Catholic Church Reform International – A global network seeking renewal of the Church
How to become a Synodal Parish (Online Workshop details and registration)
January 11 & February 8/2025 – OR – January 12/13 & February 9/19/2025
The following US-originated international online event notice was received from Catholic Church Reform International on 2nd January 2025
Happy New Year! As we begin a new year and now that the four-year synodal process is completed, it is time for everyone in the global Church to live out what we have discerned together: how to become a renewed and vibrant community where the people have a voice in the decision-making of their community and the clergy and lay people live the Gospel mission together. If your parish or community struggles to engage all its members and to build relationships with others, imagine it being rejuvenated by respectful dialogue and genuine encounter. And if you are already part of a vibrant parish or community, consider what would happen if more and more people were invited into creating and carrying out a mission and vision they discerned together.
How to Become a Synodal Parish: Sign up to take this workshop
“How to Become a Synodal Parish: Level 100 Context and Practices will be offered in two parts - each part being offered twice to accommodate the differing time zones globally. Each part will last for two and a half hours. The dates and times are shown below.
The program is interactive being offered by Bernadette Rudolph, program director at the Cranaleith Spiritual Center; please plan to attend in person if possible. Afterall, we are building a faith community! However, it will also be recorded if you want to go back and relisten or catch parts you may have missed. Bernadette will offer it again so, if you are too busy now, keep your eye out for future offerings. The cost is $65 for the combined sessions. Scholarships are available if needed.
If you are part of a leadership or ministry team in a parish or would like to be, and if you are interested in bringing synodality to your own community, you are encouraged to register. To find the times for you in your locale, click on Our Universal Calendar and scroll down to the specified dates.
Are you aware that Pope Francis has set the entire Church on a four-year journey to become a more synodal Church? What does that mean and why should you care? In a synodal Church, we become a people characterized by participation, communion and mission. Everyone has a voice because we acknowledge that the Holy Spirit lives in each person. Everyone has gifts to offer the whole. We walk together as disciples on The Way of Jesus – not on separate journeys or even similar journeys, but one journey as God’s people.
Being synodal matters when we have decisions to make. It matters as we figure out how the Church should approach the world and handle our problems. It matters as we imagine our future. God is with us and has a plan. A synodal Church can receive it and bring it to life – together. Jesus consistently rooted his ministry in prayer and encounter; synodality calls us to do the same. This journey is lifelong.
How can you and your parish join in?
If you are part of a leadership or ministry team in a parish or would like to be, you and your team could grow through this workshop into a team equipped to bring synodality to life for the people you serve and to participate in the dreams God has for you and the Church.
At the end of this workshop, your team will be able to:
-
Practice spiritual discernment - of God as real in your life, of the Holy Spirit working in and through you, of the Holy Spirit working in and through others. -
Understand and practice elements of synodality - story telling, deep and active listening, dialogue, spiritual and communal discernment, co-responsibility. -
Identify possible places where you could bring what you’ve learned back to your parish community.
What does ‘becoming a synodal church’ mean in our region of Oceania?
Wednesday 18 September 2024: 5.30pm AEST, 5.00pm ACST, 3.30pm AWST, 7.30pm NZ
Speakers:
Manuel Beazley, Vicar for Māori, Diocese of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand;
Kelly Paget, Chancellor and Head of Mission, Diocese of Broken Bay, Australia;
Susan Sela, Director, Pacific Technical and Further Education, University of the South Pacific, Fiji; Victor Roche SVD, National Director of Pontifical Mission Societies for PNG and Solomon Islands
Respondent:
Elissa Roper, Australian theologian with a focus on synodality and church.
Moderator:
Christina Reymer, Core Group Leader, Be The Change Aotearoa New Zealand
Click HERE to register
The webinar will be recorded. A link to the recording will be emailed to registrants after the event.
Sponsors: ACCCR – Australian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform; Garratt Publishing; Spirit Unbounded
“What does Synodality mean for our way of being church?”
The next Faith and Life Questions Meeting for the Catholic Parishes of
Camberwell, Balwyn, Deepdene, Surrey Hills and Wattle Park, Melbourne
will be held on Monday Sept 9th at 4.00 – 5.00
at Holy Redeemer Meeting Room, Barton St, Surrey Hills, Melbourne
Our speaker is Br Tony Clark, a Marist brother who is
Facilitator of Synodality and Mission in the Diocese of Sale.
