The
Synodal Path
In 2021 Pope Francis has invited all baptised Christians to gather and take part in a spiritual consultation of the whole Church. The title of this consultation is - For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission
The Holy Father invited the whole Church to engage in a process of discernment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to feed into the Synod of Bishops that will take place in Rome in 2024. It involved everyone in the Church – clergy, religious, and lay Catholics, all participating according to the gifts and charisms of their vocation.
The word ‘Synod’, put simply, means ‘Journeying together’ and the process of becoming/being a synodal church involves us coming together, to listen and share with each other, and alongside/through this listening, discern what the Holy Spirit is calling us to do as a Church.
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
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
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
