Pope Francis is inviting all Catholics, the baptised and anyone of good faith all across
the world to take part in a time of prayerful reflection, listening and sharing, so that we
can better hear the voice of God’s Spirit, to help direct the Church into the future. This
listening phase is part of a journey that will lead to a meeting of Church Leaders for a
Synod in Rome in 2023.
“Synod” simply means ’journeying together’ and there have been many synods since
the time of the early Church. The Universal Synod (or synod for the whole world) next
year will focus on how we can journey together better, or be more synodal, as a
Church going forward. We are also hoping that this listening will help with a National
Synod here in Ireland. We recently held our local Synodal Gatherings in our parish grouping of Dundrum, Ballinteer and Meadowbrook. We realise that the dates for these gatherings didn't suit everyone. If you were unable to attend we invite you to reflectively respond to the following four questions.