Fourteen Australian Catholics will today enter a retreat ahead of a month-long global event in Rome aimed at shaping the future of the Church. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
The Second Assembly of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops will bring together 368 bishops, priests, religious and lay people from around the world. There will also be 90 non-voting members.
As well, Pope Francis has invited 16 representatives of non-Catholic Christian faiths.
English Dominican friar Fr Timothy Radcliffe and Benedictine nun Mother Ignazia Angelini will lead the two-day retreat’s meditation sessions.
A Penitential Vigil with Pope Francis – expected to be broadcast via Vatican Media – will be held on Tuesday before the Synod working sessions begin.
During the service, three people will speak about their experiences of being harmed by sexual abuse, war, and indifference toward migrants, and there will be what has been described as a “confession of various types of sins”.
A second retreat will be held on October 21 to help participants spiritually prepare for the presentation of the draft final document.
Catholics around Australia have been asked to pray that the Synod will be a time of grace and that active listening, dialogue and discernment strengthen the dynamic relationships between the People of God and the Risen Lord.
Australian Catholic Bishops Conference President Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB, said the whole Church was being called to walk the synodal path in a way that “sustains, supports and encourages each other”.
The Synod’s outcomes, he said, were in no way predetermined.
“It is important to stress that, whatever the outcomes, they will be offered to the Holy Father in a spirit of freedom and trust, fully respecting the right and duty of the Holy Father to make whatever decisions he believes are right and proper for the good of the Church at this time as it seeks to be faithful to its Lord.”
Synod of Bishops national coordinator Trudy Dantis said much had been learned about what it means to be a synodal Church on mission.
“The second assembly will allow us to expand our understanding while also learning how to implement some of these practices in our local churches,” Dr Dantis said.
FULL STORY
Synod assembly gets underway in Rome (ACBC Media Blog)
