Communion, participation, mission—the new ‘S’ word
Q: Archbishop Jason, why is the Church speaking synod again? Shortly after I was installed as Archbishop, a good Catholic said to me: “Archbishop, I hope you are not going to start using the ‘S’ word again”? I was perplexed at the comment. Then I learnt that the ‘S’ word was synod. For some people
Q: Archbishop J, why synodality? Synodality speaks about a way of being Church, where its members walk together, where its leaders listen to all the faithful, as it discerns God’s will for its future. This is a humble Church that puts God’s will above all other criteria in decision-making, one in which the little and
What is the role of synodality in the mission of the Church?
Q: Archbishop J, what is the role of synodality in the mission of the Church? October is mission month. We are invited again to reflect upon the Church and its mission. To do this reflection adequately, we need to rethink how we understand the word ‘mission’. We are accustomed to identifying the mission of an
By Fr Donald Chambers Pope Francis has invited all parishes, small Christian communities, lay movements, religious communities, and other forms of communion to embark on a journey of listening to one another to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This journeying together is called a synod, and the theme guiding it is For a
On August 18, 2022, I posted a personal blog entitled “Conversation, Conversation, Conversation” (belovedreflections.org) about the fruits from a weekend conversation with two friends. At the end of the blog, I identified three wisdom lessons about healthy conversation. It consists of (1) sharing and receiving different perspectives, (2) an awareness of what you don’t know,
As I write this article, many dioceses within the Antilles Episcopal Conference, from Hamilton, Bermuda in the north, to Belize City/Belmopan, Belize in the west, and Cayenne, French Guyana in the Southeast, are undertaking the tedious task of the diocesan phase of the Synodal Journey. The overall goal of the synod process is to
The Coronavirus pandemic has severely occasioned the diminishing participation in church life and attendance. Similar to the education system losing some students with the advent of online classes, the Church has also lost active and passive members. In a recent conversation with a youth leader, she lamented bitterly that, with the reopening of parishes for
The spirit and guidelines of the Synodal journey (2021–2023) is without doubt a gift to all, including catechists – teachers or formators of the faith. Located on one end of the seesaw, there is catechesis that is defined as “…an education in the faith of children, young people, and adults…” (Apostolic Exhortation Catechesi tradendae 1:2).