One thing to keep in mind, though, is that the Synod itself may not be as "dramatic" as many expect it to be - quite the contrary, it could be quite tame. But the major papal decisions don't have to be related to the contents of the discussions or even to propositiones (the major agreed lines of the Synod Fathers), but are presented by the Pope himself in his Apostolic Exhortation.
Two examples: First, in a hideous perversion of truth (to be expected), Fr. P.A. McGavin, quoted by Magister, says that if he supposedly opens up communion to men and women in public display of continuous mortal sin, Pope Francis will in fact only express the deepest methodology of Joseph Ratzinger...
Well, that would certainly be a surprise to the Pope Emeritus himself, since he was not a lackey following the orders of an "out-of-date John Paul II," as many seem to imply, but he himself had the chance to face the question in his own 2007 Apostolic Exhortation in the aftermath of the 2005 Synod on the Eucharist. This was not in the dark pre-1962 days, this was merely 7 years ago (showing once again how the perverters of truth, such as Cardinal Kasper, never rest until they submit all things, including Holy Writ, to their domain). Pope Benedict followed the Synod's proposition, but followed as well his own permanent position -- which was not his own, but is the Lord's inescapable conclusion that can never be modified by any power on earth:
The Synod of Bishops confirmed the Church's practice, based on Sacred Scripture (cf. Mk 10:2- 12), of not admitting the divorced and remarried to the sacraments, since their state and their condition of life objectively contradict the loving union of Christ and the Church signified and made present in the Eucharist. (Apost. Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis)
A second different example was given by Pope Francis himself, in his first major personal document, Evangelii Gaudium, which, let us recall, is itself an Apostolic Exhortation related to the 2011 Synod on the "New Evangelization" (a Benedictine project that came crumbling down with his resignation - another example being his "Year of Faith"). The Exhortation was a mishmash of papal ideas, but, while it quotes often from the Synod's decisions, it is a pure Bergoglian document, not the expression of the 2011 Synod's decisions.
This is just to make clear that, whatever may be the 2014 Synod's decisions (which should be far from apocalyptic), it will all come down to Francis' mind, as expressed in his post-synodal exhortation. If his mind is already made up, the entire Synod is just an expensive exercise in futility. It is not the 2014 (or 2015) Synod that is decisive, but Francis' post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation(s).
