View source for Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church

{{Short description|Advisory body of Catholic bishops for the pope}}
{{distinguish|College of Bishops}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{canon law}}
In the [[Catholic Church]], the '''Synod of Bishops''', considered as an advisory body for the [[pope]], is one of the ways in which the bishops render cooperative assistance to him in exercising his office.<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/archive/cod-iuris-canonici/eng/documents/cic_lib2-cann330-367_en.html#Art._1. Code of Canon Law, canon 334]</ref> It is described in the [[1983 Code of Canon Law]] as "a group of bishops who have been chosen from different regions of the world and meet at fixed times to foster closer unity between the Roman Pontiff and bishops, to assist the Roman Pontiff with their counsel in the preservation and growth of faith and morals and in the observance and strengthening of ecclesiastical discipline, and to consider questions pertaining to the activity of the Church in the world."{{Sfn | CIC | 1983 | loc = Canon 342]}}
In addition, each patriarchal church and each major archiepiscopal church within the [[Catholic Church]] has its own synod of bishops. Unlike the body that normally assists the pope only by offering advice, these synods of bishops are competent, and exclusively so, to make laws for the entire ''[[sui iuris]]'' church that each governs.<ref name="intratext.com">[http://www.intratext.com/IXT/LAT0758/_PC.HTM Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 110]</ref> The [[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]] makes mention 115 times of the "synod of bishops" in this sense and only once (canon 46) mentions the synod of bishops that the pope convokes.
These synods of bishops are not what in [[Eastern Orthodox]] and [[Oriental Orthodox Churches]] are called [[Holy Synod]]s. The latter concept corresponds instead to that of the standing synod of these Catholic synods of bishops, which consists of the patriarch or major archbishop and four bishops appointed for a five-year term. Of the four, three are elected by the church's synod of bishops and one is appointed by the patriarch or major archbishop, while another four are designated in the same way to replace any member who is impeded.<ref>[https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_constitutions/documents/hf_jp-ii_apc_19901018_codex-can-eccl-orient-1_lt.html#TITULUS_IV Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 115]</ref> A meeting of a whole synod of bishops is called when a decision is required on a question that only the synod of bishops is authorized to decide, or when the patriarch or major archbishop, with the agreement of the standing synod, judges it to be necessary, or when at least one third of the bishops request that it be held to consider some specific matter. In addition, the individual canon law of some patriarchal and major archiepiscopal churches requires that the synod of bishops be convoked at predetermined intervals.<ref>Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches, canon 106</ref>
The papal Synod of Bishops is permanent, even when not in session.{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = I}}<ref name="Summary">{{Citation | contribution = Summary of the synod assemblies | date = 15 September 2007 | contribution-url = https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_20050309_documentation-profile_en.html#V._SUMMARY_OF_THE_SYNOD_ASSEMBLIES | title = Synodal Information | place = Vatican City | publisher = General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops}}.</ref> Periodically, it holds assemblies, which are either general, if called to consider matters directly concerning the universal Church, or special, if called for problems of a particular geographical area.{{Sfn | CIC | 1983 | loc = Canon 345}}  The general assemblies are either ordinary (held at fixed intervals) or extraordinary (held to treat of some urgent matter).{{Sfn | CIC | 1983 | loc = Canon 346}}
The papal Synod of Bishops also has a permanent secretariat{{Sfn | CIC | 1983 | loc = Canon 348}} headquartered in Rome but not part of the [[Roman Curia]].{{sfn| Okoye | 2011 |p=17}} Pope Francis greatly increased both the authority and influence of the Synod in September 2018.<ref name="sept15">{{cite news | work = National Catholic Register | first = Edward | last = Pentin | title = Pope Francis Boosts Authority of the Synod of Bishops | date = 18 September 2018 |access-date = 21 May 2019 | url = http://www.ncregister.com/blog/edward-pentin/pope-francis-boosts-authority-of-the-synod-of-bishops}}</ref>
==Establishment and nature==
In 1959, three years before the [[Second Vatican Council]] began, Cardinal [[Silvio Oddi]] proposed a permanent consultative body of bishops drawn from many parts of the world to discuss major concerns of the Church, and Cardinal [[Bernardus Johannes Alfrink]] proposed a permanent council of specialized bishops to legislate for the Church in union with the Pope and the cardinals.<ref>{{Cite web | title = The Synod of Bishops: An Introduction | place = Vatican City | url = http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_01011995_profile_en.html | access-date = 27 September 2020 }}</ref>
