![Participants and observers gather Oct. 3, 2018, for a general assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20230825190828_e5921a5f1abfbbfc20bfcb3c97bf92035716b2980de63c6d7e5f99f3962b6c3b.jpg)
![Participants and observers gather Oct. 3, 2018, for a general assembly of the Synod of Bishops at the Vatican.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20230825190828_e5921a5f1abfbbfc20bfcb3c97bf92035716b2980de63c6d7e5f99f3962b6c3b.jpg)
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![Pope Francis among the delegates of the Synod on Synodality, held in October of 2023. Pope Francis among the delegates of the Synod on Synodality, held in October of 2023.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240709130736_ee5ec1e89ad0ee9bea0229bb863f6d3dcd3bd216629feb5e0aa486fbf726f016.jpg)
These Are the Members of the Synod on Synodality Study Groups
Here is the full list of study group members as presented by the Vatican.
![Delegates to the Synod on Synodality meet in the final days of the synod, Oct. 25, 2023. Delegates to the Synod on Synodality meet in the final days of the synod, Oct. 25, 2023.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024070914078_46f6c2b44b5dd50530aed7f14a8291a370c507a181f8a4ad1e4b5426d97a236a.jpg)
Synod Organizer Says Vatican Doctrine Office is Studying Women Deacons
While the female diaconate is off the table for discussion at the second Synod on Synodality assembly in October, according to the working document, or Instrumentum Laboris, published today, the topic will be included in the Vatican’s study on women’s leadership.
![Bishops process into St. Peter's Basilica for the closing Mass of the first assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 29, 2023. Bishops process into St. Peter's Basilica for the closing Mass of the first assembly of the Synod on Synodality on Oct. 29, 2023.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240709050752_7e4276766a37fb6dacd0bc3d4083441a0f7cd9c12d9ec9ea838e54f9c575699b.jpg)
New ‘Instrumentum Laboris’ Focuses on How to Implement Goals of Synod on Synodality
The Oct. 2-27 gathering of the Synod on Synodality will mark the end of the discernment phase of the Church’s synodal process, which Pope Francis opened in 2021.
![Pope Francis leads the Synod on Synodality delegates in prayer on Oct. 25, 2023. Pope Francis leads the Synod on Synodality delegates in prayer on Oct. 25, 2023.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024070310074_381653e0bd2f90c9a04d82231a7cf08b5e886f164d1597f85e102afb35fe40fb.jpg)
Vatican to Publish ‘Instrumentum Laboris’ for October’s Synod on Synodality Meeting
The second October assembly is a continuation of the multiyear Synod on Synodality, which began in October 2021 and has included stages of discernment and discussion at various levels of the Church.
![Cardinal John Henry Newman. Cardinal John Henry Newman.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240619050620_7e1dd2146a3116569e046fe0851165cecc7074b10b257603bbf00c5242a802db.png)
Ticket to Oblivion?
COMMENTARY: ‘Liberalism in religion is the doctrine that there is no positive truth in religion, but that one creed is as good as another..’
![Pope Francis among the delegates of the Synod on Synodality held in October 2023. Pope Francis among the delegates of the Synod on Synodality held in October 2023.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20240529160528_ee5ec1e89ad0ee9bea0229bb863f6d3dcd3bd216629feb5e0aa486fbf726f016.jpg)
US Bishops’ Synod Synthesis Reveals Desire for Greater Unity, Evangelization
Pope Francis initiated the Synod on Synodality in October 2021, kicking off a multiyear worldwide Church effort to engage in listening sessions with Catholics.
![The Synod of Bishop is shown underway at the Vatican, Oct. 5, 2018. The Synod of Bishop is shown underway at the Vatican, Oct. 5, 2018.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20230620140632_76483ee4ea7b5b80d7eea2c31599662e06909307dcbed77891490928bd8d5712.jpg)
Unity in What?
COMMENTARY: In the words of Pope John Paul II: ‘The moral life and the life of faith are so deeply united that it is impossible to divide them.’
![Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica. Statue of St. Peter in front of St. Peter's Basilica.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/2024041704048_6f462f46a9b306e28f8eb209aa261ebcd19500fe7938e5dcd73841a587065fc8.jpg)
Rome to Host World Meeting of Parish Priests in Preparation for Synod on Synodality
On the last day of the gathering, May 2, the parish priests will meet with Pope Francis at the Vatican and the meeting will end with a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica.
![View of St. Peter's Basilica inside Vatican City. View of St. Peter's Basilica inside Vatican City.](https://publisher-ncreg.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/pb-ncregister/swp/hv9hms/media/20210216160224_6a648e88e510520646cc34a0515c8ebeab75f0032897081d0403f8ebc59230e7.jpg)
Four Lingering Questions After ‘Dignitas Infinita’
The new declaration on human dignity has been well received, but its impact on topics like the Synod on Synodality and the Church’s pastoral response to gender theory remains to be seen.