attitude of humility to recognize that significant words can also come from outside of the usual ecclesial spaces.
The religious also emphasized what happens after an assembly. The question, she said, is not only how many are held, but what ecclesial culture they generate.
Therefore, she raised questions about continuity: whether listening continues after the assembly, whether decisions are implemented, whether processes are evaluated, whether participation is maintained, and whether communities are consulted again when necessary. “Synodality, to be such, requires continuity”, he expressed.
“You learn to swim by swimming, you learn to be synodal by practicing synodality”
From the pastoral experience, Jesuit Juan Bytton presented the process developed in the Archdiocese of Lima and in other jurisdictions of Peru. “You learn to swim by swimming, you learn to be synodal by practicing synodality”, he expressed while commenting that, after the advances made in training and reflection, the time has come to put into practice what has been learned.
Bytton spoke about the role of parishes as spaces to energize synodality. He described them as places of encounter, relationships, renewal of processes and bonds, from where the different experiences of ecclesial life can be articulated.
He also related this practice to the experience of being close to the communities. Remembering Gustavo Gutiérrez, he pointed out that, just as one cannot speak of an option for the poor without living close to them, it is also not possible to speak of synodality without being “shoulder to shoulder” with the parish communities. The priest stated that an assembly should be understood as a process that has before, during, and after. The pastoral experience contributes, in his opinion, a fundamental part of the synodal journey, even beyond what theoretical reflection can offer.
The experience of 129 parishes in Lima
As an example, Father Bytton explained that, in the synodal process of the Archdiocese of Lima, 129 of its 130 parishes held parish synodal assemblies. Subsequently, in January 2026, the second archdiocesan synodal assembly gathered representatives from the 130 parishes and had the participation of more than 900 pastoral agents. From this process emerged a pastoral letter to accompany the implementation of the proposals, understood from a propositional perspective.
The experience also began to extend to other jurisdictions. In March of 2026, the first national meeting of synodal teams from Peru was held, with the participation of 36 of the 54 ecclesiastical jurisdictions. Subsequently, in Lima, the first meeting of synodal teams from the ecclesiastical province of Lima was held, with seven dioceses.
The Jesuit priest insisted that it is not about establishing a race between dioceses. “No one is ahead, no one is behind,” he pointed out. Each ecclesial reality has its own moment and must be accompanied and respected.
Geography is also part of the process
The Peruvian experience also showed that synodal strategies need to consider the characteristics of each territory. The priest recalled that the country includes coast, highlands, and jungle, and that there are parishes in the Amazon that can only be reached after several hours of navigation.
Therefore, a gathering requires planning, priorities, and adaptation to the specific conditions of each community. “Synodality is not a topic, it is an attitude”, he said, a platform to discuss what ecclesial and social life is experiencing at each moment.
This experience also puts into practice the differentiated co-responsibility proposed in the final document of the Synod. The question ceases to be only what the theory says and becomes what each person can do and where they can collaborate.
Training and reception of experiences
Bytton also called for a review of the continental processes. Latin America, he said, has developed a broad experience of training, but now it needs to give the same importance to the reception and systematization of experiences.
The current stage, linked to the implementation of the Synod, requires gathering what is already happening in the communities, sharing experiences, and evaluating the processes. For this, he considered it important “to institutionalize the synodal praxis”, without reducing it to a merely organizational issue.
In his view, there are numerous experiences that have not yet been mapped and that can offer new perspectives for the life of the Church. The ultimate goal, he reminded, is evangelization: the closer the Church is to the language and realities of today's people, the clearer the announcement of Jesus Christ can become.
Social networks: risk and opportunity for participation
During the dialogue with the participants, the question also arose about the prejudices that circulate on social networks regarding religiosity and its possible impact on synodality.
Brighenti pointed out that the digital space presents possibilities, but also risks of isolation and individualism. Networks can complement in-person participation, connect with other spaces, and allow the participation of people who cannot be physically present.. Her proposal was to understand them as “an ally”, rather than as a starting point, and to relate the virtual with experiences of encounter.
Sister Cannavina added that networks can become channels to make known synodal experiences that currently remain little visible. Sharing these practices can broaden the understanding of synodality and prevent the digital space from being reduced to messages that confuse or misinform.
Father Bytton, for his part, recalled that critical voices or resistances that appear on the networks must also be heard. If the whole Church is called to the Synod, those who have difficulties with the process are also part of the reality that must be heard. In this sense, he proposed to recover a humanity that is not subordinated to technology: “to return to the reality that creates virtuality and not to the virtuality that was reality.”
What to do when a parish still does not know synodality?
Another of the questions from the audience presented a situation present in some communities: parishes where no meeting on synodality has yet taken place and where the process is even unknown. Sister Daniela Cannavina acknowledged that this is a widespread reality and proposed to dialogue with those who are at the forefront of the communities, but also to generate processes in which the communities themselves express the need for these spaces.. The meetings of the pastoral councils and other forms of encounter can constitute preliminary steps to build an experience of shared searching and reading of the local reality.
Father Bytton agreed that the diagnosis is already identified: there are communities that show resistance or apathy towards synodality. The current challenge, he stated, is to develop strategies to approach those realities and generate processes that allow for knowing, experiencing, and living the synodal path.
The theologian Brighenti emphasized the responsibility of the local Church and the role of the bishop. In his view, the bishop must act together with the presbytery and the laity, and assume a role of animation so that the parishes can get on the path.
Synodal teams: an ongoing task
The conversation also addressed the difficulties that synodal teams create in some parishes, especially when they are perceived as a threat or when it is not clear what their relationship is with the pastoral councils. Bytton explained that synodal teams are an important initiative to energize the process, but there are still difficulties in understanding their function and their recognition within the diocesan structures.
As a response, he shared the experience of developing a basic and practical manual on synodal assemblies, synodal teams, and the objectives of the synodal path. This material, he noted, has helped to promote the parish assemblies.
The priest referred to the parable of the sower to describe this stage: “The Lord left us the parable of the sower, not the harvester”. The task, he said, is to continue sowing, keeping processes open and seeking new ways creative participation.
An effective assembly begins before meeting
In response to the question about how to design an effective local synodal assembly, Brighenti insisted on the importance of preparation. An assembly should not be an isolated event. Its realization needs to be preceded by a process of listening and preparation that allows communities to arrive at the meeting with real experiences and contributions. “The during will give birth to an after” when there is a good before, he stated. Therefore, the assembly must be simultaneously a “destination point” and a “starting point.”
Sister Cannavina added that preparation must ensure broad participation and prevent spaces from being reserved for “the usual ones.” The question of who participates, who has the floor, who is heard, and who is left out must accompany the entire process.
Bytton even raised the possibility of recognizing new responsibilities, such as the role of facilitator of synodal processes, and strengthening the role of synodal teams to expand the collaboration of young people, adults, and older people within the communities.
The meeting concluded with an invitation to multiply information, train, and share experiences. From the Biblical Theological Pastoral Center for Latin America and the Caribbean, the offer of training courses and the possibility of accessing scholarships and discounts to continue preparation was also reminded.
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