SYNOD Diocesan Report : June 2022
The Diocesan Synod Report has been published and has been sent to the Irish Bishops Conference and will contribute to the “Synod on Synodality” in Rome in October 2023. The Irish Church will continue to prepare for a National Synod in three years time.
Almost 13,000 people engaged in the process across 173 parishes. There was remarkable convergence between our parish report and the diocesan report. Four major trends emerged:
The importance of community belonging.
The role of women.
The place of young people.
The inspirational leadership of Pope Francis.
Copies of the full report will be available at the back of the church or by clicking here.
Synod Update- 24-April-2022
Printed copies of the Synod Feedback Report will be available at the back of the Church after Masses on weekend of 30th April/1st May 2022. A sincere thank you to all who participated.
Please click here to access the report.
UNIVERSAL SYNOD 2021- 2023 – LATEST NEWS
If you missed our SYNOD GATHERING on Tuesday 29th March 2022, YOU still have an opportunity to PARTICIPATE.
Please CLICK HERE to print off the questions and drop your form into the Safes at the rear of the Church.
Thank you.
The questions we are asked to consider are as follows:
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings joy?
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings sorrow?
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings hope?
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings fear or anxiety?
Remember, no matter what you have to say, your voice matters.
THE SYNODAL PATH
SYNOD: Pope Francis has asked the whole church to take part in a synodal process, culminating in a Gathering of Bishops in Rome in October 2023, under the headings of: ‘Communion, Participation and Mission’.
The aim of the synod is to foster and develop the synodal nature of the church (synod means walking together) – the People of God walking in communion, to pursue a common mission through the participation of all.
So together we seek a way forward for the church, speaking and listening with the conviction that each one has something to contribute and something to learn. We share, based on our lived experience of the church, and reflecting together on this experience, we hope to discover how to help the church to live in communion, achieve participation and open itself to mission.
Prayer and reflection are integral part of this process. Below is the Synod Prayer which we are asked to pray as we get ready for the diocesan phase of this process. For further information and resources on the entire universal synodal process, click here and for information on the synodal pathway for the church in Ireland click here and here for the Dublin Archdiocese.
POPE FRANCIS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU
In October last year Pope Francis invited every Catholic in the world to outline their dreams, ideas, and concerns in a sincere effort to bring about real transformation and renewal in the Church.
Pope Francis and the Parish Community want your views and opinions on the Church, both positive and negative, regardless of whether you are practising or non-practising. We will support you to speak frankly and openly in small groups and will respond to the Pope’s call to create space for different views and different visions for the future in a spirit of sharing and respect. A facilitator will be on hand for anyone who is uncomfortable with speaking to ensure your view is captured if you wish.
The questions we will be asked to consider at the gathering are as follows:
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings joy?
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings sorrow?
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings hope?
- When you think of your experience of Church, what brings fear or anxiety?
We urge every parishioner to give the Pope the feedback he so earnestly wants by attending the meeting. In fact, we ask your help also in encouraging a friend, family member or neighbour who might feel on the margins or disappointed with the church, to attend with you, assuring them that their voices and views are what we need to hear.
The feedback from this process will be passed to the archbishop by the end of May 2022 and will be fed back to the Pope in 2023. Fr. Tom, Parish Priest, will undertake to have the feedback from our gathering published on the parish website by June 2022 so that we can share the outcome with every parishioner.
POPE FRANCIS WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU
In October last year Pope Francis invited every Catholic in the world to outline their dreams, ideas, and concerns in a sincere effort to bring about real transformation and renewal in the Church. This process is called a “Universal Synod”. A Synod is a gathering of people which advises the Bishop or the Pope on issues of governance within the Church. Pope Francis wants every Catholic to speak and have their voice heard so that all the people collectively can shape our future.
We cannot run away from the fact that the church must face the lack of faith and, also its history of abuse and failure. Through this process the Pope is seeking to acknowledge the hurts that exist within our church community and work to heal those relationships, so that the Catholic Church in Ireland can fully live out its calling to serve the wider society.
The Synod offers us the opportunity to become a listening Church, to break out of our routine, to stop and listen, firstly to the Spirit in adoration and prayer, and then to each other. It starts with, and involves all Catholics at local Churches across the world, promising to listen to all, especially laypeople and all those on the margins who feel disenfranchised.
In our parish we will be inviting everyone to participate in a gathering during the month of March 2022 where we will hope to listen to a broad range of people and collect their joys, sorrows, hopes and fears in relation to the church. Pope Francis asks people to have courage and speak frankly and boldly and to listen humbly and be open to others’ ideas. He believes this is what God wants in the third millennium. He wants the synodal processes to create space for different views, and different visions for the future, but in a spirit of sharing, respectful listening, and discernment, rather than argument. “Every encounter calls for openness, courage and a willingness to let ourselves be challenged by the presence and the stories of others,” the Pope said.
We ask each and every parishioner to respond to the Pope’s call and participate in our Parish Synod Gathering. A date, time and venue for the gathering will be organised within the coming weeks.