Within the framework of the Council itself, the first to put forward "the idea of a 'permanent synod of bishops' surrounding the pope" was [[Melkite Catholic Patriarchate of Antioch|Melkite]] Patriarch [[Maximos IV Sayegh|Maximos IV]].<ref name="Maximos">[https://melkite.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/CouncilFrontMatter.pdf ''The Melkite Church at the Council: Discourses and Memoranda of Patriarch Maximos IV and of the Hierarchs of His Church at the Second Vatican Council. Introduction by Archimandrite Robert F. Taft. Preface by Maximos IV'' (second-last page of the Preface)]</ref> In 1963, during the third session of the Council, he proposed that "a relatively small group of bishops [...] with rotating membership would always be in session in Rome to assist the pope. They would work with the pope in collegial fashion".<ref>John W. O'Malley. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rqGiCwAAQBAJ What Happened at Vatican II]''. Harvard University Press; May 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-674-04749-5}}. p. 191.</ref>  The model he proposed was what the 1990 [[Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches]] was to call the '''synod of bishops''',<ref name="intratext.com"/> but that he himself called the '''[[Holy Synod|holy synod]]''' of his [[sui iuris]] church,<ref name="Maximos"/> a collegial body comprising both the patriarch and other bishops.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}
On 14 September 1965, at the opening of the fourth and final session of the Council, [[Pope Paul VI]] announced that on the following day he was to establish the Synod of Bishops in a form that "could hardly have been further from what Maximos had proposed in the previous year".<ref>John W. O'Malley. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=rqGiCwAAQBAJ What Happened at Vatican II]''. Harvard University Press; May 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-674-04749-5}}. p. 253.</ref> He noted that "the Ecumenical Council ... gave Us the idea of permanently establishing a special Council of bishops, with the aim of providing for a continuance after the Council of the great abundance of benefits that We have been so happy to see flow to the Christian people during the time of the Council as a result of Our close collaboration with the bishops."{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = Introduction}} The Pope sought "to make ever greater use of the bishops' assistance in providing for the good of the universal Church" and to enjoy "the consolation of their presence, the help of their wisdom and experience, the support of their counsel, and the voice of their authority."{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = Introduction}} This preempted action by the Council, and made the Synod "immediately and directly" subject to papal authority, ensuring that it would be strictly an advisory body.<ref>{{Citation | last = O'Malley S. J. | first = John W. | title = What Happened at Vatican II | edition = Kindle | publisher = The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press | location = Cambridge, Massachusetts | at = [https://archive.org/details/whathappenedatva00omal/page/ loc. 5037-5058] | quote = Whatever the merits of ''Apostolica Sollicitudo'', it was an expression of [[papal primacy]], not of [[Collegiality (Catholic Church)|collegiality]], a word never mentioned in the text. It was a preemptive strike by the center. | isbn = 978-0-674-03169-2 | year = 2008 | url = https://archive.org/details/whathappenedatva00omal/page/ }}</ref> The Synod of the Bishops does not constitute collegial governance of the Church, but represents a collaboration with the Pope: it discusses topics proposed to it and makes recommendations, but does not settle questions or issue decrees, unless the Pope grants it deliberative power in certain cases.{{Sfn | CIC | 1983 | loc = Canon 343}}
===Collegial governance under Pope Francis===
{{See also|Theology of Pope Francis#Decentralization}}
From the beginning of his papacy, [[Pope Francis]] expressed his desire to strengthen the [[Collegiality in the Catholic Church|collegial]] aspects of the Church's governance,<ref>{{Cite news|url= https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/pope-says-structures-collaboration-collegiality-need-strengthening |title=Pope says structures for collaboration, collegiality need strengthening|date=13 June 2013|work=National Catholic Reporter|access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref> and he argued for more recognition of charismatic gifts in the Church.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://zenit.org/articles/popes-address-to-congregation-for-doctrine-of-the-faith/| title=Pope's Address to Congregation for Doctrine of the Faith |work=Zenit|access-date=5 June 2017}}</ref> He has held major synods on the topics of [[Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|the family]] (2014), on [[Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|youth]] (2018), and on the Church in the [[Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region|Pan-Amazon region]] (2019). On September 15, 2018, Francis approved the new [[apostolic constitution]] ''[[Episcopalis communio]]'' (Episcopal Communion).