SYNODALITY, THE LAITY AND THE ECOLOGY OF RELATIONSHIPS IN THE CHURCH

Abstract

Synodality is anchored on the vision of the Church as communion and calls for the optimal functioning of its structures. Saint Pope John II taught us that making the Church the home and school of communion is a great challenge, that is, if we wish to be faithful to God's plan and respond to the world's deepest yearnings. Collaborating with this, Pope Francis holds that the path of synodality is what God expects of the Church in the Third Millennium. While there are several works that have reflected on synodality in a general sense, this paper distinguishes itself by anchoring the discourse on synodality on the conversion of the structure of the Church in relation to the laity for a better understanding of the place and indispensable responsibility of the laity in the life of the Church, and for greater output in terms of the mission of evangelization. For the purpose of this paper, the theoretical framework employed is that of the Church as a family, the Church as a new people vivified by the Holy Spirit, the Church as the Body of Christ and the Church as a sacrament. The analytical and hermeneutic approaches were also employed to achieve the aim and objectives of this paper. The paper discovered that there is need for a better management of the involvement of the laity in the life of the Church for a greater output in the evangelization mission of the Church.