In October last year, Pope Francis called a universal synod, catapulting Catholics into a three-year listening process aiming to foster collaboration at all levels of the Church in deciding its future.
Speaking at Knock shrine last month, Dr Nicola Brady, chair of the synodal pathway steering committee, said synodality comes from the Greek for “together on the way”.
“Synodality is about how we journey together as a Christian community — listening to and supporting one another and discerning together how we are called to live as followers of Christ in the circumstances of today.” What’s particularly unique about this synod, is its inclusion not just of bishops in discerning what God wants of the Church, but for the first time since the early Church parishioners have a say on the themes of communion, participation and mission.
The first phase of the process Ireland was an all-island invitation to hold listening sessions at a parish level. 42,000 Catholics, or 0.93% of those who identify as such, participated last Spring in what ultimately became much more than a reflection on the themes handed down from the Vatican.
As summary reports were published by each diocese revealed emerging themes around topics such as abuse, sexuality, the role of women in the Church and young people.
A pre-synodal conference was held in Athlone in June where bishops, Catholic interest groups and members of the synod steering committee gathered to reflect on the themes and concerns. Feedback in Athlone was compiled with a summery of Ireland’s synod and sent to Rome on August 15th.
The next phase will see further conversation at a continental level before the process comes to a close late next year at the Vatican, where the Pope will be faced with some difficult conversations around calls to change Church doctrine.
Dr Brady said there exists a “significant challenge” in “building and re-building trust in the Church”, and “synodality offers the tools to connect and re-connect with people”. However, she added that the Church is “very conscious” its work has its limitations as the synod “did not reach as many people as we would have wanted”, particularly young people.
Separate to the global synod called by Pope Francis, Irish bishops of the Catholic Church in Ireland have committed to a national synod to continue beyond October next year when the global synod concludes.