Inverting the Pyramid: The Sensus Fidelium in a Synodal Church

Pope Francis has spoken of his vision of synodality and of a synodal church in terms of “an inverted pyramid.” This essay examines the roots of such a vision in the vision of Vatican II, particularly two reversals made by the council regarding the nature of the church. Moreover, it shows the centrality of the sensus fidei of the people of God (the sensus fidelium) within that vision, and the need to make listening to the sensus fidelium a pervasive element at all levels in the life of the church ad intra.