<ref name="sept15" /><ref name="sept18">{{cite news | url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/39398/pope-francis-approves-new-constitution-for-synod-of-bishops | access-date = 21 May 2019 | title =Pope Francis approves new constitution for Synod of Bishops| publisher = Catholic News Agency | date= 18 September 2018 | first = Hannah | last = Brockhaus}}</ref> The constitution states that the Synod's final document, if approved by the members with "moral unanimity" and, if the Pope has "granted deliberative power to the Synod Assembly", it becomes part of the Ordinary [[Magisterium]] of Catholic teaching, "once it has been ratified and promulgated by him".{{Sfn | Francis | 2018 | loc = Art. 18}} The new constitution also provides for the laity to send their contributions directly to the synod's secretary general.<ref name="sept18" />{{Sfn | Francis | 2018 | loc = Art. 7}} Some analysts surmise that the greatest achievement of Francis' papacy may be his creation of a more synodal Catholic church, where synods serve as a platform for open and energetic debate.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/pope-francis-everyman-pontiff-profile-200101104012522.html|title=Pope Francis, everyman pontiff: Profile|last=Mitchell|first=Charlotte|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=2020-02-05}}</ref>
On 6 February 2021, Pope Francis appointed [[Nathalie Becquart]] an undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops,<ref>{{cite press release | publisher = Holy See Press Office | access-date = 6 February 2021 | date = 6 February 2021 | url = https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2021/02/06/210206b.html | title = Resignations and Appointments, 06.02.2021 }}</ref> making her the first woman to have the right to vote in the Synod of Bishops.<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 7 February 2021 | url = https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2021/02/06/nathalie-becquart-premiere-femme-a-avoir-le-droit-de-vote-au-synode-des-eveques_6069030_3224.html | language = fr | work = Le Monde | title = Nathalie Becquart, première femme à avoir le droit de vote au synode des évêques | date= 6 February 2021 }}</ref>
On April 26 2023, Pope Francis announced that women would be allowed to vote at the [[Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops]],<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 26 April 2023 | work = New York Times | date = 26 April 2023 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/26/world/europe/pope-women-vote-bishops-meeting.html | title = Pope Will Allow Women to Vote at Meeting of Bishops | first = Elisabetta | last = Povoledo }}</ref> marking the first time women were allowed to vote at any Synod of Bishops.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-allows-women-vote-bishops-meeting-first-time-2023-04-26/|title=Pope allows women to vote at bishops meeting for first time|first=Philip|last=Pullella|date=April 26, 2023|via=www.reuters.com}}</ref>
==Secretariat and Council==
The Synod of the Bishops has its own permanent general secretariat, composed of the General Secretary and a fifteen-member council, twelve of whom are elected by each general assembly and three are appointed by the Pope. The secretariat assists in preparing the [[apostolic exhortation]] which the Pope publishes on the basis of the recommendations of each general assembly, and it prepares the next assembly. Their function ceases with the start of a new general assembly. A similar function is performed by specific special councils elected by the special assemblies.{{sfn|Okoye|2011|p= 17}}{{Sfn | CIC | 1983 | loc = Canon 348 §1}}<ref name=Notes/>
===Secretaries-General of the Synod of Bishops===
*[[Władysław Rubin]] (27 February 1967 – 12 July 1979)
*[[Jozef Tomko]] (12 July 1979 – 24 April 1985)
*[[Jan Pieter Schotte]], C.I.C.M. (24 April 1985 – 11 February 2004)
*[[Nikola Eterović]] (11 February 2004 – 21 September 2013)<ref name=bald/>
*[[Lorenzo Baldisseri]] (21 September 2013<ref name="bald">{{cite news|last1=Coday| first1=Denis|title=Vatican announces curial appointments|url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-announces-curial-appointments|access-date=18 September 2020|work=National Catholic Reporter|date=21 September 2013}}</ref>  – 15 September 2020)<ref name=grech/>
*[[Mario Grech]] (15 September 2020<ref name="grech">{{cite press release | access-date = 16 September 2020 | date= 16 September 2020 | publisher = Holy See Press Office | url = http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2020/09/16/200916b.html | title = Resignations and Appointments, 16.09.2020 }}</ref> – present)
==Powers of the pope==
The pope convokes the Synod of Bishops; ratifies the election of participants; determines the topic of discussion; distributes the material for discussion; sets the agenda; and presides either personally or through delegates.{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = III}}
The pope may also appoint participants of his own choosing, their number limited to 15% of the other delegates who participate either ''ex officio'' or as elected representatives of episcopal conferences or the Union of Superiors General.{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = X}}
