Synodalność w teologii Soboru Watykańskiego II

Abstract

Since the publication of the apostolic constitution Episcopalis Communio in 2018 by Pope Francis, the institution of the Synod of Bishops has received a profound reinterpretation of the scope of its formula. The current Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops – dedicated to the theme – For a Synodal Church Communion, Participation and Mission – raises many fundamental questions about the proper theological understanding of the Synod of Bishops. The reference in all these topical questions to the discussions of the Second Vatican Council is undoubtedly right and advisable. It was at this Council that the framework of how the Synod of Bishops and its first vocation should be understood was shaped. The analysis of this study therefore leans towards the basic elements of the theology of synodality that were introduced into the ecclesiology of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, and these are issues such as the people of God, the Church as communio ecclesiarum, and episcopal collegiality. However, as this analysis shows, the conciliar formulation of all these important themes and reflections for a renewed ecclesiology does not mean that the theology of synodality of Vaticanum Secundum had no limitations. The very establishment of the Synod of Bishops in 1965 by Pope Paul VI and the elaboration of the motu proprio Apostolica sollicitudo did not take place through the collaboration of the Pope with the bishops still gathered at the Council. The scope of the Synod of Bishops, according to the will of Paul VI, was given only a consultative function, whereas the intention of the majority of the Council Fathers was to give this synod an effective collegiality.