The Future of Synodality: How We Move Forward from Here

2026 Association of Catholic Publishers First Place Award in Theology

2026 Catholic Media Association Honorable Mention, The Future of the Church

Explore the historical and theological roots of a synodal church and where the path of a new, inclusive listening church leads.
 
How can the church continue to grow in a more synodal―more participative, open-minded, inclusive, and spiritual―ecclesial style? Now that the Synod on Synodality (2021–2024) has ended, Kristin Colberg and Jos Moons begin to answer this key question in essential ways. In The Future of Synodality, they present key aspects of synodality’s origins, its theological foundations, and its recent expressions. They offer important takeaways from the synod in the context of looking toward the future, exploring the concrete transformations of a church marked by inclusive listening.  
 
Embracing the style of synodality as the church’s usual practice, the authors outline the three types of transformation required: a renewal of attitudes and behavior, a reform of ecclesial structures and procedures, and the adoption of synodal practices. The Synod on Synodality has changed the church. This book helps us understand this historic moment and learn how to walk on the synodal path toward a new beginning.

Kristin Colberg is associate professor of theology at Saint John's University and School of Theology and the College of Saint Benedict, and the sole U.S. member on theological commission for the Synod on Synodality. She received her doctorate at the University of Notre Dame in systematic theology. She is the author of Vatican I and Vatican II: Councils in the Living Tradition (Liturgical Press, 2016) and the co-editor of Speaking Truth in Love, a festschrift in honor of Cardinal Walter Kasper (Liturgical Press, 2014). Professor Colberg also serves as a member of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission (ARCIC).