The slate of delegates is emblematic of the at-times competing ideological poles of the U.S. church—and the continued effort by Francis to reorient U.S. bishops toward his vision for the church.

“I’m honored to be invited by the Holy Father to participate in the Synod,” Father James Martin said. “As a Jesuit, I’m committed to this kind of group discernment.”

I have learned more about the church than I could ever have imagined, and the synod process has come to seem even more urgent and fruitful.

News reports, to the chagrin of the synod office, have focused primarily on the questions of the ordination of married men and women deacons—questions on which it invites discussion but makes no recommendations.

Colleen and Gerry unpack the Synod on Synodality's working document and the clues it provides about the synod’s first global meeting in October.

The synod’s working document, released at the Vatican on June 20, highlights three priorities for building a synodal church: communion, mission and participation.