The Diocese of Broken Bay has launched a new synodal initiative to foster a “ground up” culture of shared mission.
Deanery Leaders in Council will strengthen collaboration and shared pastoral discernment across parishes, Catholic Schools Broken Bay (CSBB) and CatholicCare Broken Bay (CCBB).
Emerging from the Diocese’s Pastoral Discernment Projects in the Central Coast Deanery (2022), Northern Beaches Deanery (2023) and the North Shore Deanery (2024), each deanery will have a Leaders in Council which will bring together the Dean, two senior executives from CSBB, a senior delegate from CCBB, and the Head of Pastoral Discernment and Accompaniment Broken Bay.
While not exercising governance authority, this new synodal body will meet twice annually to share current projects, identify issues of common concern and propose whole-of-Deanery pastoral strategies. Once a year, all Deanery Leaders in Council will gather as a Diocesan Pastoral Mission in Council for shared reflection, learning, and diocesan pastoral alignment.
Archbishop Anthony Randazzo, who Pope Leo XIV recently made the Prefect of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts and is now the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Broken Bay, said this initiative expresses the Diocese’s commitment to being a Church that listens, collaborates, and goes out in mission.
“Deanery Leaders in Council is about bringing people together who are already deeply engaged in the life of the Church, and asking them to listen with fresh ears,” he said.
“It is not about structures for their own sake, but about creating spaces where discernment, trust, and mission can grow.
“A synodal Church is one that walks together. This council allows our parishes, schools and agencies to walk side by side, sharing what we’re learning and asking how we can serve our communities more faithfully in the light of the Gospel,” Archbishop Randazzo said.
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Deanery Leaders in Council – new synodal initiative for Broken Bay Diocese (Diocese of Broken Bay)
