The Synod releases two major reports addressing global poverty, environmental justice, and the pastoral response to polygamy in Africa.
Newsroom (24/03/2026 Gaudium Press ) The General Secretariat of the Synod has published two highly anticipated Final Reports that deepen the Church’s discernment on pressing global and pastoral concerns: “To hear the cry of the poor and the earth,” prepared by Study Group No. 2, and “The pastoral challenge of polygamy,” produced by the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).
Released under the direction of Pope Leo XIV, the documents reflect the ongoing synodal commitment to transparency, discernment, and shared responsibility. Both were made available in five languages on the Synod’s official website, marking a significant moment in the global Church’s synodal journey.
“The Church listens, discerns, and accompanies, rooted in the Gospel, yet ever closer to the realities faced by men and women,” a statement from the General Secretariat affirmed. The publication also signals the conclusion of the respective Study Groups, whose mandates are now considered complete.
Responding to the “Cry of the Poor and the Earth”
Study Group No. 2’s Final Report arises from a conviction that listening to the poor and to the earth is not a mere pastoral priority, but a core act of faith constitutive of the Church’s mission.
Introduced by Cardinal Michael Czerny, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, the report examines how the Church can more effectively respond to the intertwined voices of human and ecological suffering. “Listening,” Cardinal Czerny wrote, “is an encounter and a process — a call to understand, act, and accompany.”
The study identifies existing Church resources—parishes, grassroots movements, Caritas bodies, and ecumenical partnerships—as vital but sometimes underused instruments of solidarity. It cautions against delegating pastoral responsibility to institutions alone, urging all baptized persons to embrace co-responsibility in addressing poverty and environmental degradation.
Among the initiatives proposed is an Ecclesial Observatory on Disability, envisioned as a model for giving voice to marginalized communities at local and regional levels.
On a theological level, the report calls for a faith grounded in the lived experience of the vulnerable, viewing the cries of the poor and the earth as authentic theological sources (loci theologici). It advocates for theological formation that integrates direct experience of existential peripheries, where listening becomes both a spiritual discipline and a transformative encounter.
The conclusion envisions a Church that is an instrument of listening—transforming every member into a missionary companion rather than relying solely on structures of consultation.
SECAM’s Reflection on Polygamy: A Pastoral Challenge
The second report, prepared by SECAM’s Commission on the pastoral challenge of polygamy, developed in response to a directive from the First Session of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in 2023. SECAM was asked to engage in theological and pastoral discernment on the topic and explore how the Church can accompany people in polygamous unions who are seeking faith.
A 12-member Team of Experts—drawn from across Africa and representing theology, biblical studies, canon law, and anthropology—collaborated extensively in person and online. Following consultation with the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith and a plenary session held in Kigali, Rwanda, the final report was refined and submitted to the Synod’s General Secretariat in mid-2025.
Theological and Cultural Insights from Africa
The SECAM document situates its analysis within Africa’s rich cultural and anthropological fabric, where the family is understood as a covenantal bond between human communities, ancestors, and God. It notes that polygamy, while historically widespread across the continent, poses a pastoral challenge rather than a cultural anomaly.
In its biblical analysis, the report underscores the trajectory from Old Testament tolerance of polygamy to the New Testament’s reaffirmation of monogamous marriage as the Creator’s original plan. It affirms unequivocally that Christian marriage is monogamous by its theological nature, not as a cultural imposition from outside traditions.
Pastorally, the report stresses that people in polygamous unions should not be excluded from the Church but accompanied with mercy and respect. Catechumens in such relationships, however, are not to be baptized until they freely commit to monogamous marriage.
Central to the document is the dignity of women, regarded as indispensable to evangelization and represented in the figure of Mary, the Mother of Jesus. The report calls for a “pastoral care of proximity” that welcomes all persons, especially those on social and spiritual margins, as children of God destined for faithfulness and covenant love.
A Call for Dialogue and Doctrinal Clarity
In its conclusion, the SECAM report acknowledges that polygamy continues to be a lived reality in many African contexts, varying with local traditions, state policies, and religious influences. The bishops note that differing approaches to the issue across dioceses and episcopal conferences reveal the necessity for greater communion and dialogue.
“At a time when the Church seeks to live its synodal identity through communion and participation,” the report states, “it becomes urgent for the Church in Africa to share models of pastoral accompaniment, evaluate them doctrinally, and propose new paths that allow all to encounter Christ and His Gospel.”
Ultimately, the bishops advocate for a patient, compassionate, and educational pastoral strategy—one that reaffirms the Christian vision of marriage as a divine gift, a vocation of sanctification, and a witness of love in society.
Both reports—diverse in theme yet unified in spirit—invite the global Church to deeper listening, dialogue, and conversion. Whether addressing the wounds of the planet or the complexities of human relationships, the Synod’s message remains clear: faith must listen before it speaks, and serve before it teaches.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Vatican News
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