A Council by Another Name?

The Synod on Synodality and What Comes Next

Christoph Theobald, SJ

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ISBN: 9780814689714, 8971

Details: 224 pgs, 6 x 9
Publication Date: 08/15/2025

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The ongoing synodal process of the Catholic Church engages a new vision of being church within human history and society.

At the European synod of bishops in 1999, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini called for a new ecumenical council. Too wise to use this term explicitly, he said that he hoped for “an experience of universal confrontation between bishops at the dawning of the new century.” Unresolved questions demanded sound answers: a lack of ordained ministers, the role of women in the church, the participation of the laity, new challenges regarding sexuality and marriage, ecumenism, and more. Since then, even more questions have been raised regarding the sexual abuse crisis, the experience of widespread discouragement, and polarization within the church.

In A Council by Another Name? world-renowned French theologian Christoph Theobald explains why synodality is a constitutive dimension of the church and urges readers, especially ecclesial leaders, to trust the synodal process and to engage in it in their rightful place. Based on conversion that is both personal and institutional, Theobald cites Pope Francis’s call for cooperation and creativity as an essential element for confronting the current difficulties effectively, approaching the future peacefully, and welcoming a new and decisive vision of the church within human history and society.

This is a revised and expanded edition of the second French edition.

Christoph Theobald, SJ, is a Franco-German Jesuit theologian. He is a professor emeritus of the Centre Sèvres, the Jesuit theological faculty in Paris, and the former editor in chief of the journal Recherches de science religieuse. He has published numerous books on theology and pastoral ministry.

ISBN: 9780814689714, 8971

Details: 224 pgs, 6 x 9
Publication Date: 08/15/2025

Reviews

"Having participated in the synod as an expert, eminent French Jesuit theologian Christoph Theobald is uniquely positioned for this book. He weaves together a commentary of the synod documents, expert knowledge of Vatican II, and a real familiarity with what is going on in the church. According to the author, the Synod on Synodality (which brings us close to a Third Vatican Council) requires a profound conversion of all the faithful, and not only institutional reform. His courageous and wise voice deserves to be heard on this side of the ocean, too."

Jos Moons, SJ, co-author of The Future of Synodality: How We Move Forward from Here

“What a gift this book is—an assessment of the Synod on Synodality by one of the preeminent interpreters of Vatican II who has been closely involved in the synod process over several years. As a Synod peritus, Christoph Theobald’s insider-view leads him to see this ‘synodalization’ of the Catholic Church as the basis of a new vision of the church for the 21st century—new, but a vision that is thoroughly grounded in the vision of Vatican II. As an eye-witness account and as an astute theological interpretation, this book will be a highly valued resource for synodal formation in local churches, as they seek to embed the synodal vision more deeply into all aspects of their ecclesial life and mission.”

Ormond Rush, Australian Catholic University

“Those seeking to understand more deeply the synodal process ‘For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission’ (2021-2024) will be richly rewarded in reading this reliable and accessible firsthand account of learning from the experience of journeying together by the respected theological advisor to the General Synod, Christoph Theobald, SJ. At every turn he holds together the challenge and creative force of listening to God in the Word and in others, and of personal conversion and institutional reform. He helpfully points to the roots of synodality in the themes of the Second Vatican Council as he describes the ways the synod calls us to carry them forward to meet the challenges of a new era. He invites us to set out on the synodal path, led by the Holy Spirit into a new Pentecost, the first fruits of which can be discerned in the experience of the synodal assembly.”

Catherine E. Clifford, Saint Paul University, Ottawa

“With its provocative title, A Council by Another Name? Christoph Theobald, SJ, embarks on an exploration of the mindset of the recent Synod on Synodality in the context of the conciliar decrees of the Second Vatican Council. In carefully walking readers through the synodal process, Theobald, while very aware of the sometimes fraught reaction to its deliberations, shares wisdom that is both patient and clear-sighted, offering a contextualization for the past and hope for the future. All who are engaged in working towards church renewal, in various capacities, will want to read this book.”

Salvador Ryan, co-editor of Reforming the Church: Global Perspectives