VATICAN– Delegates to the “Synod on Synodality” have agreed to publish a “Letter to the People of God” as they prepare to conclude a general assembly tasked with finding ways to make the Church more discerning and participative.

The communique will “tell as many people as possible, and especially those who have not yet been reached or involved in the synodal process, about the experience lived by the members of the Synod,” the Holy See Press Office said on Friday (Oct. 20, 2023).

A commission working on a synthesis of the proceedings of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops proposed the drafting of the letter-message on Oct. 18.

The synod’s General Secretariat, “in agreement with the Pope, submitted the proposal to a vote of the assembly, which approved it by absolute majority.”

The letter will be discussed and voted upon on Monday, Oct. 23 in a general congregation at the Paul VI Hall, after a morning Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica.

The Synod on Synodality, underway since 2021 with consultations held at the parish, diocesan, national, and continental levels, was supposed to culminate with this month’s assembly but Pope Francis called for a second session in October 2024 “in order to have a more relaxed period of discernment.”

The assembly will discuss next week methods and steps for next year’s session, which is expected to produce a final document that will advise the pope.