All welcome. Enquiries – Rose Marie Prosser rjprosser@optusnet.com.au
________________________________________
INAUGURAL McGUIRE LECTURE – 6 AUGUST 2024
‘What sort of priest is needed in the emerging Australian Catholic Church?’
(tribute to founding president of Manly Union, Archbishop Terence McGuire)
Tuesday, 6 August from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm
Gleeson Auditorium, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield Campus(25A Barker Road, Strathfield, NSW).
Speaker: Rev Dr John Hill, former president of the Catholic Institute of Sydney. Respondent: Assoc Prof Maeve Louise Heaney VDMF, Director of the Xavier Centre for Theological Formation, ACU Brisbane
RSVP 30 JULY 2024 via McGuire Lecture Response Form (HERE)
______________________________________________
Monday 5 August at St Patrick’s Cathedral Hall, Parramatta, and in Melbourne on Wednesday 14 August at Newman College.
Internationally recognised Dutch theologian, ecumenist and consultor to several Vatican bodies, Dr Myriam Wijlens will be coming to Australia as part of the “Bishop Vincent Presents” Series to deliver a free public lecture on ‘The prophetic voice of the laity in the renewal of the Catholic Church.’
Dr Myriam’s lecture will precede the second assembly of the Synod on Bishops on Synodality in Rome in October. Dr Myriam is a consultor to the Synod and is a member of its Coordinating Commission. She has a unique perspective and insights on how synodality is practised around the global Catholic Church.
She is also a canon lawyer and expert in the Church’s response to clerical sexual abuse with her work dating back to the 1980s where she first issued guidelines for the Catholic Church in Canada in 1987. She then drafted guidelines for The Netherlands in 1994 and since 2002, has had served on over 100 cases in Germany and worked with the Church in Ireland. In 2018, Pope Francis made her a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors and she has published several books and articles on the topic
In February 2024, Dr Myriam was elected Vice Moderator of the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches, which is the first time a Catholic woman has been elected to this prestigious role. The Council is currently focusing on ethical issues faced by all religions.
Overall, Myriam’s work focuses on reform of Church structures and institutions in the area of ecclesiology and ecumenism, sexual abuse of minors and the law on consecrated life in religious institutes. Since 2004, Myriam Wijlens has served as co-moderator of the international research group Peter and Paul Seminar, which focuses on necessary reforms of canon law in light of Vatican II
She will be delivering her public lecture on Monday 5 August at St Patrick’s Cathedral Hall, Parramatta, and Streaming, 6-8pm and in Melbourne on Wednesday 14 August at Newman College, 5-7pm
These events are free but registrations are essential by visiting
_______________________________________________
Interpreting the signs of the times: doing theology in a synodal way
Lecture 23 May 5pm-6.30 pm at
Newman College, University of Melbourne
A talk and Q&A with Visiting theologian Fr Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ.
REGISTER Now to ensure you have a seat.
(we hope it will be recorded for later viewing.)
Background
Recently (1 November 2023), Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter ‘Ad theologiam promovendam’ (still only in Latin and Italian!). The Catholic News Agency explained the content of the document with this heading: Pope Francis calls for `paradigm shift’ in theology for world of today.
What is the significance of the Pope’s call for a change in how theology is done? What does it mean for theologians, priests, and parishioners ‘to start from the different contexts and concrete situations in which peoples are inserted’, allowing themselves ‘to be seriously challenged by reality’, to discern the “signs of the times” in the light of the gospel?
Fr Orobator, SJ will speak on the implications of ‘Ad theologiam promovendam’. He is the new Dean (May 2023) of the Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University, California. He is a Nigerian by birth and is former head of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar. He has been deeply involved in the different stages of the current Synod on Synodality, including his participation in the First Assembly in October 2023 in Rome, at the invitation of the Pope.
Richard Curtain
richard@curtain-consulting.net.au
Editorial Committee
Sense of the Faithful website
_______________________________________________
Australasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform
and Garratt Publishing present:
Synod On Synodality
What we can hope for and expect from the Synod
Thursday 18 April 2024
7.00pm AEST Online (details below)
The focus of this webinar will be on the state of play since the first Assembly and the lead up to the second Assembly in October 2024.