==Assemblies==
The procedures followed at assemblies of the Synod of the Bishops are indicated in the ''Order of the Synod of Bishops'', originally issued in 1969, the latest revision of which was published on 29 September 2006.<ref>{{Citation | date = 15 September 2007 | url = https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_20050309_documentation-profile_en.html#C._Ordo_Synodi_Episcoporum,_the_Order_of_the_Synod_of_Bishops | title = Ordo Synodi Episcoporum |trans-title=The order of the Synod of Bishops | place = Vatican City | publisher = General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops}}.</ref>
===Ordinary general assemblies===
In preparation for each ordinary general assembly, episcopal conferences are asked to suggest up to three themes for discussion. After the secretariat has studied those proposals, the Pope, generally on the basis of the secretariat's recommendation, establishes the topic and agenda of the assembly. Criteria for the choice of the topic are: 1) that it be of universal, not merely regional, interest; 2) that it be pastoral in character with a firm doctrinal base; 3) that it be contemporary and urgent enough to stir up "new energies and movements in the church towards growth"; 4) that it can be addressed within the allotted time.<ref name="Notes">{{Citation | date = 15 September 2007 | url = https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_20050309_documentation-profile_en.html#IV._NOTES_ON_THE_SYNODAL_PROCESS | title = Notes on the Synodal Process | place = Vatican City | publisher = General Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops}}.</ref><ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.google.com/search?q=Hinze+%22new+energies+and+movements%22 | first = Bradford E | last = Hinze | title = Practices of dialogue in the Roman Catholic Church | publisher = Continuum | year = 2006 | isbn = 978-0-8264-1721-3 | page = 161}}.</ref>
Most participants in the assembly, called ''Synodal fathers'', are elected by the bishops' conferences: one in the case of a conference with no more than 25 members, two if a conference has up to 50 members, three from a conference with up to 100 members, and four from a larger conference.{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = VIII}}  Other representative participants include heads of [[Eastern Catholic Churches]], ten members of [[religious institute]]s elected by the Union of Superiors General, and the cardinals who head the Roman Congregations and some other departments of the Roman Curia.{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = V}} Dozens more participate by virtue of synodal functions assigned by the Holy See or as papal appointees, mostly cardinals and other curiate or diocesan prelates.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}
[[Fraternal delegates]] from several Orthodox and Protestant churches (7 each in 2015) have observer status.<ref>{{cite news |work = National Catholic Reporter | url = http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/who-s-bright-anglican-outsider-vatican-bishops-synod | access-date = 25 October 2015 | title = Who's that bright Anglican outsider at Vatican bishops' synod? | date = 22 October 2015 | first = Rosie | last = Scammell | agency = Religion News Service}}</ref>
The secretariat, which includes various other clerical and lay experts, prepares a preliminary outline document (''[[Lineamenta]]'') which is distributed to all concerned for comment. Based on this feedback, a working document (''[[instrumentum laboris]]'') is prepared and distributed to all churches. This document is the basis for discussions at the synod. The assembly examines proposals (''propositiones'') put forward by its members and passes to the Pope those that receive the assembly's approval. The Pope uses these as the basis for a papal post-synodal [[apostolic exhortation]].{{sfn | Okoye | 2011 | pp = 19–21}}
The first general assemblies attempted to draw up their own concluding documents, but found that the time available was insufficient for doing so properly.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}
===Extraordinary general assemblies===
In view of the greater urgency that justify their convocation, the preparation of extraordinary general assemblies of the Synod of the Bishops is shorter. The participants also are fewer, consisting of the heads of Eastern Catholic Churches, the presidents (only) of episcopal conferences, three members (not ten) of religious institutes and the cardinals who head [[Dicastery|dicasteries]] of the Roman Curia.{{Sfn | Paul VI | 1965 | loc = VI}}
{{As of|2014|October}}, there have been three such assemblies, in 1969, 1985,<ref name=es85>[https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/library/final-report-of-the-1985-extraordinary-synod-2561 The Final Report of the 1985 Extraordinary Synod], Eternal Word Television Network, Inc., accessed 11 June 2022</ref> and 2014.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}} The 1985 assembly commemorated the twentieth anniversary of the conclusion of the [[Second Vatican Council]].<ref name=es85 />
===Special assemblies===
