Half a million people took part in the diocesan phase of the synod on synodality in Italy, according to the country’s national synthesis document. The 13-page text, submitted by the Italian bishops’ conference to the Vatican on August 15, said that around 50,000 synodal groups were formed in the country “for a total participation of Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Synod on synodality’
Australian Synod synthesis – missionary and inclusive
Thursday, August 18th, 2022
The results of Australia’s national diocesan synthesis on the Synod on Synodality reveals Australian Catholics need a Church that is missionary and a Eucharistic community that is inclusive. Trudy Dantis, director of the National Centre for Pastoral Research which prepared the booklet, said hundreds of submissions were made by groups and individuals. Australia’s Fifth Plenary Read more
NZ Synod responses a can of worms too serious to ignore
Monday, August 15th, 2022
The jury is out. The collated data from the diocesan Synod responses have been published for all to read. After the New Zealand Catholic Bishop’s Conference has prepared the synthesis of syntheses, all will be posted to Rome. The can of worms has been opened. The reading is too serious to ignore. In amongst the Read more
Catholic conservatives gatecrash National Synod meeting
Thursday, July 7th, 2022
Conservative Catholics attempted to gatecrash the invitation-only National Synod meeting in Wellington last weekend. Before the meeting, a request was made to the bishops asking that at least one independent person might observe, but the request was declined. However, a statement received by CathNews says that nevertheless, two people who thought they should be at Read more
Local synods are speaking. How will Rome respond?
Thursday, June 30th, 2022
The relationship between the centre and the peripheries has always been critical in Church history. That’s even truer now in the context of the “synodal process”. A number of interesting decisions the Vatican has taken recently shows how delicate this moment is for Pope Francis’ pontificate. The first came on June 2 when Bishop Dominique Read more
Governance, place of women in French synod report
Monday, June 20th, 2022The Catholic bishops of France have written “a cover letter” to the national synthesis of the diocesan phase of the Synod on synodality. They produced a text that was significantly revised at the last minute to include calls for reform that emerged during months of consultations with the laity. The bishops approved the text during Read more
Synodality means communion not ‘populism’
Monday, May 30th, 2022
Synodality is not populism, it means communion, says Pope Francis. Synodality is “a path of ecclesial communion that seeks to open minds and hearts to the will of the Holy Spirit.” What synodality is not, is a reorganisation of church structures, he emphasises. In a video message to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America last Read more
Vatican hosts synod listening session with disabled Catholics
Monday, May 23rd, 2022The Vatican hosted a virtual listening session with Catholics with disabilities on Thursday as part of the Synod on Synodality process. People from more than 20 countries participated in the video call hosted by the Vatican Dicastery for Laity, Family, and Life on May 19, with some expressing concerns about experiences of discrimination and exclusion. Read more
Catholic Church ‘judgemental and condemning’
Thursday, May 12th, 2022
Many laity have expressed the view that the Catholic Church appears to be ‘judgemental and condemning’. They also conveyed a strong sense that the Church must be ‘there for all.’ The feedback has come from a synthesis of reports from the dioceses of England and Wales in a “listening” process that is part of the Read more
The value of open and transparent processes
Monday, May 9th, 2022
There is an old joke about the civil servant who was put in charge of implementing the government’s new policy on “freedom of information”. When asked by a journalist how the new freedom of information policy was playing out, he replied: “I’m afraid I cannot comment: that matter is classified!” It may be an apocryphal Read more