A significant part of Pope Francis' legacy will be his emphasis on the ecclesiology of synodality and his enhancement of the Synod of Bishops, which he systematically explained in an address in 2015 to mark this permanent institution's fiftieth anniversary.
Preparations are actively underway for the Synod's next two gatherings — an ordinary assembly on young people and faith (October 2018) and a special assembly for the Pan-Amazon Region (October 2019).
But it is not yet clear how far the Jesuit pope is willing to go with his project of making the Church more synodal. Now in the sixth year of his pontificate, the differences between the Synod assemblies under Francis are in marked contrast with those of his predecessors.
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