Janet Forbes reflects on how the Irish Church can embrace synodality as a way of life rooted in its cultural DNA of community, generosity, and mutual care.
Since September 2021, we here in Ireland have been on a synodal journey with our brothers and sisters across the globe. Over nearly four years of listening, dialogue and discernment, we have been learning what it means to walk, listen and decide together as Church.
One of the biggest challenges has been the complexity of the Synodal documents and the lingering question around what these years of reflection actually mean for how we live as Church in our parishes today. Pope Francis reminded us repeatedly that this is not just a passing trend but a recovery of something deeper and more ancient, something rooted in the very person of Jesus.
I believe synodality lives in the very soul of the Irish Church and that it is something we already carry in our bones, something woven into the very DNA of nearly two millennia of faith and story. In many ways synodality is not something new to learn, but something we are called to remember and recover.
“Whether helping a neighbour, responding to crises, or supporting the Church’s mission this generosity shows who we are”
Continue reading the full article in The Irish Catholic Newspaper here.