This unflappable American

Julian Paparella

30 April 2026, The Tablet

Since his election a year ago Pope Leo has made dialogue, unity and communion his priority

There was a palpable joy on the floor of the Paul VI Audience Hall. Saturday 26 October 2024 had been taken up with voting, paragraph by paragraph, on the document that was the culmination of an extraordinary three-year “synodal process” of listening and discernment that had journeyed through parish, diocesan, national, continental and finally global levels.
As the clock ticked on past dinner time, just before the singing of the Te Deum, Pope Francis made the striking move to declare the Final Document his own, entrusting it back “to the holy faithful People of God”. Since the Second Vatican Council, every Synod of Bishops had been followed by a post-synodal apostolic exhortation. Not this time. Francis decided that what had come from the whole Church would be given directly back to the whole Church, and be part of the Church’s ordinary magisterium.

As synod delegates from all continents rushed up to Francis for a final selfie, and the designated spokespersons hurried off for one last press briefing, it was perhaps too soon to wonder whether this would be remembered as a fleeting episode or as the decisive moment in the unfolding towards a more synodal Church.

Over the months immediately after the end of the Synod, Francis’ health continued to decline. It was from his hospital bed in his suite at the Gemelli, in mid-March of last year, that he approved the plans for a three-year implementation phase “so that synodality is increasingly understood and lived as an essential dimension of the ordinary life of local Churches and the entire Church”.

A month later, early on Easter Monday morning, Francis’ sudden death left the See of Peter vacant. Francis had proposed synodality as a prophetic vision of the Church in our times. While synods were not new, it was thanks to Francis that the neologism “synodality” had made its way into ecclesial vocabulary the world over. The question loomed: would synodality become a mere figment of a bygone papacy?

Just days before the Synod came to a close, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost had shared his own thoughts on synodality. At a Vatican press conference, Prevost had recounted the “blessing” of having been involved in the synodal process, first as a diocesan bishop in Chiclayo, Peru, and then as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. He characterised the Synod as an “invitation to conversion, to a recognition of the importance of being a Church that listens, dialogues, and promotes a new experience in what it means to walk together, to seek the presence of the Lord in our lives, and to see how we can be a Church that truly reflects what Jesus Christ wanted for his people and for the world”.

As head of the Vatican department that oversees episcopal appointments, Prevost outlined the need for bishops to exercise their ministry in a synodal style: “The bishop has to be with the people, listening, getting to know their reality, and opening his eyes to the suffering of so many people, of so many communities, and giving everything to be with them.” Synodality is not simply a managerial tactic but a profound call for Church leaders to listen deeply and to walk closely with people in what they’re going through.

This was no abstract vision promoted by a Vatican bureaucrat. As Bishop of Chiclayo, this was the style of ministry that the man who was soon to be elected Pope had lived out on a daily basis. Rooted in his decades of experience as a missionary, Padre Roberto had become known for his humility and simplicity, making frequent visits to far-flung rural communities. His way of being close to those entrusted to his care was grounded in the way that the bishops of Latin America had received the Second Vatican Council: as a clarion call that Francis summed up as being “a Church that is poor and for the poor”.

What does it mean that a bishop with a synodal disposition is now the Pope? Setting a calm and measured tone, Leo demonstrates a willingness and capacity to dialogue with polarising figures and to take a synodal approach even with those who are resistant to synodality. In keeping with his motto – “In the One, we are one” – unity and communion seem to be Leo’s priority. His unflappable handling of the attacks on him from figures in the Trump administration demonstrates his determination to insist on dialogue and to rise above polarisation, even when others seem bent on the contrary.

But Leo’s synodal style goes well beyond his admirable personality traits. Years of experience as prior general of the Augustinian Order, as a diocesan bishop, and as a Vatican prefect provided him with a well-honed capacity for collegiality. This is evident in his desire for regular consistories to confer with the College of Cardinals – the first edition held in January focused precisely on synodality, and the sequel next month will explore evangelisation. Building on Francis’ practice, Leo has developed the interdicasterial meetings to promote coordination in the Roman Curia, and convoked a gathering of all the presidents of bishops’ conferences this October to discuss the topic of families.

Prior to his election, Leo had been actively engaged in two of the study groups that had been established by Pope Francis to examine some of the specific issues that had emerged from the synodal process, namely: Group 6 on relations between bishops, consecrated life and ecclesial movements; and Group 7 on the figure and ministry of the bishop.

Under Leo’s leadership, could we imagine a more synodal approach to the way bishops are appointed – and even evaluated – over the course of their ministry, as the Final Document suggests? As prefect, Prevost called for a greater involvement of lay people and Religious in the appointment of bishops. Many possibilities exist for integrating meaningful listening and dialogue into the process.

In his determination to inspire a synodal renewal of the Church, Francis knew he had no time to waste. If Francis’ genius was to dare to open processes, then Leo’s is to play the long game and lead by example. In the face of divisive rhetoric, shows of power and instant influence, Leo communicates unity, exemplifies service and operates patiently. His background and prior experience make him particularly well suited to working through the internal resistance to synodality – which Francis was often frustrated by – and allowing it to settle into the Church’s institutional mechanisms. Insofar as the sustainability of synodality depends on how it translates into norms and structures, Leo’s unique skill set – including his doctorate in canon law – may succeed in gradually embedding a synodal way of being and doing at all levels of the Church’s life. Synodality is a matter of style and tone as much as of new structures, but structural reform will be vital if the springtime of synodality is to take root and germinate.

In the final days of the Synod on Synodality, then-Cardinal Prevost declared: “The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom but is rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them and to look for ways that he can better live the Gospel message in the midst of his people.” These words ring true not just for ministers of the Church, but for leaders across the globe, at a time when servant leadership is increasingly rare. Indeed, the prophetic power of synodality has the potential to renew not only the Church but also the world, insofar as each one of us is willing to embody it moving forward.

Julian Paparella is a lecturer in theology and serves as the Director of Intellectual Formation at the Venerable English College.

Thursday, April 30, 2026