From the Pastor’s Desk:

Down through the centuries, the Roman Catholic Church has called together bishops and patriarchs to discuss doctrine and Church teachings, many times in what is called a synod. The word synod comes from an ancient Greek term that means “coming together”. In the early years of the church leaders came together to pray and make decisions about matters affecting all the Christian communities in a region. They gathered together in faith, in prayer and in discussion that would reveal God’s will and the way to achieve it. These regional gatherings were called synods. These are not to be confused with an Ecumenical Council, such as Vatican Council II. An Ecumenical council is for all bishops around the world to discuss issues that are important for the whole church. Over the centuries as the power of the pope increased and everything began to come from Rome, synods began to disappear, whereas ecumenical councils continued to be called. After the Council of Trent even ecumenical councils became less, only two within 400 years. The Second Vatican Council called in 1962 was to bring back among other things, the importance of bishops as heads of their local churches and emphasize their cooperation with one another. Pope Paul VI continued the changes begun by Pope John XXIII and Vatican II by creating a permanent structure for a Synod of bishops with a secretariat in Rome and a General Assembly gathered regularly by the pope. Since 1967 the popes have brought this assembly together 18 times: 15 of those assemblies were ordinary and 3 assemblies were extraordinary. There have also been several special assemblies for particular regions of the world. Pope Francis has formally on October 10 opened a two year process for a synod. Bishops from around the world will consult with parishioners, monks, nuns and Catholic universities before coming together for a discussion in 2023. Their discussions will center upon, “How the church can learn to rely more fully on this kind of consultation and discussion process, how it can become more synodal in its governance. Its focus is to make church governance more open and inclusive of all its members. “A synodal Church is a Church which listens”, states Pope Francis, that mutual listening has been the goal of much of the church’s renewal since Vatican II. Unlike previous synods, this one officially begins in dioceses all over the world, with opportunities for mutual discussion at every level and among many different church organizations. Tickets for our fall musical, “Into the Woods” November19, 20 (7pm) & 21 (2pm) are on sale now! Call the parish office or catch me after Mass. I hope you come and enjoy the show.