17 minute read
EDITORIAL
UP FRONT
GERARD MOLONEY CSsR
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A WELCOME INITIATIVE
There was considerable surprise and delight when the Irish bishops announced their intention to hold a synodal assembly of the Irish church. They outlined a plan and a timetable for the initiative and have encouraged participation by as many people as possible in the process. They hope the synod will take place within the next five years.
The initiative is to be welcomed. The church in Ireland has taken so many (often selfinflicted) blows in the last 30 years that it is time – indeed well beyond time – all of us take stock of where we are and try to imagine the Irish church of the future.
Pope Francis is a champion of synods. He sees them as conduits for the Holy Spirit's work and not as mere talking-shops with foregone conclusions already built in, as synods tended to be under his immediate predecessors. He sees synods and the process leading up to them as essential exercises in shaping the church's response to pressing pastoral and other challenges. For Francis, synods reflect a Vatican II model of church where participants assume coresponsibility for decisions affecting its life. It is a bottom-up, inverted pyramid model of decision-making that encourages the active participation of far more ordained and nonordained than the exclusive club of bishops and bureaucrats familiar with the corridors of power in Rome.
A synod and the process of consultation preceding it offer an exciting opportunity for the church and those who value its continued contribution to society at large to plan for its future on this island. Done well, the synod could be the catalyst for renewal and reinvigoration of the Irish church. Done well, it could in time yield a rich harvest.
Done badly, it could lead to even more frustration and disappointment for people barely hanging on as it is. Dashed hopes would be the final straw for many.
The bishops propose a timetable of five years. It is vital, of course, to plan well and ensure that people are given ample time and opportunity to participate. A rushed process would do more harm than good. But five years seems a long time. How do you maintain enthusiasm over so long a period? How do you sustain momentum? Full of excitement at the start, people may begin to drift or drop out if the talking and consulting seem to go on and on. The aim should be to complete the process sooner rather than later. A timetable of three years seems achievable.
There is another reason why time is of the essence. Pope Francis is 84. While in relatively good health for a man of his years, it's unlikely he will still be in office at 88 or 89 when the Irish synodal process is scheduled to wrap up. Who knows what Francis' successor will be like? Hopefully, he will be in the same mould as Francis, but there is no guarantee. The next pope may have little interest in synodality or collegiality – a bit like the common occurrence of a new parish priest stepping in and undoing the great work of his more progressive, inclusive predecessor. It would be wise then for the Irish synod to conclude its work and begin to implement whatever proposals it recommends while Francis is still in the chair of St Peter.
Organisers also need to set specific and achievable goals. Why have a synod? Why hold one at this time? Does it have clear objectives? There is a real risk that people will invest unrealistic hopes in it that cannot possibly be realised; that people's anger and disappointment will be even more pronounced at synod's end than before it started. People must understand the limitations under which any local or national synod of the church must work from the start. There are many hot topics (sexual morality, women's ordination, mandatory celibacy) that a synod may discuss but cannot legislate on. It simply does not have the authority. Better to not hold a synod at all than promise something that cannot be delivered.
The synod should set a small number of crystal clear, achievable goals with measurable outcomes. Better to aim small and succeed than aim big and fail.
Now that the bishops' conference has got the process up and running, we should all, wherever we stand on the ideological spectrum, endeavour to play our part. It's in all our interests that it is a success.
A WAY FORWARD
FOR THE IRISH CHURCH
Journeying, walking together, listening, navigating, discerning, synodality: these are all terms we are becoming familiar with as the Irish church embarks on a period of reflection and preparation for a National Synodal Assembly. The Irish church has changed beyond recognition since the last national synod in 1955. While few people have taken part in a formal synod before, many dioceses have engaged in a 'synodal' process through a variety of listening processes, consultations, assemblies, and pastoral plans in recent years. Much has been learned from these experiences that will inform the current journey.
The Synodal Pathway was announced by the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference in March, with a view to holding a National Assembly within the next five years. The theme is 'For a synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission,' and the lead-up will be a period of "prayer, listening and discernment, involving a nationwide consultative conversation."
Fr Gerry O'Hanlon SJ says Pope Francis' emphasis on synodality is a 'quiet revolution.' "The purpose of the upcoming synod is to listen to the Holy Spirit, and to the voices of the faithful, and to try to find a way forward for the Irish church," he says. "It is the same Holy Spirit that guides bishops, theologians, and all the baptised. The model is the people of God walking together, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus who were joined by the stranger, Jesus, on their journey."
While some may feel the Irish church is not ready for a synod, Fr O'Hanlon believes we must take a risk and do what Pope Francis is asking: "The bishops have outlined some of the reasons a synod is necessary, including the secularisation of society, the breakdown of trust in church authorities due to abuse scandals, the need for transparency, the call to connect with young people, and the need to honour the role of women and to listen to their deep concerns. They are conscious too of the reality of the many who have left the church."
