The 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops conference is coming up this fall and delegates for the North American region were recently announced. Bishop Daniel Flores wrote on the importance of the Synod in an article published July 7 by the  U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

The first session of the Synod will take place Oct. 4-29 at the Vatican and the second session is scheduled for October 2024, the article reported. Flores, who chairs the USCCB's Committee on Doctrine and is the bishop of Brownsville, Texas, said the announcement of delegates to the Synod a "joyful" moment for the Catholic Church.

“With the announcement of the names of delegates to the October 2023 Synod of Bishops in Rome, the Church enters into the Universal Stage of this synodal journey,” Flores said in the article. “The moment is a joyful one, as bishop delegates and non-bishop delegates now begin their proximate preparations for the Assembly. This will involve prayer and study, and a deep reading of the ‘Instrumentum Laboris.’ All the delegates express gratitude to the Holy Father for the invitation to serve together for the good of the Universal Church.” 

The Synod is a multi-year process that provides the chance for cardinals, bishops, priests, and other members of the Church to discuss various topics relevant to the Church and its future. As the process comes to a close, participants will propose ideas that will be presented to the pope, who can accept, modify, or reject any of the propositions. Final approval of the document is expected after next year’s fall session concludes. Bishop Robert Barron, one of the five U.S. delegates at the Synod, told Fox News "the Synod is not a parliament, not a democratic process. We're not voting on doctrine. It's much more about strategy."

Participation in the Synod is typically restricted to bishops, but for the first time four non-bishops from Canada and six non-bishops from the United States are on the list of delegates this year. Those who will attend the Synod have been participating in an array of activities that will help them gain the necessary experience to make valuable contributions to the Synod, the USCCB said. 

Before attending the Synod, delegates are to spend time studying the “Instrumentum Laboris,” which establishes a foundation for discussion and reflection during the Synod. The document provides guidance that is designed to allow for a focused and insightful exchange of ideas on a variety of topics, including “Considering the Challenges of the Family,” "The Discernment of the Family Vocation" and “The Mission of the Family Today.” 

"I encourage the local churches to use the ‘Instrumentum Laboris,’ in conjunction with their parish and diocesan syntheses, as well as with the U.S. National Synthesis, the Document for the Continental Stage, and the North American Final Document, in order to deepen the discernment of what they have heard and what they can do in their local contexts," Flores said in the USCCB article.

"These documents are an unprecedented dialogue between the Holy See and the People of God and serve as living instruments of the synodal path travelled together up to this point," Flores said in the article. "We ask Catholics in their local Churches to pray for the Synod delegates, and for the ongoing work of the Synod.”