Synodality – “Walking together”  (Flyer)

What is Synodality

During the pandemic, Pope Francis presented us with a new image of church: that, no matter who we were, we were together in the same boat.  The worldwide Synod process came out of that desire to engage with our changing world and with those on the margins to regain a renewed sense of purpose and mission.  However, putting this into practice is not so simple.  As a Church, we don’t necessarily have good ways of listening to voices on the margins and connecting to people’s lives.  We struggle to have difficult or creative conversations, and to step away from our own agendas. In many ways we have lost the habit of seeking the Holy Spirit, and we are often paralysed by indecision.  Pope Francis challenges us to become a listening, engaged church, through becoming more synodal.

Specifically this means:

• Actively responding to our changing world – reading the signs of the times

• Learning how to hold prayerful, truthful and safe conversations which value gracious listening and courageous speaking

• Consciously seeking the Holy Spirit’s inspiration

• Being compelled to action by the stories we’ve heard

Although this sounds complicated, synodality is a way of being community which has been part of the Church since the very beginning (Council of Jerusalem, Acts 15).  We have ancient tools of lectio divina and spiritual conversation which, when done well, can be transformative.  In the past year, as we have grown in confidence in this new way of being, synodality has been used to resolve contentious issues in parishes; to look for creative solutions to diocesan finances; and even to create safe listening spaces in response to clergy sex abuse. The result of becoming synodal, of truly encountering one another heart-to-heart, is a new sense of purpose. Grounded in the vocation of all the baptised, this purpose brings people together, helps prioritise finances and resources, allows people’s gifts to flourish and enables us to take risks for the Kingdom.  In Pope Francis’ words, we move from being “zombie Christians” to “a caravan of solidarity” (Evangeli Gaudium, 83, 87) where all are welcome, all loved, all known.

Because this represents a significant shift in our culture, and is not a straight-forward undertaking, we offer a four step process modelled on the Council of Jerusalem, the first time the Church faced an intractable problem.  We follow the disciples from disagreement to silence and story-telling, and then to discerning the Holy Spirit.  Once the Spirit is discerned, the Church is compelled to action.  There is much that we can learn from this example for the Church today.  We must also become aware of new skills to learn, bad habits to break, and dispositions to cultivate.

For further details or to register your interest in attending this event please email ignatianspiritwa@gmail.com

About the Speaker

Dr Sandie Cornish is a practitioner and academic in the field of Catholic Social Teaching.  She is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Theology at the Australian Catholic University and a member of the Dicastery for the Promotion of Integral Human Development. She was one of the periti for the Fifth Plenary Council of the Catholic Church in Australia.

Sandie has been Director of the Office for Justice, Ecology and Peace of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference, Director of Quality and Community Engagement for the Sydney College of Divinity, Province Director of Mission of the Society of the Sacred Heart in Australia and New Zealand, and has worked with the Good Shepherd Sisters in research and social policy. She also worked with the Australian Jesuits assisting in research, policy, planning, and formation in their social ministries. As the Social Justice Education Coordinator for the Diocese of Broken Bay, she had responsibility for the coordination of adult faith programs in social justice, and the development of academic programs in Catholic Social Teaching offered in distance mode through BBI-TAITE. Sandie led the Hong Kong based international human rights agency, the Asian Center for the Progress of Peoples, and served as the National Executive Officer of the Australian Catholic Social Justice Council for five years. She played a significant role in each of the major research and consultation activities of the Bishops’ Committee for Justice, Development and Peace during the late 1980’s and 1990’s.

Sandie holds a PhD in Practical Theology, a Licentiate in Catholic Social Doctrine and Ethics from the Pontifical Gregorian University, a Master of Public Policy, and a Bachelor of Economics.

For further details or to register your interest in attending this event please email ignatianspiritwa@gmail.com