LOCAL CONSULTATION

The Christchurch Diocesan Synthesis

The Diocesan Synthesis document culminates nine months of praying, listening, reflecting, sharing and providing feedback for this synod process in the Christchurch Diocese. There were over 600 submissions from individuals and groups and we acknowledge the significant efforts people have made in taking the time to reflect on their journey of faith. The synthesis has endeavoured to capture the sentiments of all this material.

Released: June 2022

Download the Christchurch Diocesan Synthesis

NATIONAL CONSULTATION

The New Zealand Bishops Conference Discernment

Aotearoa New Zealand held a national hui in Wellington in July 2022. The outcomes of the hui, plus the six diocesan syntheses produced after parish discussions, formed the source material for the National Synthesis sent to the Synod Office last August.

The New Zealand synthesis was one of the 112 national syntheses submitted by the 114 bishops' conferences around the world, along with 1040 submissions from religious institutes, lay movements and other groups.

Released: January 2023 Download the NZCBC Discernment

The Oceania Bishop's Conference Discernment

Representatives of the four Catholic bishops’ conferences in Oceania have approved the region’s final response to the Continental Stage working document published last October for the Synod of Bishops for a Synodal Church.

That group, which met for five days in January 2023, synthesised reports from the four bishops’ conferences and the Eastern Catholic Churches in Oceania responding to the Working Document for the Continental Stage, Enlarge the Space of Your Tent.

The Oceania response and the other continental documents will inform the preparation of the working document, or Instrumentum laboris, for the first of two sessions of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. The second session is scheduled for October 2024.

Released: April 2023 Download the FCBCO Response

The Universal Synod Process (2021 - 2024): Image (JPEG)

Working Document for the Continental Stage:  Enlarge the Space of your Tent

Second Session of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops
(The Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops)

The Final Document of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops gathersthe fruits of a journey marked by listening to the People of God and by the discernment ofPastors. The whole Church, allowing itself to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, was called toreview its own experience and identify the steps to be taken to live communion, realiseparticipation and promote the mission that Jesus Christ entrusted to the Church.

Released October 2024 Download The Final Document

First session of the XVI General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops

Bishops, priests and lay men and women Synod delegates gathered in Rome for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. From New Zealand Archbishop Paul Martin attended along with Manuel Beazley who is the Vicar for Maori for the Auckland Diocese and Fr Denis Nacorda from the Wellington Diocese. The Instrumentum Laboris document guided discussions during the Assembly. It's based on input from discussions worldwide and outlines three key priorities related to the experience, communion, participation, and mission of a synodal Church.

The Assembly released a Synthesis Report of the First Session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, "A Synodal Church on Mission." This "is not a final document but an instrument in the service of ongoing discernment." It will serve as a guide for the second session of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops scheduled for October 2024. We are all invited to continue to pray and reflect with this synthesis report.

Released: October 2023 Download "A Synodal Church on Mission"

The Universal Synod Process (2021 - 2024): Image (JPEG)

Working Document: Instrumentum Laboris