Regional Director of the Columbans in Ireland, Fr Raymond Husband, writes about the significance of synodality for the Church.
According to the Venezuelan theologian Rafael Luciani, “Synodality is an invitation to foster processes of conversion as we listen to one another and larger society while reading the signs of the times together.”
A synodal perspective challenges the culture of clericalism and proposes a culture of dialogue and consensus.
Pope Francis has long called for a more synodal Church, a Church in which the voices of all are heard and respected. Above all, this process is about being open to the voice of the Holy Spirit as we journey together.
The Preparatory Document for a Synodal Church describes the process of synodality as being on a journey. It is about involving lay people in the discussion sothat the future of the Church can be owned by all and not a privileged few.
“To journey together we need to let ourselves be educated by the Spirit to a truly synodal mentality, entering with courage and freedom of heart into a conversion process.”
Furthermore, the document states: “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church in the third millennium.”
As Christians we are baptised into the life and death of Jesus, and it is from this we all receive our missionary mandate. Synodality is at the service of theChurch’s mission, in which all members are called to participate by virtue of our common baptism. A synodal Church is a Church going forth, a missionaryChurch whose doors are open to all.
Personally, I believe that if the synodal journey is to be effective, the voice of the poor and excluded must find a place in the consultation and discussions that are taking place. It is only then that we can truly claim that we are a synodal Church.
Synodality 1: The Synodal Path
Launching the Far East’s new series on Synodality, Fr Tom O’Reilly explains how walking and discerning together and listening attentively to each other are at the heart of the synodal process. We are familiar with adversarial debate in our parliamentary systems....
Synodality 2: A Church Synod
The Synod Pope Francis has convoked is a Church synod, Fr Sean McNulty emphasises. It is a forum for listening to everybody’s experience of discipleship with compassion and tenderness. I am hoping that the Synodal Pathway will provide the Church with an opportunity...
Synodality: Retrieving the Richness of our earlier Christian Tradition
Fr Tom O’Reilly provides some important insights and historical context on the Synodal Process. Purpose of the Universal Synod The basic meaning of synodality is ‘journeying together,’ walking together on a path. The Synod logo is basically an image of people ‘on...
Synodality : A Missionary Reflection
Submission from Columban Missionaries in Ireland Conscious of our need to be open to the guiding Spirit, we listened in our meetings as each of us shared some experiences of lived synodality, and also some of the things that had hindered it, in our lives and ...
Synodality 3: Participation – Making Space for Grace
Columban Fr Paul McMahon is a counsellor at the Survivors of Trauma Centre in Belfast, which he describes as “a safe environment in which to heal, grow and encounter. A place where our traumas can be transformed through making space for Grace”. The theme of the...
A Synod that made a Difference
Columban missionary Fr Kevin O'Boyle worked for many years in Santiago, Chile. He spoke to Fr Alo Connaughton about a synod that radically changed and reinvigorated the Church there. Q: There is a lot to talk in Church circles these days about a synod. Many years...
Synodality 4: Responding to Our Baptismal Call
Columban lay missionary Jao Resari believes Synodality calls the faithful to become active participants in mission and to address clericalism and exclusion in the Church. When I joined the Columban Lay Missionaries (CLM), I was 24 years old. My first mission...
Synodality 5: Mission and Synodality
Mission is one of the three themes proposed for the Universal Synod in 2023, along with Communion and Participation. Columban Fr Hugh MacMahon explains how the Synodal Process has a deep missionary dimension to it. When Cardinal Mario Grech, General Secretary of...
Synodality 6: Young People – Voices on the Margins?
James Trewby, Columban Justice and Peace Education Worker in Britain, provides some reflections from a young adult synodal conversation. During the strange ‘lockdown’ times much of my work as Columban Justice and Peace Education Worker in Britain went online. Each...
Synodality 7: A Different Church
Fr Patrick McMullan considers why Pope Francis is promoting synodality and highlights the dramatic shift in the global Catholic population thanks to missionary activity over the past 100 years. The Catholic Church has, over the last 100 years, undergone a complex...
Synodality 8: Interfaith Synodality
Fr Patrick McInerney is the Director of the Columban Centre for Christian-Muslim Relations in Australia. He explains why Interfaith Synodality needs to be put into practice. Ever since his election, Pope Francis has been promoting synodality as the path “which God...
Synodality 9: Synodality and Formation for Mission
Columban missionary Fr Frank Hoare spoke to the Federation of Conferences of Catholic Bishops of Oceania (FCBCO) earlier this year. Synodality and formation for mission were two of the three major themes of the bishops’ assembly along with the effects of a changing...
