Synodal Information
Synodal Information
Synod
A Synod of Bishops is a meeting between or assembly of Church leaders to reach a collective consensus on key issues regarding the Church. The aim of a Synod is to involve Diocese all over the globe to ensure all voices are heard equally. This year Pope Francis has invited the worldwide Church to enter a period of listening to one another as we walk side by side in our journey of faith together. On this Synodal Journey every voice matters equally and this is why the Church wants to hear from you. If you would like your voice to be heard on important key issues regarding the Church please find out more.
The History of the Synod of Bishops
Early forms of a Synodical government can be traced back to the New Testament, where we see that decisions were made collectively and applied pastorally in different congregations and among various groups of Christians. Church Synods where first introduced into the Catholic church as the forum in which cases could be resolved that a local bishop was not competent to handle. These synods took three forms; provincial, metropolitan or patriarchal. All three types of Synods however maintained the same goal of reaching a consensus of all on key decisions regarding the Church. The experience the Church gathered in the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council (1962-1965) motivated Pope Paul VI to permanently establish a special Council of Bishops thus forming the modern Synod of Bishops in 1965.
Monsignor Gerard Robinson's Homily explaining the vision for a Synodal Church
This is presented as a PDF file to make it easier for you to print Monsignor's homliy, should you wish to:
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