This is an article written by Anne Benjamin for Madonna Magazine. Republished with permission.
Not long after Argentinian Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ was elected pope in 2013, he began to speak of ‘synodality’, a word new to many of us Catholics. By now we know that ‘synodality’ refers to a way of being church; a way of walking together as we discern under the guidance of the Spirit the best way to proclaim the good news of God’s love to our world.
Pope Francis convened two assemblies of the Synod of Bishops to focus on synodality, at meetings in Rome in October 2023 and October 2024. Many Catholics from around the world made suggestions that were incorporated into submissions that helped set the agenda for the meetings in Rome which included laity, religious and priests as well as the Pope and bishops.
‘THE SYNODALITY TO WHICH POPE FRANCIS IS CALLING US IS PROFOUND AND DEEP.’
Local efforts
Efforts to become more synodal are also happening in local dioceses, even if unevenly because of the circumstances of different dioceses and parishes.
I would like to share what my local church has begun in its attempts to honour the call to become more synodal as just one example of what is happening and might happen.
The Diocese of Parramatta is located on the lands of the Darug and Gundungurra people in Western Sydney and the Blue Mountains. On a cold morning in early August this year, about 270 people from the diocese gathered for a day-long assembly at Penrith, a city 50km west of Sydney on the banks of the Nepean River. The gathering included both old and young, bringing together a multitude of cultures, as is fitting for the youngest, fastest-growing and most multiculturally diverse diocese in Australia. It was a happy gathering, and the room buzzed with conversation, live music and colourful signage.
The occasion marked the launch by Bishop Vincent Long of the new Diocesan Pastoral Plan for a Synodal Church.
Explicit about synodality
The plan is explicit about synodality. As Bishop Vincent Long wrote in the Introduction, ‘we commit to becoming a community of listening, discernment, and decision-making that leads us to being a model society and an effective vehicle of the Good News for the disadvantaged, the planet, and all God’s creation.’
The plan is the fruit of the first Parramatta Diocesan Synod held over three days in October 2023 (at the same time as the Synod on Synodality was meeting in Rome). The diocesan Synod agenda was drawn from a synthesis of 1200 submissions from more than 5000 members of the faithful in the diocese following a process of prayer, readings, videos and discussion groups at parish, deanery and agency level.
Twenty-four resolutions were passed by the Synod around six aspirations to be a church that: (i) is inclusive and welcoming, (ii) is humble and healing, (iii) listens, (iv) is renewed in Spirit and prayer, (v) reaches to the margins, and (vi) walks together. These became the focus of the plan, which is now seeking ways of putting the resolutions (decrees) resulting from Synod into effect.
‘SYNODALITY IS NOT A PLACE, A FIXED POINT. IT IS A WAY OF BEING CHURCH.’
Consultation
As with preparation for the Synod, the development of the plan similarly involved extensive consultation. Drafts prepared by a small writing group were published for comments from groups, individuals and in six Think Tanks across the diocese.
Organisational specialists tell us that any change in culture takes a long time; and the deeper the change, the longer it will take. This is as it should be, because the synodality to which Pope Francis is calling us is profound and deep: he calls it a ‘conversion’ that we need to make as a church. It is a conversion so that we become humbler, more welcoming of all people especially those on the margins, more prayerful, and more open to listen to each other so that we can hear the Spirit guiding us in our mission.
Bishop Vincent has also initiated structural changes to support this conversion to another way of being church.
These include, for example, the establishment of a Diocesan Pastoral Council and Deanery Pastoral Councils, chaired by lay members and with predominantly lay membership. In 2020–2021, the bishop invited external reviewers to examine diocesan governance processes so that practice can be consistent with the Pope’s vision for an inclusive, transparent and accountable church.
Diocesan curia
The diocesan curia which traditionally consisted only of priests, now includes two women members. The diocesan seminary has made an explicit commitment to synodality which is reflected in the seminarians’ formation programs; a lay woman has been appointed to the Diocesan Seminary Faculty Board.
Where is synodality going in the Diocese of Parramatta? I do not know. We are all learning what synodality might mean. After all, synodality is not a place, a fixed point. It is a way of being church. In Parramatta, we know the journey towards greater synodality has begun and is underway. We will sometimes stumble, but as we move forward with Matthew 28:20 as our guide, there is good reason for hope.
Anne Benjamin has worked across Australia, in the Pacific and India as a writer, consultant and educator. Formerly director of schools in the Diocese of Parramatta, she was a member of the Writing Group for the 2023 Parramatta Diocesan Synod. She is an honorary professor at Australian Catholic University.