AS IT IS OVER 60 YEARS SINCE THE LAST NATIONAL SYNOD WAS HELD IN IRELAND, MANY IRISH CATHOLICS HAVE NO FORMAL EXPERIENCE OF SYNODS. HOWEVER, JUST FIVE YEARS AGO, THE DIOCESE OF LIMERICK HELD A SIMILAR PROCESS AT DIOCESAN LEVEL. AS WE BEGIN THE JOURNEY TOWARDS A NATIONAL SYNODAL ASSEMBLY, WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM THE EXPERIENCE OF THOSE INVOLVED IN LIMERICK?
BY TRÍONA DOHERTY
There are limits to the synodal process. A synod does not, for example, have the authority to change church teaching on matters such as sexuality. Still, there ought to be space to discuss such topics, says Fr O'Hanlon. "One mistake would be for people to imagine a synod will change everything. But what could happen is if church teaching is honestly debated and discussed, this can be fed back to the bishops' conference and to the pope, and can build up momentum around certain issues."
There are also pitfalls to avoid as we begin the journey. "The loudest voices to the 'left' and 'right' in the church tend to dominate," he adds. "We need to create a space where people are heard and listened to, a space where people can speak with courage."
BEGINNING A JOURNEY TOGETHER
Bishop Brendan Leahy of Limerick has particular experience of synods. Shortly after he was appointed bishop in 2013 (the same year Francis became pope), he instigated a process of reflection culminating in a threeday synodal gathering in the spring of 2016. It was the first such event in the Limerick diocese in over 70 years.
The aim was to set out a path to enable the diocese to meet the many challenges it faced and encourage a sense of renewal and partnership. "The synod was a way of promoting what Pope Francis was talking about, and I wanted to say something about what direction I was taking as bishop," recalls Bishop Leahy. "There were many wonderful aspects to the life of the diocese, and many people involved, and this was a process of beginning together again in mission."
The experience was a time of learning and transformation. "The people who were involved had an experience of church, of a stirring of the Holy Spirit, as we gathered in mutual love. We discovered the importance of listening and speaking. This is synodal dynamics: to be open to giving and receiving truth from each other's life experience."
Five years later, Bishop Leahy feels it's an
Fr Gerry O'Hanlon SJ
opportune time to begin this journey at the national level. "It is a new moment with new challenges," he says. "We have the roots [of faith] in Ireland, and the leaves and foliage can shed and be reborn. We are beginning a journey together as people of God and people of the Gospel. It is about discerning what God wants the church to be. It is yet to be determined what shape the synod will take as it is a consultative approach, shaped together."
To this end, just before Easter, the Irish bishops issued their first invitation for submissions, asking people to reflect on their preferred method of engagement with the synod process, be it focus groups, questionnaires, written submissions, family gatherings, etc. The closing date for this stage was May 23.
Over the next two years, says Bishop Leahy, many conversations will take place with a view to letting different topics surface. "A synod is not just an event; synodality is a process we are meant to be living all the time. A synod is something that unfolds over time, an event that speaks, that gives a message that the church is a people on the move."
His advice would be to go forward with confidence. "We trust in the Lord leading the church. There may be moments of tension, but Pope Francis invites us to speak with frankness. The ground rule is love prevails. We won't always get it right – but even if it goes wrong, it is the right direction. We have to trust that we continue in the guidance of the Holy Spirit."
THE SYNOD EXPERIENCE
Rose O'Connor is the pastoral implementation manager for the Limerick Diocese and was a delegate at the 2016 synod, which she describes as a "transformative" process. "We had an 18-month lead-in and we found ourselves transformed as we went along. The synod is the culmination, but the journey is what is important. There was a real sense of community and that it was an event of the Holy Spirit," she reflects.
A primary initial consideration was how to involve as many different people and groups as possible on a practical level. "The listening part of the process is very important. We had to think about how we reach people – of course, promote it through the parish structure, but how would we reach people on the fringes and hear voices that are not the usual ones? A lot of effort went into this and it worked well. It's important to get people from all walks of life."
Director of the Limerick Diocesan Synod, Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon, explains that every means possible was employed to reach out to the people of the diocese. "Bishop Brendan wrote an excellent pastoral and then
Fr Eamonn Fitzgibbon
Image © Courtesy of The Irish Catholic
Fr Gerry O'Hanlon's book The Quiet Revolution of Pope Francis: A Synodal Catholic Church in Ireland? is available from www.messenger.ie
we engaged all forms of media, including a specially commissioned supplement in local newspapers, to reach those who are not engaged in church. We had billboards in the Gaelic Grounds' stadium, lay people speaking at Masses, radio interviews, all social media and mainstream media." Delegates were also recruited representing different groups such as immigrants, the Polish parish, the Travelling community, all levels of education, and ecclesial communities.
The horizons were deliberately kept wide open, as topics of conversation included architecture, sport, music, culture, business, civic engagement and the church's mission in the city. There was an ecumenical focus as well, with members of other faith communities involved at all stages. From the feedback received during this listening process, the themes that emerged were narrowed down to six. A total of 101 proposals were put forward for delegates to vote on during the three-day synod. "We allowed them to emerge from the data," explains Rose. "We have to be open and allow the Holy Spirit to do his or her part. At the event itself, particularly on the voting day, there was palpable energy. People felt they were being heard and were making a difference."
