Background for this Synod
As the Church embarks on this synodal journey, we must strive to ground
ourselves in experiences of authentic listening and discernment on the path of
becoming the Church that God calls us to be.
Through this Synod, Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on how the Church journeys together as the People of God. Following the renewal of the Church proposed by the Second Vatican Council, this common journey together is both a right and a responsibility. By reflecting together on our journey together, the diverse members of the Church learn from one another’s experiences and perspectives. Guided by the Holy Spirit, enlightened by God’s Word and united in prayer, we are invited to discern how to seek God’s will and God calls us onward – towards deeper communion, fuller participation, and greater openness so that we might be a Church with a mission-centered heart. The International Theological Commission (ITC) describes synodality this way:
‘Synod’ is an ancient and venerable word in the Tradition of the Church, whose meaning draws on the deepest themes of Revelation […] It indicates the path along which the People of God walk together. Equally, it refers to the Lord Jesus, who presents Himself as ‘the way, the truth and the life’ (Jn 14,6), and to the fact that Christians, His followers, were originally called ‘followers of the Way’ (cf. Acts 9,2; 19,9.23; 22,4; 24,14.22).
First and foremost, synodality denotes the particular style that qualifies the life and mission of the Church, expressing her nature as the People of God journeying together and gathering in assembly, summoned by the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the Gospel. Synodality ought to be expressed in the Church’s ordinary way of living and working.
In this sense, synodality enables the entire People of God to walk forward together, listening to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God, to participate in the mission of the Church in the communion that Christ establishes between us. This “walking together” is the most effective way of putting into practice the nature of the Church as the pilgrim and missionary People of God (PD, 1).
The entire People of God shares a common dignity and vocation through Baptism. All of us are called by virtue of our Baptism to be active participants in the life of the Church. In parishes, small Christian communities, lay movements, religious communities, and other forms of communion, women and men, young people and the elderly, we are all invited to listen to one another in order to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit, who comes to guide our human efforts, breathing life and vitality into the Church and leading us into deeper communion for our mission in the world. As the Church embarks on this synodal journey, we must strive to ground ourselves in experiences of authentic listening and discernment on the path of becoming the Church that God calls us to be.
This synodal journey commenced in the Vatican with the Official Opening by the Holy Father in the Vatican on 9-10 October 2021. This was followed by an Official Opening in each local church on Sunday 17 October 2021. For the Auckland Diocese a liturgy led by Bishop Patrick was celebrated
DIOCESAN PHASE
October 2021 - June 2022
The objective of this phase was carried out through listening to all of the baptised and others interested in journeying with us. This consultation concluded with a pre-synodal meeting the culmination of diocesan discernment. In the Diocese of Auckland, this process took place between October 2021 and Junr 2022. In the Auckland diocese October was a time of preparation and formation of facilitators. Then 'local' Churches, parishes, faith communities, fraternal groups promoted and encouraged participation. A variety of ways were offered so that a diversity of voices were listened to. Responses to the diocese were received up until 13 May 2022. The pre-synodal gathering that closed the diocesan phase was held on Saturday 14 May 2022. This meeting informed the final synthesis document that was submitted to the New Zealand Bishops' Conference to be included in the Continental phase.
NATIONAL / CONTINENTAL PHASE
June 2022 - August 2022
At the conclusion of the diocesan phase, as the local church of Auckland we submitted our contributions to to the New Zealand Bishops’ Conference. A period of discernment will occur as our bishops gather to listen to what the Spirit has inspired in the churches entrusted to them. Their synthesis will then be sent to the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops along with the contributions of each of the local churches before August 2022.
UNIVERSAL PHASE
September 2022 - October 2023
The documents gathered from across the world will then become part of the ‘Instrumentum Laboris’, or ‘working document’ for the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October 2023.
... the purpose of the Synod is not to produce documents, but “to plant dreams, draw forth prophecies and visions, allow hope to flourish, inspire trust, bind up wounds, weave together relationships, awaken a dawn of hope, learn from one another and create a bright resourcefulness that will enlighten minds, warm hearts, give strength to our hands ...
(PD32)
“...we are all invited to listen to one another in order to hear the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
who comes to guide our human efforts, breathing life and vitality into the Church and leading us into
deeper communion for our mission in the world.”
(Vad 1.2)