When the Holy Father asked me to give this retreat, I felt enormously honoured but nervous. I am deeply aware of my personal limitations. I am old – white – a Westerner – and a man! I don’t know which is worse! All of these aspects of my identity limit my understanding. So I ask Read more
We come to this Synod with conflicting hopes. But this need not be an insuperable obstacle. We are united in the hope of the Eucharist, a hope which embraces and transcends all that we long for. But there is another source of tension. Our understandings of the Church as our home sometimes clash. Every living Read more
On the night before he died, Jesus prayed to his Father: ‘May them be one as we are one.’ (John 17.11). But from the beginning, in almost every document of the New Testament, we see the disciples divided, quarrelling, excommunicating each other. We are gathered in this Synod because we too are divided and hope Read more
We are called to walk on the synodal way in friendship. Otherwise, we shall get nowhere. Friendship, with God and each other, is rooted in the joy of being together but we need words. At Caesarea Philippi, conversation broke down. Jesus had called Peter ‘Satan’, enemy. On the mountain, he still does not know what Read more
Discernment of how the Spirit is leading the church is at the heart of Pope Francis’ plans for the Synod on Synodality, but anyone who thinks discernment is easy is bound to get into trouble. It is very easy for us to believe that our desires and opinions are inspired by the Spirit and that Read more
Catholic clergy and laypeople will gather at the Vatican Oct. 4-29 for a synod, or summit of bishops and laypeople, to discuss synodality, with an emphasis on communion, participation and mission. While some might dismiss the highly anticipated event as a meeting on meetings, the term synodality under Pope Francis has expanded to reflect his Read more
The big day has finally arrived. Pope Francis on Wednesday will open the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The October 4-29 gathering inside the Vatican is just the first of two sessions of what is commonly called the “Synod on Synodality”. It will be followed up by another session in October Read more
By all accounts, Pope Francis has had an eventful papacy. This first pope from the Americas has breathed new life into the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, refashioned the Vatican’s staid bureaucracy, and pushed the Catholic Church to focus on the needs of the environment and global peripheries. One especially interesting turn: Only 22 Read more
It has been reported that the regulations concerning media access to the discussions at the upcoming Synod assembly in Rome – first of two sessions that will be held over the next twelve months – have not yet been approved. Journalists can only hope that the hypothesis of imposing the pontifical secret (the highest kind Read more
As we prepare for the next phase of the Synod on Synodality, we have heard much talk from the information-gathering process about greater inclusion and diversity in church governance. However, there has been little discussion about the shape of the church hierarchy, particularly with respect to accountability for performance. We often think of the accountability Read more