The final document from the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod has been published and is available below in English. Our General Secretary, Julieann Moran, was in Rome for the closing days of the second session of the Assembly to interview several of the participants and theologian/experts. In welcoming the document Julieann said, “I had the privilege of being at the final moments of the assembly tonight and got the opportunity to hear the Holy Father also announce that he would not be issuing a post-synodal exhortation, but is choosing instead to directly implement the document as it stands.”
In a departure from usual practice, Pope Francis said, “I want, in this way, to recognise the value of the completed synodal journey, which through this document I hand over to the holy faithful people of God…That is why I do not intend to publish an apostolic exhortation, what we have approved is enough.” Speaking to all the participants from Pope Paul VI Hall in the Vatican, he said, “There are already very concrete indications in the document that can be a guide for the mission of the Churches, on the different continents, in the different contexts: that is why I am making it immediately available to everyone.”