The organisers of the event also held a session to give space to topics outside the remit of a synod. This allowed people to state their views on everything from women priests and church teaching on sexuality to the language of the liturgy, and a report was submitted to the Vatican from this session.
Nóirin Lynch, who was a pastoral worker in the Limerick diocese and a member of the advisory committee for the synod, recommends this approach to honour people's experience and concerns. "These are things a synod doesn't have the power to change, but the proposals were made and people were heard. There was frustration, but it is important to allow it to be said. We had a practice run of this day a month beforehand, and on the day people made really profound and moving statements."
CONTINUING THE JOURNEY
A synod can be described as a 'navigation map' for the church. It is not a one-off event but an ongoing process of working together to find a way forward. What happens before and after the synod is just as important as the main event. Those involved in the Limerick synod speak of it as something that is still unfolding as the fruits of the conversation are developed and put into practice.
"On the one hand there is the implicit change, that which is difficult to quantify, measure or even name," says Fr Fitzgibbon. "Change has happened by virtue of the journey itself, listening to people, engaging in catechesis, sharing a two-year journey, all of this creates a certain shift in the diocesan community. On the other hand, we now have a very clear diocesan Pastoral Plan which is measurable and can be easily assessed. This is an ongoing plan and much of it has already been actioned."
Rose O'Connor, who is in charge of overseeing the Pastoral Plan, outlines some developments that have got underway in the years following the 2016 event. "Some of the biggest changes are the new models of leadership: we have parish priests working together across clusters of parishes, and we are moving towards the appointment of lay people to liturgical and administrative roles. It's a slow shift as people are used to a certain parish structure." Twenty-four lay people
from the diocese are currently undertaking a certificate in pastoral ministry.
A working group was established to explore the role of women in church leadership. A report by this group was recently presented to the Bishops' Conference, where it has been well received, and the findings were presented and discussed at a webinar event on May 10. There has also been an increased emphasis on social justice, including wellattended book clubs exploring the writings of Pope Francis in Laudato Si' and Fratelli Tutti, and the introduction of the John Paul II Awards for young people. "It's an exciting time," says Rose. "There was a sense that the Limerick event was transformative. It will be very interesting on a national level; there is potential for real change but it will only come if people are open and ready to listen. The church can adapt – it has shown over the last year that things can change."
LESSONS FROM LIMERICK
The experience of those involved in the Limerick synod will be invaluable as the Irish church sets out on the road towards a national synod. Indeed, the process has already begun and, according to Nóirin Lynch, this means we are, or ought to be, already in 'synod mode'. "Before any conversation about the synod, there has to be a real interrogation of what changes are being made with regard to synodality," she suggests. "What are we doing in terms of communication? If we're a synodal church, how contactable are we in the diocese or the Bishops' Conference, for example? How much do we respond? "A synod is meant to include everyone – we are one body, and the body is not complete unless we bring all the parts. We should already be thinking about accessibility, of having the conversation open and accessible to people with disabilities, for example, or people who can't read or write. When we hold an event, are parking and childcare facilities available? These are justice issues."
Nóirin's advice to everyone is to 'step up' and be part of the conversation. "As lay people, we need to say 'Whenever I'm asked, I'm going to put my voice forward.' Don't wait for the 'gatekeepers' or the right person to ask you. Take the opportunity to respond, even if it's to say, 'I've never been asked my opinion before.' If 30 women say 'I didn't think my voice mattered,' then that's something that needs to be heard."
Rose believes a "spirit of openness" is the most important thing we can bring to a synod. "My advice is to go into it with an open mind and open heart. Something Jessie Rogers [who facilitated sessions at the Limerick synod] said has stayed with me: 'Pay attention to what grates with you.' We all have biases, whether we are aware of them or not. Have the confidence and the courage to let things unfold."
There is a sense among the Limerick contingent that this synodal process could not be starting at a better time. As Ireland begins to emerge from the pandemic, we do not yet know what shape the post-Covid church will take. There has undoubtedly been an awakening of interest in spirituality as people engaged with different faith experiences online, but others have drifted away. All have wisdom and experiences to share. The conversations over the next few years will be pivotal in shaping the future of the Irish church. "It must be acknowledged that the experience of Covid means we now have a very new and changed experience of church and society which must be included," says Fr Fitzgibbon. "The experience of Covid (and how we responded) needs to be reflected on. In this time and in light of this experience, where is the Spirit leading us now?"
Of course, the Irish synod will benefit from the new technology and methods of communication that have emerged over the past year, such as online liturgies and conferences. There are opportunities for networking and accessing different experiences of church around the world. "People are more open to trying new ways of doing things," says Rose. "Often, there are more people participating online than were coming to church before. There has been a good shake-up due to the global situation. This will impact on the national synod and offer more possibilities to draw people in."
Nóirin Lynch
For more information on how to become involved, and to follow the synodal journey, visit www.catholicbishops.ie/synod.
