The Instrumentum Laboris for the October 2024 Assembly, entitled “How to be a missionary synodal Church” calls for significant changes in the Catholic Church and simultaneously maintains rules that limit future possibilities, according to leaders of DignityUSA, the world’s oldest organization of Catholics working for the equality of LGBTQIA+ people in the church and society. This poses tremendous challenges for those who are part of the Assembly and for the larger church, says DignityUSA.

“This document reinforces what people have experienced regarding the Synod,” said Marianne Duddy-Burke, Executive Director of DignityUSA. “It offers a vision of hope for a brighter and more inclusive, participative future, but when you look more closely, you notice numerous restrictions that may undermine this vision. This dynamic is confusing for many.

“Late in 2023, the Vatican announced that the October 2024 Assembly will focus on church structure and practice, rather than specific issues, like how to minister with LGBTQIA+ people and the role of women,” said Duddy-Burke. “Those issues have been assigned to what is called ‘Study Group 9.’ While it seems inevitable that these issues will come up in Assembly discussions, we recognize that specific proposals will not come out of October’s deliberations. It is also clear that the work of the Synod will now continue beyond the close of the Assembly. All of that makes sense given the scope of the changes being discussed. There are some very positive points in the Instrumentumand a number of questions it raises for us.”

DignityUSA applauds the affirmation that the Holy Spirit bestows gifts for the People of God across genders, and the call for “further exploration of ministerial and pastoral modalities that better express the charismatic gifts the Spirit pours out on women.” (par. 15) We support the insistence that church leaders are “obliged” to listen to the voice of those involved in any decisions and must explain any decision that contradicts the counsel of those most impacted.

“We welcome the call for greater transparency and accountability by church leaders at every level,” Duddy-Burke said. “We offered models for achieving this in our 2024 Synod submission ‘DignityUSA and the Practice of Synodality,’ and were pleased to see some of those suggestions included in the Instrumentum. In addition, we applaud the acknowledgment that the church must rethink geographic definitions of community and recognize how current social and technological trends mean that spiritual communities often exist on multiple levels. DignityUSA also supports the statement that may allow changes to occur at different paces among church communities in different places as a recognition of the reality of cultural and contextual differences.”

However, DignityUSA says the document also raises some significant questions. It noted that many issues have been assigned to Study Groups, whose composition and charges have not been announced. “How can we trust that these Study Groups are representative of the diversity in our church if we do not know who the participants are?” asked Duddy-Burke. “We understand that the Vatican wants them not to endure external pressure, but the transparency that builds trust is lacking in fundamental ways. As a community of LGBTQIA+ people and allies, we have no way of knowing who is addressing issues that impact our daily lives.”

Duddy-Burke also noted the restrictions placed on questions of gender. “While confirming that the Spirit gives gifts needed for the whole range of ministries to all people, ordination of women to the priesthood is still clearly off the table,” she said. “Discussion of diaconal ordination is assigned to an anonymous Study Group. Gender is still portrayed in exclusive binaries, despite a growing understanding of gender as a spectrum, and the contested theological concept of ‘complementary’ ministries is foundational to much of what is said about these ministries. All of that appears to impose strict limits on ministry and authority.

“The Synod process has exposed the need for truly radical changes in our church,”  Duddy-Burke concluded. “Millions of people around the world, including LGBTQIA+ people and our families and friends, have taken risks to offer their truth and hopes to church officials and Synod delegates. They have shared wisdom and frustration, love and pain. Addressing all of this will take a great deal of time and care. DignityUSA will continue to be a place that affirms and ministers with people of all genders and sexual orientations and will engage with the Synod and all expressions of our church in the years to come. We continue to work and pray for our church to be the Gospel for all people in all parts of the world.”

DignityUSA is the world’s oldest organization of Catholics working for justice, equality, and full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ people in our church and society. It was founded in 1969 and has members across the U.S, and in many other nations.

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