Synodalność w myśli Josepha Ratzingera

Abstract

The aim of this article is to present Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger’s line of thought on the idea of synodality. In the following steps of his reflection, the Bavarian theologian poses seemingly rudimentary, yet fundamental questions: What is a synod? What is the function of the institution of synod in the Church? Ratzinger also does not shy away from questions on current issues related to the synodal path. They take on a provocative tone: Shouldn’t there be an uninterrupted synod in the Catholic Church that combines the principle of synodality with the principle of papal primacy? Can a synod function only as its own independent body of part or all of the college of bishops of a region? Who ultimately governs the Church? The author’s own attempts to answer the questions posed are set primarily in the Tradition of the Church and in the context of an ecclesiology of communio close to Bavarian theologian. The pragmatic dimension of the approach to the question of synodality contained in the reflection is also an important asset.