Is the Synod on Synodality any more than an empty talking shop, asks John L Allen Jr.
If one were seeking a title with which Pope Francis’s October 4-29 Synod of Bishops on Synodality will pass into history – assuming it leaves a significant enough legacy to be remembered, which is not yet a foregone conclusion – a strong candidate might well be the “Table Synod”.
Not only is the round table the preeminent symbolic expression of the event’s spirit, but much of the early drama had to do with what Pope Francis took off the table before it even began, while as the assembly nears its close, the biggest question is what will remain on the table once it’s over.
