Sensus Fidei as a Fundamental Element for Synodality and Its Discernment: Centering on the Recent Documents of the International Theological Commission

Synodality is the most important keyword for the Catholic Church of Today. It gives us the task of the integration between charismatic communion and hierarchial communion in the ecclesiological dimension. For this, it is important to understand the concept of sensus fidei (sense of the faith) as a charismatic gift for the faithful. Especially, the discernment of the ex-pressions of sensus fidei of the faithful in the application and practice of synodality is importantly needed. According to the recent documents of the International Theological Commission, the criteria for discerning the right ex-pressions of sensus fiei are faith, active participation in the life of the Church, listening to the word of God, openness to reason, adherence to the Magisterium, holiness such as humility, seeking the edification of the Church, loci theologici (the proper places for theology), and etc. After all, sensus fi-dei is a concept in a hermeneutical circle, since it is by itself one of the most important criteria for synodality, and at the same time, it should be continuously discerned by other criteria.