Special assemblies of the Synod of the Bishops are limited to a certain geographical area, a country, region, or continent. Their participants, chosen in line with the rules for extraordinary general assemblies, are limited to those directly involved in that geographical area.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}
Special assemblies have been held for Africa (twice), America, Asia, Europe (twice), Oceania, the Middle East,<ref>Dietmar W. Winkler (ed.): ''Middle Eastern Christians Facing Challenges. Reflections on the Special Synod for the Middle East''. Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2019.</ref><ref>Dietmar W. Winkler (ed.): ''Towards a Culture of Co-Existence in Pluralistic Societies''. Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2020.</ref> Lebanon, and the Netherlands. Another is planned for the Amazon region.{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}
==Chronology==
The Synod of the Bishops has held the following assemblies:<ref name = "Summary" />{{sfn| Okoye| 2011| pp = 18–19}}
===Ordinary General===
{|class=wikitable
|-
!Year !! Number !! Topic !! Concluding document or apostolic exhortation
|-
|1967 || I || Preserving and Strengthening the Catholic Faith ||None. Called for the creation of an [[International Theological Commission]] and a revision of the [[1917 Code of Canon Law]].
|-
|1971 || II || [[Second Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|The Ministerial Priesthood and Justice in the World]] || ''Justice in the World''<ref>{{Citation | url = https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/synod/documents/rc_synod_doc_19711130_giustizia_po.html | title = Justice in the World | place = Rome | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 27 April 2018| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1971/11/04/archives/synod-of-bishops-affirms-celibacy-rule-for-priests-synod-reaffirms.html | date= 4 November 1971 | title = Synod of Bishops Affirms Celibacy Rule for Priests | first= Edward B. | last= Fiske}}</ref>
|-
|1974 || III ||  Evangelization in the Modern World || ''[[Evangelii nuntiandi]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author = Pope Paul VI | author-link = Pope Paul VI | date = 8 December 1975 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html | title = Evangelii nuntiandi | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>{{efn|The Synod participants, divided in interests and philosophies, had problems producing a report of their discussions to submit to Pope Paul,<ref>{{cite news | work= New York Times | access-date = 23 October 2017 | date =23 October 1974| url = https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/23/archives/bishops-reject-synod-report-as-largely-lacking-substance-troubled.html | first= Israel | last= Shenker | title= Bishops Reject Synod Report As Largely Lacking Substance }}</ref> and he disputed many of their contributions.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1974/10/28/archives/the-bishops-rebuffed-the-bishops-rebuffed-pope-in-rejecting-synods.html | title=The Bishops Rebuffed | work = [[The New York Times]] | access-date = 26 October 2017 | date=28 October 1974}}</ref>}}
|-
|1977 || IV || Catechesis in Our Time || ''[[Catechesi Tradendae]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author =Pope John Paul II | author-link = Pope John Paul II | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_16101979_catechesi-tradendae_en.html | title = Catechesi tradendae | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|1980 || V || The Christian Family || ''[[Familiaris consortio]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation |author = Pope John Paul II| date = 22 November 1981 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio_en.html | title = Familiaris consortio | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=O'Riordan | first= Seán | title=The Synod on the Family, 1980 |journal= The Furrow |volume= 31 |issue= 12 |date= 1980 |pages= 759–777 | jstor= 27661042 }}</ref>
|-
|1983 || VI || Penance and Reconciliation in the Mission of the Church || ''[[Reconciliatio et paenitentia]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author = Pope John Paul II | date = 2 December 1984 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_02121984_reconciliatio-et-paenitentia_en.html | title = Reconciliatio et paenitentia | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|1987 || VII || The Vocation and Mission of the Lay Faithful in the Church and in the World || ''[[Christifideles laici]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author = Pope John Paul II | date = 30 December 1988 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_30121988_christifideles-laici_en.html | title = Christifideles laici | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|1990 || VIII || The Formation of Priests in Circumstances of the Present Day || ''[[Pastores dabo vobis]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author = Pope John Paul II | date = 25 March 1992 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_25031992_pastores-dabo-vobis_en.html | title = Pastores dabo vobis | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|1994 || IX || The Consecrated Life and its Role in the Church and in the World || ''[[Vita consecrata]]''<ref>{{Citation | author = Pope John Paul