In the context of the synodal reform process initiated by Pope Francis with the Synod on Synodality (2021-2024), the Catholic Church is engaged in a profound reflection on its modes of governance and ways of being Church. This process also requires evaluation and tools to support the transformation of ecclesial practices towards greater collegiality, a stronger focus on mission, and the possibility of the participation of the entire People of God in the life of the Church. However, such tools do not yet exist, and we do not wish to simply borrow them from management studies. The specific goal of this research project is then to develop a research-based and expert-validated tool that is also theologically grounded to evaluate practices (and not people) in the Church for their synodal quality.

This goal is directly inspired by the 2021-2024 Synod of Bishops. There are not only the practice and inspiration of how the synod itself was celebrated and already reshaped the life of the Church. There is also the Final Document that explicitly calls for “evaluation of the progress made in terms of synodality and the participation of all the Baptised in the life of the Church” (n. 9). The document likewise calls for a “culture of transparency, accountability and evaluation” (n. 11 and 80). These are only two of the references that explicitly call for evaluation in general, and for an evaluation of synodality in particular.

As the name SPIRIT suggests, both in English (Synodal Practices Indicators for Renewal, Implementation and Transformation) and in French (Synodalité: Pratiques et Indicateurs pour le Renouveau, l’Implantation et la Transformation), it is our hypothesis that it is indeed possible to identify concrete practices and discern indicators that signal both the implementation of synodality and its transformative effects within/on ecclesial contexts. The charts below describe the main stages of the project: https://ecclesialab.org/spirit/