Realization of Synodalitas at the Level of Canon Law: Focusing on the Diocese

“It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.” (Address of His Holiness Pope Francis Ceremony Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Institution of the Synod of Bishops, October 17, 2015) (https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/it/speeches/2015/october/documents/papa-francesco_20151017_50-anniversario-sinodo.html)(September 26, 2022) This declaration was made by Pope Francis in his address to com-memorate the 50th anniversary of the institution of the Synod of Bishops in 2015. These words seem to point out the way the church should walk on its earthly pilgrimage. Synodalitas is the way of life and activity of the Church, which expresses the Church as the mystery of communion. The time and meeting of the Synod held at the diocesan level is mean-ingful in listening to and discerning the daily problems that people face and illuminating the way the church should take. At the canonical level, the spirit of ‘communion, participation, and mis-sion’ is concretely expressed through such organizations as diocesan synods, presbyteral councils, pastoral councils and financial councils, and financial councils, and parish pastoral councils and financial councils in the process of decision-making and implementation of certain issues. The canon law guaran-tees this spirit of synodalitas in the form of consultation and consent based on shared responsibility. First of all, consent binds the superior for whom consent is to be obtained by law. Insofar as it is obligatory to obtain consent, any juristic act is invalid if it is not followed. On the other hand, since counsel is not legally binding, the superior may not follow the counsel if necessary. However, if counsel is required, it must be sought for the validity of the act. Without seeking counsel, which is obligatory, the juridic act of a superior is invalid. The diocesan bishop does not respect the right of counsel and consent of qualified persons merely at the level of prudence. Rather, he must listen to the voice of ‘sense of the faith’ (sensus fidei) among the baptized faithful through counsel and consent according to the spirit of the synodalitas, which is the way of life and activity of the Church. In other words, the diocesan bishop must fulfill his responsibilities before the invisible God, who speaks in the form of counsel and consent to be obtained by the canonical bodies. Even though such counsels and consents sound like voice of people phenom-enally, they can be considered a form of patrimony which the Church has accumulated and inherited throughout the world. It is in this respect that the participation, expression and acceptance of all on the basis of common re-sponsibility never exempts the diocesan Bishop from the individual responsi-bility of the divine authority he has received from Christ the Lord. On the other hand, it is precisely for this reason that the faithful must accept and follow, in the spirit of obedience, the decisions of the diocesan Bishop on the proposals expressed in accordance with the spirit of synodalitas.