Catholics are invited to join local consultations about their experience of synodality within the Church as part of a two-year journey towards the next international Synod of Bishops, set for October 2023. Source: ACBC Media Blog.
Dioceses across the world hosted local Synod celebrations on Sunday, a week after Pope Francis officially opened the global process for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
The Synod theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission”.
The local launches also marked the commencement of a period of diocesan consultations to help the Synod’s preparation. Ten areas of synodality are being explored with questions in each area across those themes of communion, participation and mission. Catholics are invited to pray with, reflect upon and respond and to help develop a process of communal spiritual discernment.
Trudy Dantis, the director of the National Centre for Pastoral Research and national coordinator for the Synod of Bishops process, said the Synod is seeking to understand how people see the Church as a place where they can “journey together” as fellow pilgrims.
“As the key documents for the Synod outline, the Church’s mission requires all the People of God to walk together, with each member playing their particular role in communion with their sisters and brothers,” she said.
“This Synod is trying to move beyond intermittent moments of synodality towards ‘walking together’ as a norm within the Church.”
A new online portal has been set up to receive submissions across the various questions the Synod’s preparatory document poses. Those submissions will initially be considered at the diocesan level, and then be used to develop a national report.
Details: www.catholic.org.au/synodalchurch
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Local consultation opens for global Synod of Bishops (ACBC Media Blog)