Joining us will be Bishop Vincent Long who held a Diocesan Synod in the Parramatta Diocese in 2023 and Dr Sandie Cornish who attended the first Synod Assembly in October 2023 as an Expert Adviser and Facilitator and will return to Rome for the second Assembly in October this year.
Each will share and explore their lived experience of a Diocesan Synod and a Universal Synod.
Bishop Long said of his Diocesan Syndod, ‘This synod has been much more than an event. It is a template and a model for engagement, discernment and decision-making process. More than a destination that says we have arrived, it is a journey of ongoing learning, openness and alignment with the Spirit. So as we conclude, we feel energised to begin again. May we go forth into our various environments and become agents of synodality, enabling our families, schools, parishes, agencies to become a community of mutual empowerment.’
We hope you can join us.
When: Thursday 18 April 2024
Time: 7:00 pm (AEST)*
Where: Via Zoom
Cost: FREE
Registration:
To register, please click HERE
SPEAKERS
BP Vincent Long OFM Conv
Bishop of Parramatta.
Dr Sandie Cornish
Senior Lecturer at the Australian Catholic University (ACU), specialising in Catholic Social Teaching.
MODERATOR
Dr Trish Hindmarsh
Leader Concerned Catholics Tasmania (CCT).
RESPONDER
Assoc Prof Maeve Louise Heaney VDMF
Director, Xavier Centre of Theology, Australian Catholic University (ACU).
_____________________________________________
Interpreting the signs of the times: doing theology in a synodal way
Lecture 23 May 5pm-6.30 pm at
Newman College, University of Melbourne
A talk and Q&A with Visiting theologian Fr Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, SJ.
REGISTER Now to ensure you have a seat.
(we hope it will be recorded for later viewing.)
Background
Recently (1 November 2023), Pope Francis issued an Apostolic Letter ‘Ad theologiam promovendam’ (still only in Latin and Italian!). The Catholic News Agency explained the content of the document with this heading: Pope Francis calls for `paradigm shift’ in theology for world of today.
What is the significance of the Pope’s call for a change in how theology is done? What does it mean for theologians, priests, and parishioners ‘to start from the different contexts and concrete situations in which peoples are inserted’, allowing themselves ‘to be seriously challenged by reality’, to discern the “signs of the times” in the light of the gospel?
Fr Orobator, SJ will speak on the implications of ‘Ad theologiam promovendam’. He is the new Dean (May 2023) of the Jesuit School of Theology, Santa Clara University, California. He is a Nigerian by birth and is former head of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar. He has been deeply involved in the different stages of the current Synod on Synodality, including his participation in the First Assembly in October 2023 in Rome, at the invitation of the Pope.
Richard Curtain
richard@curtain-consulting.net.au
Editorial Committee
Sense of the Faithful website
________________________________________
Details HERE and Registration HERE
____________________________________________
___________________________________________
FIRST ASSEMBLY OF THE SYNOD ON SYNODALITY
IN ROME, OCTOBER 2023?
You are invited to join in a conversation with Ms Susan Pascoe AM and Bishop Shane Mackinlay together with Fr Frank Brennan and Prof Peter Sheehan.
Susan and Bishop Shane have been involved extensively in the lead up to the Synod, and were present at the First Assembly meeting. They will provide unique insight into the events of the First Assembly, and the implications for Australia.
