The second assembly of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod Bishops in October marked the culmination of a three-year process for participants, including 14 Australians.
Upon concluding their time in Rome for the Synod, some of the Australian participants shared their overall reflections and impressions of the process, expressing their gratitude for being involved and their enthusiastic hope for the Church’s future in Australia and internationally.
Below are some excerpts from the reflections on the Synod from Australia’s participants:
Dr Trudy Dantis
“What an amazing experience this Synod on Synodality has been, ever since I began the journey way back in 2021.
“The thing that I treasure most at the second assembly is the maturing of relationships and conversations that we've had at the table. We met as strangers, so many people from all across the world. We became friends. But at this assembly something deeper happened and that was our maturing of our conversations with one another through the intercession of the Holy Spirit.
“I've seen so many conversion experiences happen here, from people who were fearful and who then were able to make intercessions that floored everyone, and from groups who moved from competition to collaboration. So my hope is that this journey continues and as we return back to Australia, I hope to be able to take this experience with me so that many others can share this journey.”
Dr Sandie Cornish
“Throughout the journey, we've been learning how to be a more synodal Church together, and the process itself has been so important. As one of the facilitators here at the Synod, I feel that this is one of the things that people will take home with them, that we've been learning how to be a synodal Church on mission together.
“People are going home knowing more people from the universal Church, having heard of so many different contexts and different ways of expressing ourselves as a Church on mission. So I hold a lot of hope for the future.”
Susan Pascoe
“The sharing around the table has been incredible and that sense that we listen to one another attentively and we create space for the Holy Spirit. I do believe that that has happened in this Synod.
“So it's a very grace-filled time and I'm really looking forward to seeing the implementation in dioceses, parishes and other ecclesial communities across Australia and the Pacific.”
Bishop Anthony Randazzo
“It's been a great month, very tiring as per usual, but a lot of learning. One of the greatest learnings for me has just been the experience of listening. There are so many different kinds of thoughts, experiences, realities of Church, understandings of the journey and being able to hear those and expand my own thinking and my own understanding of a synodal Church has been really powerful.
“I've really enjoyed the possibility also of coming home back to my own local church where I am with a lot of other people in Broken Bay, and being able to explore and unpack and to continue to live the synodal culture and grow it among our young people, our old people, right across the Church and out into the society in which we live.”
Archbishop O’Regan
“I think the experience can be summed up in 3 words, all that begin with ‘H’. The first one is horizon. It's given us a wonderful horizon of Vatican II and the Church at work. The second is heart. Since we've been here, the Pope has released another encyclical reminding us of the importance of having a heart and putting God at the centre of all things. And the last word is the word hope. We as the people of God have come together and see God at work among us. And it's in the little things, it's the connections, it's in the direction. It's very much like John the Baptist pointing the way and inviting us to be instruments of that in our world.”
Bishop Shane Mackinlay
“There's real excitement about the journey that we've been part of and the signposts that this will give us for the way forward from here.
“We've become very aware of the significance of this across the whole of our Church, and it will play out in very different ways in different places. It's an enormously significant step forward. It's clearly an experience that's been very full of the Holy Spirit and guided by the Holy Spirit. I'm tremendously grateful to have been part of it and look forward to the ongoing journey in this synodal process to which we are so committed.”
Fr Sijeesh Pullenkunnel
“It was a great experience for me. Although the structures that we discussed during the sessions are already present in the Eastern Catholic Church traditions, hearing and listening to everyone, I understand that there are a lot of things to do to improve in synodality in the Eastern Catholic Churches.
“When I go back, naturally, I can share my wonderful experience with others so that we can grow as a real synodal Church.”
John Lochowiak
“It's been an extremely amazing experience, a spiritual experience.
“Being here at the Synod has taken my spirit to the next level and I'm basically overwhelmed from the experience. And I really believe that the Catholic Church is going to lead the way with synodality.”
Kelly Paget
“It has been such an incredible honour and privilege to be here to represent the people of Oceania and of our local churches in Australia and I cannot wait to actually continue this journey now.
“I'm filled with such joy and such excitement of where we're going to go with this document and I've seen first-hand across these years that we've travelled in this synodal journey, the conversion that's possible and most importantly the conversion to Christ.
“So I'm really excited to be back in Australia and bringing this to life and continuing the journey.”
Links
For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission – Final Document
Videos from the Synod of Synodality (Australian Catholic Bishops Conference)