SYNOD of Bishops organisers have encouraged everyone to have their voice heard on crucial Church issues as submissions close this Sunday.
More than 700 submissions were sent through the national online Synod of Bishops portal, with a large number of those made by groups of varying sizes.
Synod of Bishops national co-ordinator and National Centre for Pastoral Research director Trudy Dantis said there had been a steady increase in the number of submissions each week over the past several weeks.
“As with any invitation to the public to take part in a consultation of this type, we expect a final flurry of contributions leading up to the final day this Sunday – March 13,” Dr Dantis said.
The submission topics were participation, communion and mission in the Church.
Individual and group reflection submission guides were available.
The fundamental questions that guided the consultation was framed around the following:
A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together”: How is this “journeying together” happening today in your particular Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together”?
Synodality has been one of the themes of Pope Francis’ papacy, who last year explained to a gathering of bishops at the inauguration of the Synod of Bishops how the protagonist of synodality was the Holy Spirit.
“Without the Spirit, there is no Synod,” he said.
Explaining the Synod’s three key words – communion, participation, and mission – he said that communion and mission describe the mystery of the Church.
Communion expressed the very nature of the Church, according to the Second Vatican Council, he said.
He pointed out that ‘communion’ and ‘mission’ could risk remaining somewhat abstract, unless synodality concretely expressed at every step of the synodal journey and activity, encouraging real involvement on the part of each and all”.
This was where participation came in.
“All the baptised are called to take part in the Church’s life and mission,” Pope Francis said.
Dr Dantis said dioceses would receive a report on submissions made to the portal from their communities by the start of April, at which time they would prepare a diocesan synthesis.
“There will be rich and varied content from these recent months of the Synod of Bishops process, but dioceses will also be able to draw upon other local content for their report,” she said.
“That might include the submissions made to the Plenary Council in the areas of communion, participation and mission.
“It might include the outcomes of local synods or assemblies held in recent years. All that content can enhance a diocese’s contribution to this universal journey.”
Dioceses would each hold a gathering to celebrate and conclude the local consultation stage over the next several weeks.
Based on the diocesan reports, the National Centre for Pastoral Research would prepare a national synthesis, finalised during three sessions with the bishops in May and June.
The Church in Australia would send its consolidated report to the Holy See in August, and the Australian bishops would later engage with other episcopal conferences in the Pacific to prepare a regional contribution.
“Time is running out – but it’s not too late.
“The portal will be open until midnight this Sunday,” Dr Dantis said.
Find out more and access the resources at: https://www.catholic.org.au/synodalchurch
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