EVENT DETAILS
When: Thursday 23 November 2023
Time: 5.00pm – 8:00 pm
Where:
The Oratory, Newman College
The University of Melbourne
887 Swanston Street, Parkville
Registration: HERE
Light refreshments available at the end of the discussion
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Australian Reforming Catholics: https://australianreformingcatholics.au/
Q&A with Bishop Paul Bird (via Zoom) 5:00pm Thursday 6 July
Register HERE
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Garratt Publishing, together with
Opening the Doors Foundation invite you to
An Indigenous Voice to Parliament
WEBINAR
| Join Fr Frank Brennan, SJ, AO and Vicki Clark OAM as they explore the planned referendum suggesting an alteration to the Australian Constitution that establishes a First Nations Voice.Frank and Vicki will outline the long road that has brought us to this historic moment in Australian history and cut through the political rhetoric to clarify how ‘the Voice’ will enhance the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – and all Australians. A Q&A session will follow.This webinar is ideal for all Australians seeking to understand what an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Voice to Parliament’ will actually mean. It is your opportunity to learn, take action and make history. Be informed and understand how a Voice to Parliament will give First Nations communities a route to help inform policy and legal decisions that impact their lives. Join us and make an informed decision at the referendum. |
| EVENT DETAILSWHEN: Wednesday 24 May 2023TIME: 5.00pm AEST* WHERE: Via Zoom COST: Free CLICK HERE OR BELOW TO REGISTER ONLINEOnline registration is essential. Webinar meeting details will be forwarded upon registration.The webinar will be recorded and made available after the session. We will send an email with details on how to access the video once it is available.**You need to be registered to receive the video link. |
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
Join Fr Frank Brennan, SJ, AO and Vicki Clark OAM as they explore the planned referendum suggesting an alteration to the Australian Constitution that establishes a First Nations Voice.
Frank and Vicki will outline the long road that has brought us to this historic moment in Australian history and cut through the political rhetoric to clarify how ‘the Voice’ will enhance the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – and all Australians. A Q&A session will follow.
This webinar is ideal for all Australians seeking to understand what an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Voice to Parliament’ will actually mean. It is your opportunity to learn, take action and make history. Be informed and understand how a Voice to Parliament will give First Nations communities a route to help inform policy and legal decisions that impact their lives.
Join us and make an informed decision at the referendum.
This event has now been held, however a video recording is available below
FOR MORE INFORMATION CLICK HERE
EVENT DETAILS
Helf: Wednesday 24 May 2023
TIME: 5.00pm AEST*
WHERE: Via Zoom
COST: Free
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Garratt Publishing, together with WATAC Inc., Catholic Religious Australia,
and Catholic Women Speak invite you to:
International Survey of Catholic Women (ISCW)
WEBINAR 7:00pm AEST, Wednesday 10 May 2023
The International Survey of Catholic Women (ISCW) was undertaken in 2022 in response to the call for submissions to the 2021–2024 Synod of Bishops themed For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.
The recently published ISCW: Analysis and Report of Key Findings is based on the survey findings drawn from 17,200 responses from women in 104 countries. This report is available at https://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1468189.
This webinar will feature researchers Dr Tracy McEwan, Dr Kathleen McPhillips, and Professor Tina Beattie in dialogue with Jacqui Rémond. Together they will report on key findings and recommendations and explore how the ISCW captured the complex diversity, insights, and shared concerns of thousands of Catholic women from around the world to become the largest international survey of Catholic women ever undertaken.
We hope you can join us.
DETAILS
WHEN: Wednesday 10 May 2023
TIME: 7.00pm AEST*
WHERE: Via Zoom
COST: Free
Online registration is essential. Webinar meeting details will be forwarded on TUESDAY 9 MAY 2023.
The webinar will be recorded and made available after the session. We will send an email with details on how to access the video once it is available.
**You need to be registered to receive the video link.
ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC: 7.00pm
NT, SA: 6.30pm
WA: 5.00pm
NZ: 9.00pm
For other international times see: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Walking together towards a synodal conversión
A webinar with
Rafael Luciani
Saturday 20 May 2023, 9.30am (ACST). 10.00am (AEST)
Rafael is a Lay Venezuelan theologian, Expert of the Theological Commission of the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops, Expert of CELAM (Latin American Bishops’ Council) and Member of the Theological Advisory Team of the Presidency of CLAR (Latin American Confederation of Religious men and women).
Rafael will be speaking from Venezuela, his home country
SYNODALITY means inclusive leadership, listening to the sense of faith of the faithful and a rejection of autocratic and patriarchal decision-making. But we still do not if there will be any more than a handful of lay Catholics participating. The first session of the Synod will be in Rome in October 2023.
The seven Continental Federations of Bishops Conferences Bishops are now finalising their submissions to the Synod on Synodality which will be the basis for the Synod Working Document.
Dare we hope for a fair outcome for all Catholics?
Further information coming soon
Co-sponsors:
SA Catholics for an Evolving Church
Australasian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (ACCCR)
Garratt Publishing
