Mostly we are used to search ideas when we do research. To examine and analyse ideas we go to book, libraries and web sources. Michel Foucault brought the dimension of practices in research. His focus on practices opened profoundly deep and critical mode of studying and doing research. It led us to see practices and power as intertwined. His analysis of practices and power, along with the collaborative ethos found in open science movement, offers deep inspiration for the Catholic Church’s journey toward synodality. By emphasizing shared participation, vulnerable transparency, and ethical self-transformation, these frameworks invite the Church to reimagine its structures not as fixed traditions, but as dynamic “regimes of practice” open to continual change, dialogue, and improvement in the power of the Spirit of Christ acting in the Church.
Foucault: Challenging Traditional Structures Through Practice
Michel Foucault’s contributions to philosophy centres on the idea that human knowledge, subjectivity, and even moral conduct are profoundly historical and contingent. Rather than offering answers about the essence of humanity, Foucault critically examines such questions—arguing that there is no “human nature” that exists outside histories, cultures, and changing power structures. All humans are marked by history, culture and power. He sees individual and collective practices as both the product and the canvas for historical change, showing that practices such as self-examination, discipline, and moral conduct evolve according to the shifting interplay of knowledge and power in society.
Foucault distinguishes between “moral codes” (rules imposed by institutions) and “practices of ethics,” which involve continual self-reflection, self-care, and the ethical transformation of the self in light of truth. Rather than being solely subject to preexisting rules, every person is invited to become the moral subject of their own actions by examining their obligations, methods of self-transformation, and aspirations for who they wish to become.
Foucault’s method is genealogical and critical. He exposes how taken-for-granted exercises of power become “intolerable” once scrutinized, insisting that power is not merely domination, but also productive—it creates realities, truths, and social norms through everyday practices. This insight challenges the Church and other institutions to rethink the roles of authority, discipline, and tradition as open for prophetic critique and conversion while it comes to a self-understanding of itself as a pilgrim on a synodal journey.
Open Science: Radical Collaboration and Transparency
The practices of open science—collaborative inquiry, shared knowledge, open access, and participatory review—directly challenge academic gatekeeping and hierarchical traditions. Open science champions the decentralization of authority, the democratization of information, and the accountability that comes from making research processes and results accessible to all. Mirroring Foucault’s critique of closed systems, open science treats knowledge not as a possession of a privileged elite, but as a social product shaped by public engagement and ethical vigilance.
Open science’s participatory ideal aligns with Foucault’s concept that what matters is not static institutions or ideologies, but “regimes of practice,” or the ways knowledge is created, shared, and contested in communities. The value of truth becomes ethical: it must be lived, tested, revised, and continually exposed to collective scrutiny.
Synodality: The Church’s Practice of “Journeying Together”
Synodality in the Catholic Church, particularly emphasized under Late Holy Father Pope Francis, seeks a more participatory, dialogical style of Church governance and discernment. Moving away from top-down commands and towards an assembly where voices from every level—laity, clergy, and bishops—are heard, respected and discerned, synodality embodies Foucault’s and open science’s principle that authority should be open to dialogical questioning, lively conversations, and conversion.
Synodality asks the Church to become a “regime of practice” in which collective listening, discernment, and ongoing conversion are not threats to doctrine, but essential to the Church’s mission in today’s world. The hope is to build a Church capable of responding to problems as they arise, learning from its history, and remaining open to guidance of the Holy Spirit —practices Foucault saw as ethical necessities. These practices will indeed become a regime of love.
Seeking a synthesis between Foucault, Open Science, and Synodality
Bringing together Foucault’s philosophy and open science’s ethics, several practices can inspire the Catholic Church’s synodal journey:
1. Prophetic self-examination: Synodality calls for ongoing assessment of power relations and community customs, seeking to render intolerable any habitual injustice that had previously gone unchallenged.
2. Conversion through practice: Church members are encouraged to embrace the process of ethical transformation—not just conforming to imposed codes, but actively grappling with their own moral formation, group discernment, and spiritual growth as missionary disciples of Jesus Christ.
3. Inclusive participation and openness: Leadership structures should facilitate open dialogue, transparency, and inclusion, much like open science encourages diverse collaborations and access to shared knowledge of the treasures of the heritage of our Faith.
4. Consciousness attuned to Catholic Tradition: Foucault’s sensitivity to “the history of problems” reminds the Church to consider not just solutions, but how certain practices or crises came to be seen as problematic—inviting new responses shaped by contemporary needs in the light of the Scripture, tradition and teachings of the Church.
5. Ethical care of self and others: Inspired by Foucault’s reading of ancient philosophy, synodality is not only about “journeying together,” but also supporting each member’s development in truth, care, and ethical consciousness. It is a challenge of living an imperative of becoming an embodiment of love.
Practical Outcomes and Challenges
If the Church adopts these Foucauldian and open science principles, synodality becomes a living, evolving process. Practices such as spiritual discernment, communal listening, and transparent governance become not just ideals but actual methods for shaping the Church’s way of being in the world. Participatory structures and openness to prophetic critique facilitate true dialogue and innovative problem-solving, crucial for responding to contemporary challenges and remaining relevant in a changing world.
Yet real challenges remain. A true culture of synodality demands vulnerability from leaders and members alike, openness to dissent, and willingness to transform some of the cherished customs if they prove unchristian, unjust or obsolete. It means letting go of certainty in favour of deep dialogue, and communal discernment in the light of the teaching of Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium —all key themes in both Foucault’s ethics and the ethos of open science.
Conclusion
Michel Foucault’s philosophy of practices and open science’s collaborative, transparent methods offer compelling paradigms for the Catholic Church’s practice of synodality in our days. Synodality has been the way of life of the Church. It simply got the much-needed attention in our time. Foucault’s turn to practices and its ubiquity in open science movement is indeed an inspiration that encourages the Church to move beyond static traditions and hierarchical authority in favour of continual prophetic self-examination, ethical conversion, open dialogue, and inclusive participation. In adopting these practices, synodality becomes not simply a process, but a powerful regime of practice, open to the Jesus Christ who leads us to transformative possibilities of history, ethics, and community.
