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excessively preoccupied about reaching with a deterministic mindset a priori-set goal. This approach
is important in any group or community of people for fostering unity, cohesion, and synergy. In that
sense, synodality will be the beginning of a new process that eventually should lead to radical
changes, as we will see in our conclusion.

The Ecclesial Context
Let me highlight first the changing ecclesial context, which has necessitated a strong accentuation of
the synodal nature of the Church and expansion of this conception to respond to the needs and
challenges of our times.

There is a palpable disaffection when the expectations of Vatican II are not met in the practice of the
Church and its administration, revealing a dissonance between the grand Conciliar vision of the
Church as people of God and the ground reality. There is also an unease regarding the centralised
mode of administration and awareness about the disastrous situations it can bring about. Moreover,
one could sense increasing disappointment with decisions taken arbitrarily without discernment and
consultation by the clergy, telling upon the Church's credibility and witnessing potential.

This general mood is exacerbated by the global exposition of clerical sexual abuse, raising critical
questions on how the Church of Christ could be trusted when managed by clerics. One could sense a
virulent anti-clericalism caused by sexual and financial scandals. Recent experiences in different
parts of the world, including the central offices of the Roman Curia, have exposed financial
corruption among the hierarchy and clergy. Sexual scandals and financial corruptions at the highest
level in the Church called for severe censoring and even scaling down some cardinals from their
exalted positions by Pope Francis. Does not the pope‟s ecclesiastical sanctions point also to the need
for a human rights-derived criminal law in the Church?

Two recent acts of the pope confirm the earnestness with which he views the synodal approach. On 6
August 2020, he appointed six women to the top Council overseeing the Vatican‟s finances. Are we
to think that he trusts women in financial matters more than high ranking clerics? On 6 February
2021, Sister Nathalie Becquart was appointed as undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops, making her
the first woman to have the right to vote in the Catholic Synod of Bishops. Both the above events
augur well and are to be viewed as examples set for the local Church in India - of course, all the
three present rites included - and other Churches across the world.

All these above situations have cumulatively exposed a structural failure in the Church. As a result,
there has been an “enormous loss of credibility suffered by the clerical system”, as Hervé Legrand
puts it. Like in a building, when beams and columns crack, there is a structural failure. We are
experiencing in the current system of the Church structural failures that cannot be repaired simply by
sanctimonious exhortations. The dismal and critical situation calls for new practices in the Church.
One such important practice is synodality, an ancient practice of the Church indeed, but
reappropriated and reaffirmed in the spirit of ressourcement by Vatican II.

Moreover, with all their teething troubles and limitations, enormous positive experiences and
insights have been gained from the many participative structures introduced by Vatican II - Diocesan
Synod, Diocesan Finance Council, Presbyteral Council, College of Consultors, Diocesan Pastoral
Council, Parish Pastoral Council, and Parish Finance Council. Wherever they are active, basic
Christian communities have contributed to triggering the self-confidence and proactive role among
the believers and involvement in participative structures. Experiences with these structures and other
bodies have further increased the expectations of the faithful for a synodal Church. Thus, Synodality
has become not an optional possibility but an urgent necessity.

Synodality in a New Social Context

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