A ‘Leonine’ Version of Synodality?

By Massimo Faggioli, 12 June 2026

From an institutional point of view, the most consequential, long-term legacy left by Pope Francis to his successor is synodality. While Paul VI had conceived and instituted the Bishops’ Synod in 1965, it was not for “synodality” as we think of it now, but was rather an expression of episcopal collegiality between the bishops and the pope. With Francis, the Synod became the culmination of a long process of ecclesial discernment in the sensus fidei, through the contribution of nonepiscopal members of the Church as voting members of the Synod. Since his election, Pope Leo XIV has sent multiple signals about continuing the synodal journey. Now, as his pontificate enters its second year, it embarks on an important phase in defining a “Leonine” version of synodality, something distinct from Francis’s.

https://catholicoutlook.org/a-leonine-version-of-synodality/