1) Activities and mandate
At the conclusion of the Second Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, the Group resumed its activities, meeting on a monthly basis[1].
In order to facilitate the regular participation of members residing outside of Rome, the meetings were held in a hybrid format, both in person and remotely.
Furthermore, within the Group, a drafting committee was established, composed of five members, which likewise met, generally on a monthly basis.
Beginning in November 2024, the Group clarified the mandate it had received, resolving to structure its discernment around three principal themes:
- the selection of candidates to the episcopacy in the perspective of a synodal and missionary Church, highlighting the participation of the Bishops of the territory and of the entire People of God in the process coordinated by the Apostolic Nunciature;
- the initial and ongoing formation of Bishops, beginning with current practices at the level of the Roman Curia and the Episcopal Conferences;
- the manner in which the ad limina visits are to be conducted from a missionary synodal perspective.
As of 30 June 2025, the Group has completed its reflection on the first theme and intends to address the remaining two as from the month of September.
Regarding the theme of the selection of candidates to the episcopacy, the Group obtained from the Holy Father Francis, through the then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A., then Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, the faculty to examine the confidential Instructions sent to Pontifical Representatives concerning the procedure for episcopal appointments within the territories under the jurisdiction of the Dicastery for Bishops and the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for the First Evangelization and New Particular Churches).
2) Persons and Entities Consulted
In keeping with Pope Francis’ invitation to adopt a synodal method of work, based on listening and communal discernment, the Group recognized the need to consult a wide and diverse range of individuals, asking them to share their personal experience and opinions.
This process began during the Second Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, when, on 18 October 2024, approximately 80 members of the Synod were able to pose questions and express their expectations to the members of Study Group 7.
Subsequently, the Group organized a joint meeting with Study Group 8 (which is dedicated to “The Role of Pontifical Representatives in a missionary synodal perspective”), in order to listen to its members, many of whom are Apostolic Nuncios.
On another occasion, an expert in the selection of executive personnel in international companies was invited to present a report, with the aim of drawing useful insights from procedures employed in civil society.
The Group also requested, in writing, the opinions of the Presidents of the Episcopal Conferences (inviting them to consult their collaborators as well, such as current or former members of the Presidency of the Episcopal Conference, the Secretaries General, and the Officials of the Conference etc.), as well as the Pontifical Representatives (also inviting them to consult the staff of the Apostolic Nunciature). Both groups were presented with the following questions: 1) in what ways might the involvement of the Episcopal Conference in the selection process of Bishops be improved, in order to provide more effective assistance to the discernment of the Apostolic Nuncio?; 2) in what ways might the participation of the People of God in the episcopal selection process be broadened (quantitatively) and rendered more effective (qualitatively)? A total of 32 Presidents of Episcopal Conferences and 45 Pontifical Representatives responded.
Additionally, several lay men and women were consulted in writing, some selected from among the members of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, and others proposed by the Dicastery for the Laity, the Family and Life. These individuals were asked the following question: how can the participation of the People of God in the selection process of Bishops be broadened and enhanced? In total, 15 out of 33 laypersons responded.
Finally, approximately 25 voluntary contributions submitted to the General Secretariat of the Synod – by individuals or associations – were reviewed, and a number of recently published studies (historical, theological, and canonical in nature) on the subject of episcopal appointments were consulted.
In addition to all the above, on 16 June 2025, the Group organized an expanded online meeting, to which several Apostolic Nuncios, Laypersons, and Experts from every continent were invited – totalling approximately 30 participants. A draft text prepared by the Group was shared with them in advance, and their feedback was sought through the method of conversation in the Spirit.
The Group estimates that, through these various means, it has listened to over 200 individuals in total.
3) Fruits of the Discernment
Through a process rooted in communal discernment (at times employing the method of conversation in the Spirit), the Group reached consensus around several perspectives:
- a renewed awareness of the specific ministry of the Bishop of Rome in relation to the appointment or confirmation of Bishops, while fully respecting the particular traditions of the Eastern Catholic Churches;
- the need to draw inspiration from the Church’s Tradition concerning the ecclesial nature of the selection process of Bishops, and to take the current praxis as the starting point for reflection – recognizing, safeguarding, and/or strengthening the existing elements of synodality already present within it;
- the advisability of developing principles that, while theologically grounded, are practical and sufficiently flexible to be adapted to diverse ecclesial contexts;
- the need to promote an understanding of the process of selecting candidates to the episcopacy as a spiritual journey, characterized at every stage by the search for the will of God for his Church;
- the desire to reinforce the role of the local Church as the natural setting for discernment both regarding its new Shepherd and regarding diocesan Presbyters to be proposed as possible candidates to the episcopacy. In this regard, the moment of episcopal succession should represent for each local Church an opportunity to attain a clearer awareness of its current situation and of the path to which the Lord is calling it. To this end, the Group’s proposals aim, over time, to foster greater investment in the formation of the People of God, helping the faithful of each local Church (ordained ministers, consecrated persons, and lay men and women) to develop the spiritual sensitivity and discernment skills necessary for this purpose;
- the necessity of encouraging a more incisive involvement of the Bishops of the territory in the provision of local Churches, favouring, where possible, the Assembly of Bishops of the Ecclesiastical Province over the Episcopal Conference (cf. CIC, can. 377 § 2), so that the Bishops may discern with regard to Churches and candidates they truly know;
- the need to balance broad ecclesial involvement, on the one hand, with the confidentiality required out of respect for the persons concerned, on the other;
- the desire not so much to pursue a mere quantitative increase in those involved in the process, which could unduly slow down episcopal appointments, but rather to pursue qualitative improvement, for instance by ensuring balanced participation of clergy and laity, of men and women, and by valuing the role of participatory bodies within the local Church;
- the opportunity to reconsider the confidential questionnaires currently in use and to supplement them with more flexible forms of consultation of the members of the People of God;
- the need to establish regular forms of evaluation for the process of selecting candidates to the episcopacy.
Coordinator: H. Exc. Msgr. Felix Genn
[1] Until April 2025, Cardinal Robert Francis PREVOST, O.S.A., served as a member of Study Group 7 in his capacity as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. On 8 May 2025, he was elected Pope, taking the name Leo XIV. Since September 2024, the Reverend Msgr. Erwin José Aserios BALAGAPO (Philippines) has been co-opted into Group 7. At that time, he was Head of Office and, as of 7 November 2024, has served as Under-Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization (Section for the First Evangelization and the New Particular Churches). Also participating in the Group’s work were the Reverend Pasquale BUA (Italy), serving as Executive Secretary; and the Reverend Michael BERENTZEN (Germany), serving as assistant to the Coordinator, His Excellency Msgr. Felix GENN, and as recording secretary.