Synodality: Now the rubber hits the road
by Woden South
| From the ChairPUBLIC FORUM Synodality: Now the rubber hits the road 27 Feb 2025 7:15pm-9:30pm Marist College Senior HallWith a new year comes new opportunities. In our Church that means taking up the challenges of Synodality, that is, collaboration, mutuality and attentive listening. With the conclusion of the Synod on Synodality and the Diocesan Assembly, Canberra Goulburn Catholics can choose to embrace this more participatory style of Church or continue with more of the same. We at Concerned Catholics are all for change and are offering a public forum to hear from experts and then workshop the implications of Synodality for our parishes, school boards, social services and youth ministries. We have been fortunate to assemble an impressive line up of speakers. Coming fresh from the recent Synod on Synodality is Adj Prof Susan Pascoe who was an integral member of the Synod’s methodology committee and a significant contributor to submissions from Oceania. She also was a facilitator at both sessions of the Synod. She will speak on the implications of Synodality for our Church at both national and local levels. Following Susan will be Terry Fewtrell a committee member at Concerned Catholics. Terry facilitated our community consultations and wrote submissions to both the Plenary Council and the initial Synod listening phases. He will present on the impact of the reform agenda on the final Synod document. Chancellor of the Archdiocese, Dr Patrick McArdle, along with Ms Chloe Kelly from the Evangelisation team will present the outcomes of the recent Diocesan Assembly. Both major exercises in dialogue and listening have produced synthesis documents that require serious reflection and consideration. There are some obvious omissions, particularly in the equality of women and the inclusion of LGBTQI+ community. Both issues we have strongly supported and will continue to do so. That said, there are other positive developments in Church governance and the mutual role of the laity. So, it is time to put some ‘meat on the bone’ and make the rhetoric real. FORUM We propose a two part forum. In the first half we will hear from our speakers. Then attendees will given the opportunity to workshop the content of the earlier presentations with enough time for feedback from the floor. Concerned Catholics will produce a summary paper synthesising the evening’s input.I will be writing to each parish seeking a representative to attend as this forum goes to the heart of the motivation of the Assembly, that is, listening to the aspirations and concerns of ordinary Catholics in the diocese.There are already moves afoot to establish a diocesan wide pastoral council. Obviously it will be consistent with the spirit and style of synodality. Our public forum will inform that process and hopefully be utilised to help shape the composition and future work of the Council.In conclusion, the forum will afford us the opportunity to inform you of our work and to seek new members who feel called to roll up the sleeves and lend a hand to the mission of Concerned Catholics. We will gladly receive ‘new workers’ in our vineyard to renew and refresh our Church.So, please pass the word around : Public Forum Synodality: Now the Rubber Hits the Road27 February 2025 7.15 – 9.30pmMarist College Senior Hall. As always, I am happy to receive your feedback at fsully56@gmail.com.Take care until the 27 February. WarmlyFrancisFrancis Sullivan AO |
| COMING UP 23 January 2025 10:30am (AEDT) International Webinar Landing Strip or Launching Pad: A conversation about the Synod on Synodality with Australian Friends Hosted by Concerned Lay Catholics Canada Trish Gemmell Michael Gill The Synod on Synodality is the most consequential event in the Catholic Church since Vatican II – and maybe ever! Yet not necessarily consequential in the ways people expected. If we were expecting big doctrinal or canonical changes by October 2024, that didn’t happen. But maybe what did happen is much more revolutionary. For the three years between 2021 and 2024, Concerned Lay Catholics followed events unfolding in Australia with interest and curiosity about the amazing reform movements that were coalescing in that country. Who were they? What prompted their formation and what enabled them to build a momentum that resulted in some stunning turns of events? And now that the formal Synod has concluded, what’s next for Australia and what might we in Canada learn from our Australian brothers and sisters. Please join us for a lively and spirit-filled conversation with Michael Gill and Patricia Gemmell as they unpack the synod in Australia, and we compare and contrast with Canada’s experience. More Information and Register here |