Synod
Synod - You voice matters
Join the discussion and help the Church forge a pathway of profound renewal
What is a Synod?
Pope Francis is inviting all of the world’s Catholics to participate in a consultation about how the Church journeys with them, invites their authentic communication, listens to their concerns, and promotes their participation in the full life of the Church. This consultation will bring together the people in the pews, clergy, religious and those living on the margins, in a gathering the Church calls a “synod.” This synod is focused on how the Church engages all of these groups in the life of the Church all levels. The synod’s theme is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.”
Why have a Synod?
The Catholic Church is facing unprecedented challenges the world over. Many have stopped practicing their faith. Countries, communities and families are divided. The pandemic is having a devastating impact. In this crucial moment, the Church is forging a pathway to profound renewal. The Church is holding a consultation, or synod, inviting participants to encounter one another, listen to each other’s experiences, and discover together what God is calling the Church to do in these times. The insights that come from this consultation will be used to renew our parishes, schools and the diocese itself by strengthening a church culture that listens to its faithful, makes them co-responsible for the life of the church and reflects their wisdom.
Explore our synod journey below, learn more about what our Diocese is doing, read a wonderful 1-page article called
Fostering a Culture of Synodality
written by one of our parishioners,
or contact Julie for more details.
2024 - Synod journey continues
The synodal journey continues on two fronts as we shift our focus from listening and dialogue into action.
First, 16 parishes from across the diocese (including St. B's) are exploring best practices based on the eight key points given to us by Pope Francis: Communion, Participation, Mission, Mercy, Renewal, Rejecting a Throwaway Culture, Listening, and Guidance by the Holy Spirit (Co-responsibility). If you'd like to join the parish discussion, contact Julie.
Second, Cardinal McElroy has called for a task force to explore the question of women's role in church leadership today and provide proposals for greater integration of women in ministry and leadership. The task force has prepared two surveys that will gather empirical data from parishes and pastors.
Phase 3 - Building Eucharistic Communities
In October and November, 2023, over 12,000 people in the Diocese participated in a Synod small group listening session, including 262 people from St. B's (the majority in a C2C small group). Over 40% of our participants were young adults (ages 20-39), 14% were youth (ages 12-18) and 13 were Spanish-speaking. For more details, explore the results below.
Phase 2 - Discernment
Drawing upon the results from the listening sessions a survey was created to ask people their opinions on what surfaced from the listening sessions. Over 2,700, including 217 from St. B's, completed an electronic survey.
From this discernment phase a few themes emerged. Respondents:
- showed a willingness to answer personal questions on life and faith
- wanted to spread the faith first
- reach the poor and marginalized
- make the parish more welcoming
For more details, explore the results below.
Phase 1 - Listening Phase
In March, 2022, over 10,000 people in the Diocese participated in a Synod small group listening session, including 196 people from St. B's (the majority in a C2C small group). Almost half of our participants were young adults (ages 20-39) and 3/4 of the people were women. For more details, explore the results below.