II| date = 25 March 1996 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_25031996_vita-consecrata_en.html | title = Vita consecrata | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|2001 || X || The Bishop: Servant of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the Hope of the World || ''Pastores gregis'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author =Pope John Paul II| date = 16 October 2003 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20031016_pastores-gregis_en.html | title = Pastores gregis | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|2005 || XI || The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church || ''[[Sacramentum caritatis]]'' (apostolic exhortation) <ref>{{Citation | author = Pope Benedict XVI| author-link = Pope Benedict XVI | date = 22 February 2007 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20070222_sacramentum-caritatis_en.html | title = Sacramentum caritatis | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|2008 || XII || The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church || ''[[Verbum Domini]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation |  author = Pope Benedict XVI | date = 30 September 2010 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20100930_verbum-domini_en.html | title = Verbum Domini | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|2012 || XIII || [[New evangelization|The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith]] || ''[[Evangelii gaudium]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author = Pope Francis| author-link = Pope Francis | date = 24 November 2013 | url = http://m.vatican.va/content/francescomobile/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html | title = Evangelii gaudium | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|2015 || XIV || [[Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and in the Contemporary World]] ||''[[Amoris laetitia]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{citation | author=Pope Francis| author-link = Pope Francis | date = 19 March 2016 | title = Amoris laetitia: on love in the family | type = Apostolic exhortation | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana | place = Rome | url =https://www.vatican.va/content/dam/francesco/pdf/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20160319_amoris-laetitia_en.pdf | isbn = 978-88-209-9786-1 }}</ref>
|-
|2018 || XV || [[Fifteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|Young People, Faith, and Vocational Discernment]] || ''[[Christus Vivit]]'' (apostolic exhortation)<ref>{{Citation | author = Francis, Pope | author-link = Pope Francis | date = 25 March 2019 | url =https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20190325_christus-vivit.html | title = Christus Vivit | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}</ref>
|-
|2021-24 || XVI || [[Sixteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission]] ||''Final Document of the XVI Synod of Bishops''
|}
===Extraordinary General===
{|class=wikitable
|-
!Year !! Number !! Topic !! Concluding document or apostolic exhortation
|-
|1969 || I || [[First Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|Cooperation between the Holy See and the Episcopal Conferences]]<ref name = "Extraordinary2014" /> ||
|-
|1985 || II || [[Second Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|The Twentieth Anniversary of the Conclusion of the Second Vatican Council]]<ref name="Extraordinary2014" /> || {{Citation | url = https://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/SYNFINAL.HTM | title = The Church, in the Word of God, Celebrates the Mysteries of Christ for the Salvation of the World | place = Rome}}
|-
|2014 || III || [[Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops|The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization]]<ref name="Extraordinary2014">{{cite web |url = https://world.time.com/2013/10/08/pope-francis-calls-extraordinary-synod-on-family-and-marriage/ |title = Pope Francis Calls Extraordinary Synod on Family and Marriage |last1=Dias |first1=Elizabeth | date= 8 October 2013 |website = Time Magazine | access-date = 8 October 2013 | quote = ...the Vatican announced [...] Pope Francis will host an Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops to discuss [...] 'The Pastoral Challenges of the Family in the Context of Evangelization.'  The meeting will take place in Rome, October 5–14, 2014...}}</ref>|| *[http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2014/10/18/0770/03044.html ''Relatio Synodi'' of the III Extraordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: "Pastoral Challenges to the Family in the Context of Evangelization"], Rome
|}
===Special===
{|class=wikitable
|-
!Year !! Topic !! Concluding document or apostolic exhortation
|-
|1980 || Netherlands || {{Citation | author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 30 January 1980 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/speeches/1980/january/documents/hf_jp-ii_spe_19800130_sinodo_nl.html | title = Conclusions of the Special Synod of the Bishops of the Netherlands | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}
|-
|1991 || Europe ||
|-
