Exploring the Dynamics of Tension between Personal (Pastoral) Questions and Ecclesial (Institutional) Answers in a Synodal Church

The preparatory and celebratory phases of the 2021–2024 Synod of Bishops revealed (explicitly but not exclusively) a wide spectrum of pastoral questions arising from the lived experience of the People of God. These questions encompass issues such as LGBTQ+ concerns, polygamy, and various forms of abuse, to name a few. The synod functioned both as an ecclesial experience highlighting the urgency of these matters and as an initial attempt to address them. By engaging these questions and seeking provisional responses, the Church appears to adopt a more appreciative stance toward lived experience and the complex challenges it generates. This paper examines a pivotal aspect of becoming a synodal Church, the question of whether all questions arising from the lived experience may legitimately be raised in the Church. Put differently, how do lived experiences evolve into pressing pastoral concerns, given that the Church often offers ready-made answers grounded in natural law for ethical questions? The analysis unfolds in three steps: first, it examines the synod’s engagement with lived experience and the questions it brought to light; second, it explores the tensions between concrete pastoral questions and ecclesial responses, with particular attention to the strategy of providing pre-formulated answers; and finally, it assesses how synodality both mitigates and intensifies these tensions between lived experience and established ecclesial positions.