The fundamental insight of the synod was not only that attentive listening was helpful in decision making, but also that the Holy Spirit was at work in everyone.

Especially in places like the United States, where structures like pastoral councils are already relatively common, it is important to hear the synod’s call to ensure that consultation and dialogue are effective and not merely nominal.

In the second part of the show, Colleen interviews Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark about what the experience at the synod means for the U.S. church and how bishops exercise authority.

Cardinal McElroy shared his reflections on the synod with America Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell in this wide-ranging interview at the North American College in Rome.

On this week’s episode of “Inside the Vatican,” Colleen Dulle and Ricardo da Silva, S.J., interview Dr. Catherine Clifford, a professor of systematic and historical theology at St. Paul’s University in Ottawa, Canada, who served as an elected member of the 2024 Synod on Synodality’s drafting commission for the final document.

For Catholics who want to see immediate changes in the church, the synod was an opportunity for conversion.