Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference planning synodal pathway for Ireland
On 10 March 2021, the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference announced a new Synodal Pathway for the Catholic Church in Ireland leading to the holding of a National Synodal Assembly within the next five years.
Since Pope Francis hosted the 2018 Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops in Rome, on the theme of Young People, the Faith and Vocational Discernment, bishops in Ireland have been giving active consideration to calling a National Synodal Assembly for the local Church here.
Conversations at local, regional and national level have informed the work of a dedicated subgroup of the Bishops’ Conference which was established to further explore this idea. During their 2020 Winter General Meeting, bishops decided to proceed along a synodal pathway, and, since then, have been assisted and greatly encouraged by Cardinal Mario Grech and Sr Natalie Becquart, of the General Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Cardinal Grech and Sr Becquart addressed the Irish Bishops on the theme of synodality on 3 February 2021. Read more here…
https://www.catholicbishops.ie/synod/background/