VATICAN CITY (RNS) – After three years of discussions at all levels of the Catholic Church, a summit of Catholic bishops and laity at the Vatican concluded Saturday, Oct. 26, with the release of a document laying out a vision structural reforms. reform of the Church and calling on the hierarchy to make more room for lay leaders, particularly women.

The Vatican Synod’s final document on synodality lays out pathways to a more inclusive and transparent Church that gives all Catholics a say in the future of the institution. He proposed changes to canon law that would allow the laity to be better heard by their bishops, national bishops’ conferences and even the pope.

The 52-page document constitutes the final declaration of the summit, which brought together nearly 400 prelates, lay Catholics, nuns and brothers in Rome last month. Pope Francis has announced that he will not issue an “apostolic exhortation” as is customary at the end of a synod. The pope instead signed Saturday’s document, suggesting that it constitutes official Church teaching.

In listening sessions that began with Francis’ call for a synod in 2021, participants from around the world raised issues related to the role of women in the Church, priestly celibacy and welcoming Catholics LGBTQ. But during the first session of the synod at the Vatican last October, Francis assigned the most controversial topics to 10 study groups, removing them from the agenda of this year’s summit, which focused on “How to become a Church synodal on mission”.

A wide diversity of views on these topics remains, as shown by delegates’ votes approving each section of Saturday’s document, released separately. Paragraph 60, which deals with the importance of the role of women, received the greatest number of negative votes.

“The pain and suffering widely expressed by many women from all regions and continents, both secular and consecrated, during the synodal process, reveals how often we fail to live up to this vision” , indicates the document.

The synodal assembly requested that the possibilities for female leadership that already exist in canon law be fully implemented. “There is no reason or obstacle that should prevent women from exercising leadership roles in the Church: what comes from the Holy Spirit cannot be stopped,” the document’s authors write.

He also said the question of the female diaconate, which would extend to women the power to preach at Mass, conduct funeral services and give last rites, “remains open.”

In his closing address to the synod’s final session on Saturday, Francis said more time was needed to discern whether women should be deacons. “With regard to certain aspects of the life of the Church addressed in the document, as well as the themes entrusted to the study groups, which must work freely to present proposals to me, it will take more time to reach decisions which involve the whole Church.”

“It is not the classic way of definitively postponing decisions,” the pope said, adding that part of synodality includes listening and discernment before making decisions.

The final document is divided into five chapters, each addressing an aspect of synodality – which roughly translates to “dialogue” – and how to implement it. “In simple and concise terms, synodality is a path of spiritual renewal and structural reform that allows the Church to be more participatory and missionary, so that it can walk with every man and woman, radiating the light of Christ,” the document states.

The document makes clear that the synod does not represent the end of the synodal process, which will be followed by an “implementation phase”. The document declares the intention of the synod participants, who came from all over the world, “to promote it as synodal missionaries within the communities from which we come.”

The document called for the creation of another study group tasked with injecting synodality into the liturgy, making it more reflective of the cultural and ethnic realities of local churches.

Throughout the document, participants called for greater lay involvement, either through the creation of lay ministries that do not require ordination, or through the strengthening of lay bodies and councils in which lay people advise diocesan bishops. They demanded that lay people hold more positions of authority in Catholic institutions, act as judges in canonical trials, and be recognized and treated with respect when employed by the Church.

“If the synodal Church is to be welcoming, then the culture and practice of responsibility must shape its actions at all levels. However, those in positions of authority have a greater responsibility in this regard and are called to account to God and his people,” the document reads.

The synod called for the creation of financial councils that would involve lay experts in financial management at the diocesan level, and requested that church institutions publish annual, audited financial reports. He also called for more reporting on protocols to protect against clergy sexual abuse and the number of laity, particularly women, in positions of authority.

The role of bishops, another key theme of the synod, is at the center of the document. He urges bishops to share their responsibilities with the priests, deacons and laity of their dioceses. The delegates also want to expand the power of episcopal conferences, including the novelty of continental episcopal meetings introduced in the 2023 synodal process. They suggest studying in more detail which issues can be handled exclusively by the pope and which could instead be decided . by local authorities and bishops.

As the possibility of a conclave to elect Francis’ successor approaches, the participants in the synod asked that “the members of the College of Cardinals know each other better and that the bonds of communion between them be fostered.”

Church reformers had high hopes that the synod would make significant changes on issues ranging from LGBTQ inclusion to better training for priests to more power for women. Most of them were disappointed.

“For the second time, the Synod General Assembly failed to include LGBTQ+ issues in its final document, although the Catholic faithful persisted in naming them a top priority,” said Francis DeBernardo, Executive Director from the Catholic LGBTQ activist group New Ways Ministry, referring to last year’s synodal meeting and the one that just concluded.

“But even if the Final Document falls short, the synodal process has prepared fertile ground for change,” DeBernardo said.