Reverend Joseph E. Kurtz, D.D. Bishop | Archdiocese of Louisville

While recent reports suggested that the Synod of Bishops may have decided to allow national bishops’ conferences to create Catholic doctrine, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin clarified that this was not entirely accurate. "I think there’s a general feeling in the hall, at least from where I sit, that absolute doctrinal teaching does not belong to a bishop’s conference," said Cardinal Tobin of Newark, New Jersey. He added that bishops’ conferences do play a role in discussing and applying church doctrine within their respective countries.

Cardinal Tobin emphasized the importance of these conferences in considering how to apply church teachings practically. “We should be able to listen to each other about how we would apply the teachings of the church,” he explained outside the synod hall on October 18.

During discussions from October 15-18, synod members, including Cardinal Tobin, focused on places where synodality is experienced within the church. One such place is the national bishops’ conference. A working document from an earlier session in October 2023 suggested proposals for recognizing Episcopal Conferences as entities with doctrinal authority.

This suggestion sparked debate among bishops who were concerned it might imply that national bishops could create differing doctrines across countries. Cardinal Tobin stressed that no conference should alter core beliefs like the Nicene Creed: "No bishops’ conference should ever tinker with the Creed."

He expressed hope that U.S. and other bishops' conferences would engage more with people in their dioceses and collaborate better on applying doctrine contextually within their nations: "We have to listen, certainly, to the Word of God and the tradition of our church, and we have to listen to each other."

Cardinal Tobin also noted a consensus among synod members regarding support for synodality by bishops' conferences being crucial for its integration into national churches' lives.

Historically, after Vatican II, national and regional bishops' conferences gained prominence but saw reduced influence by late 1990s due to efforts by St. John Paul II's administration limiting their perceived power over local diocesan authority.

In his pontificate beginning in 2013, Pope Francis elevated these conferences' profiles through frequent citations in his encyclicals and apostolic exhortations while advocating for an enhanced role aligned with collegial spirit envisioned by Vatican II.