Sunday 24 Nov 2024.
Not from the Pulpit: Fr Richard Leonard SJ PP
On November 28, I will complete three years as your parish priest. I have another three years to go before the Jesuit Provincial will discern whom to recommend to the Archbishop, or to ask for a renewal for me. My recent sabbatical had seen me return with energy for what lies ahead. AMDG.
Our warmest congratulations to Anne Mawa for celebrating her 20-year service award at the recent Annual Archdiocesan Catechist Mass. We are always in need of catechists. You don’t need to be a teacher because there are great resources available to support you. More than anything we say, the children will remember who we are, our faith, hope, and love. If you would like to be a catechist, please be in touch.
Ross Jones SJ the Rector of St Aloysius' College recently provided an excellent summary of The Synod on Synodality which concluded in Rome late last month. “Though it was a Synod of Bishops, 70 priests and deacons, and lay people attending (including 54 women for the first time), all entitled to vote, numbering 364 participants in all...
There were a number of “controversial” issues, proposed at the start, which did not make their way into the final document. These included married clergy, women deacons, and LGBTQI+ considerations. At the beginning of the synodal process in 2021, there were high hopes among many people that the Synod would solve, or even adjudicate on, some of these issues. For the most part these were handed over to the ten “study groups” of the Synod for further discernment of such complicated topics...
James Martin SJ is a well-known American Jesuit journalist and writer. He attended the Synod and was a regular commentator. He enumerated four outcomes in the final Synod document.
1. Synodality is a “constitutive dimension” of the church. This means it is an essential element of the Church, enabling it to be more participatory and missionary. It is a “gathering at all levels of the Church for mutual listening, dialogue, and community discernment” (n 28). This is the way the Church understands itself.
2. Decision-making must be participatory. Whilst Church hierarchy and governance is still recognised, the document states that “It is essential that we promote the broadest participation possible in the discernment process, particularly involving those who are at the margins of the Christian community and society” (n 82). It presupposes that the Holy Spirit is at work, active and alive, in all the People of God. And it calls for a transparency, accountability and evaluation of pastors and leaders in the Church.
3. Bishops and pastors are “obliged to listen”. The call for listening and participation is central to the document. The bishops and pastors are strongly called, over and over, to listen to the voices of the faithful in their dioceses and parishes. Consultation must happen and must be responded to. Furthermore, explanations must be offered if the outcomes of consultation are not enacted. Parishes should consider instituting “a ministry of listening and accompaniment” (n 78) – especially to the marginalised.
4. Pastoral councils, diocesan synods, and other participatory assemblies should be mandatory. Whilst the Church’s canon law describes diocesan synods, diocesan and parish pastoral councils, finance committees, etc, these often exist nominally. But they are central to proper participation, accountability and transparency. So, they will now be made mandatory.
... So, all in all, the Synod has delivered some welcome directions for “communion, participation and mission” in and for the Church, as it hoped. But clearly, these are first steps. There is still a way to go. And that is not surprising. Because the root meaning (in Greek) of the word synod is ‘together on the road’
Holy Family Parish visit - Join us for Mass with the OLW & Tongan choirs
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252-254 Luxford Rd, Emerton
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Sun 1 Dec@10.30am, 252-254 Luxford Rd, Emerton
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Holy Family Parish visit - Join us for Mass with the OLW & Tongan choirs 〰️ 252-254 Luxford Rd, Emerton 〰️ Sun 1 Dec@10.30am, 252-254 Luxford Rd, Emerton 〰️
Fr Sacha’s Farewell
Sat 14 Dec @ 7.00pm, Ron Dyer Centre
More details to follow soon.