A synod is a worldwide gathering of bishops, with other delegates and experts, to discuss and discern how the Church responds to a certain issue. Those bishops representing their country are called to bring the thoughts and hopes of the people they represent.
The 2024 synod will not be responding to a particular issue, rather it will be reflecting on how the nature or culture of the Church can be more synodal - a wider listening to the Holy Spirit speaking through all peoples.
We are inviting each Catholic community to reflect on their dream for the Church and how to make that a reality. We want to listen to everyone, not only the leaders of our parishes, chaplaincies, and schools, but also to those at the margins of our community.
Every Catholic community is invited to meet together and listen to one another and the Holy Spirit, reflecting on how we can become a missionary Church.
We will collect these reflections from across our diocese into a report and present this to the Bishop's Conference of England & Wales, in April 2022.
Our report will help to form the national report that will go to the European Bishop's Conference and then on to the worldwide meeting in Rome.
We did not ask parishes, schools, and chaplaincies to do this great work and then wait nearly two years to hear what is said in Rome. We want to see these communities listen to the Holy Spirit and then be empowered into action.
We will invited each parish to make concrete commitments that they will get to work on straight away! Contact your parish or deanery to ask what their commitments are.
Pope Francis announced an ecumenical prayer vigil on Saturday, 30th September, at St. Peter's Square in Rome to precede the next assembly of the Synod of the Roman Catholic Church. This event is connected to the path of Christian unity and the Church's synodal conversion. Young people attending will have a special program organised by the Taizé community. The Pope invites Christians from all denominations to join this "Gathering of the People of God."
The Continental Assembly, part of the Catholic Church’s ongoing synodal journey, took place in Prague from 5-12 February 2023. It presented an opportunity for the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences of Europe to come together to discuss the realities faced by the Church and the People of God in their respective countries. The Rev Dr Jan Nowotnik is our Director of Mission here at the Bishops’ Conference. He was part of a four-person delegation, led by Bishop Nicholas Hudson, sharing perspectives from our National Synthesis with fellow delegates in Prague.
Diocesan and national organisational reports were submitted to the Bishops’ Conference just before Holy Week 2022. The National Synthesis Team then worked on producing the “National Synthesis” – reflecting on the reports received, discerning the main themes that have emerged from the listening conversations, and collating them together to give a picture of the synodal process in England and Wales.
.png)
.png)