|1994 || Africa || {{Citation | author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 14 September 1995 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_14091995_ecclesia-in-africa_en.html | title = Ecclesia in Africa | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|1995 || Lebanon || {{Citation | author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 10 May 1997 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19970510_lebanon_fr.html | title = Ecclesia in Libanon | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|1997|| America || {{Citation | author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 22 November 1999 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_22011999_ecclesia-in-america_en.html | title = Ecclesia in America | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|1998 || Asia{{efn|The synod devoted to Asia provoked a very critical response from the bishops of Japan.<ref>{{cite news | work= Crux | url = https://cruxnow.com/news-analysis/2018/12/19/when-pope-goes-to-japan-therell-be-a-big-dog-that-wont-bark/ | title = When pope goes to Japan, there'll be a big dog that won't bark| first = John L. Jr. | last = Allen | access-date = 21 May 2019 | date=19 December 2018}}</ref>}} || {{Citation | author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 6 November 1999 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_06111999_ecclesia-in-asia_en.html | title = Ecclesia in Asia | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|1998 || Oceania || {{Citation |author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 6 November 1999 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_06111999_ecclesia-in-asia_en.html | title = Ecclesia in Oceania | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|1999 || Europe || {{Citation | author = John Paul II, Pope | date = 28 June 2003 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_20030628_ecclesia-in-europa_en.html | title = Ecclesia in Europa | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|2009 || Africa || {{Citation |  author = Benedict XVI, Pope | date = 19 November 2011 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20111119_africae-munus_en.html | title = Africae munus | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}
|-
|2010 || Middle East || {{Citation | author = Benedict XVI, Pope | date = 9 September 2012 | url =https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_ben-xvi_exh_20120914_ecclesia-in-medio-oriente.html | title = Ecclesia in Medio Oriente | type = Apostolic exhortation | place = Rome |publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana| author-mask = 3}}
|-
|2019|| [[Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region|Pan-Amazon region]]<ref>{{cite news | access-date = 18 October 2017 | date=15 October 2017 | work = CRUX | url = https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2017/10/15/pope-announces-synod-bishops-pan-amazon-region/ | first = Inés | last = San Martín | title=Pope announces Synod of Bishops for Pan-Amazon region}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/37007/pope-announces-special-2019-synod-of-bishops-on-south-american-region | agency= Catholic News Agency| access-date = 18 October 2017 | date=15 October 2017| title= Pope announces special 2019 Synod of Bishops on South American region | first= Hannah | last= Brockhaus}}</ref>|| Francis, Pope (2 February 2020), ''[http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20200202_querida-amazonia.html Querida Amazonia]'' (Apostolic exhortation), Rome: Libreria Editrice Vaticana
|}
==See also==
*[[Collegiality (Catholic Church)]]
*[[College of Bishops]]
*[[Synodality]]
*[[Synod#Catholic usage|Synod]]
==Notes==
{{Noteslist}}
==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist |colwidth =30em}}
===Sources===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Citation | orig-year = 1983 | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana | date = 4 November 2003 | url = https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_INDEX.HTM | title = Code of Canon Law ''(CIC)'' | place = Rome | ref = {{SfnRef | CIC| 1983}}}}.
* {{Citation | last  = Paul VI | first =  Pope | author-link = Pope Paul VI | date = 15 September 1965 | url = https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19650915_apostolica-sollicitudo_en.html | type = motu proprio | title = Apostolica sollicitudo | place = Rome | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}.
* {{Citation | last  = Francis | first =  Pope | author-link = Pope Francis | date= 18 September 2018 | url = http://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_constitutions/documents/papa-francesco_costituzione-ap_20180915_episcopalis-communio.html | type = apostolic constitution | title = Episcopalis communio | place = Rome | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana}}.
* {{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C-Y7_IC8-2sC&pg=PT16 |title= Scripture in the Church: The Synod on the Word of God and the Post-Synodal Exhortation Verbum Domini | first= James Chukwuma | last = Okoye | publisher=Liturgical Press |year=2011 |isbn= 978-0-8146-8026-1}}
{{refend}}
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[[Category:Synod of bishops in the Catholic Church]]
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