Special Post about the CLC Rome Synod Delegation
Week of October 9, 2023
Your CLC Delegation Mark Cathie and Christine
As we head off to join over 100+ lay-led organizations from around the world who are meeting in Rome this week, we wanted to share our excitement about this amazing opportunity.
Christine says…
I am incredibly excited to be in Rome with CLC during this historic moment. As someone who is looking closely at synodality in her doctoral studies, this is especially significant for me. It seems that as a church we really are making our tent wider. We are choosing love and inclusion over ideologies and polarization. We really are paying attention to the sins of clericalism and abuse of power. I am impressed with the prayerful and considered manner in which the pope is gathering a more representative portion of the people of God together. I am filled with hope and joy.
Mark says…
There are so many things I’m looking forward to about going to Italy besides the gelato.
First, before I meet up with my Concerned Lay Catholic colleagues Christine and Cathie, I’ll be doing a personal retreat in Assisi. It’ll be my first time exploring the town that my favourite saint lived, ministered, and prayed in. Finding grounding and meaningful inspiration before the excitement and energy of Rome will be a good thing. It’ll put everything into the light of the Gospel.
The second thing I look forward to about being in Rome during the synod is being part of history and being in the middle of all the energy. Some have described the synod as the most important event in the church since the Second Vatican Council, and so to be in Rome in this momentous event is a privilege. And, amid it all is the Holy Spirit in the lives, stories, and discernment of the delegates from around the world. There is no doubt in my mind that the Holy Spirit is leading the church forward towards a more inclusive, more dialogical, more empathetic, and more missionary church.
Third, I’m looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work - meeting other Catholics, especially those with similar concerns such as a greater role for women in the church, an end of clericalism, LGBTQ+ inclusion, and healing and reconciliation with those the church has harmed and excluded. I’m looking forward to sharing our conversations with them to you, and to hearing your reactions.
Cathie says…
A conference of this breadth and depth is an opportunity to meet people and to hear stories from all over the world. When people gather in this way to listen and to share, so much wisdom and insight is released! No doubt what the leadership of our church will be doing a few blocks away is momentous and historic. But what I am really interested in are the hundreds-even thousands- of ‘little’ stories of grace working at the grassroots all over the world, among groups of ordinary lay Catholics just like us in CLC. That is where I find hope. Those are the treasures I will be looking for!
The conference organized by Spirit Unbounded is 115+ Voices from all over the world, telling us how life as a Catholic is for them. The presenters are young and old, theologians, academics, spiritual leaders, students, activists and prophets –all of whom have one thing in common: a love for and commitment to the gospel and building up of the church. The groups represented at this conference are diverse. Each group has a unique mission and focus. Some are big, some are small. If you put them all in a room- which we will be doing this week- you will find as many diverse opinions and priorities as people. The story of the conference and indeed of the Synod, is not that we start from a place of unanimity- but that we start from a place of listening. That we are open enough to hear what the ‘other’ is saying and to allow space for the experience of the other to penetrate our own understanding. And from that will flow communion.
You may view the conference program here:
To read a Concerned Lay Catholics in Canada perspective, Cathie Pead has an article in the latest issue of the Catholic Register
Listening to discern the Spirit calling
While in Rome, Cathie, Mark and Christine will be meeting with fellow Canadians, Dr. Catherine Clifford, Professor of Theology at Saint Paul University and one of Canada’s voting members at the Synod. And with Dr. Michael Higgins, Basilian Distinguished Fellow of Contemporary Catholic Thought at St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. It will be informative and inspiring to hear their experience of the Synod so far. We are grateful to Cathy and Michael for making time for us!
Below you can find a recent interview with Catherine Clifford, who shares a wealth of insight into the whole synodal enterprise.
Lay voting member says synod is opportunity to consider women deacons | National Catholic Reporter
Every day we will be posting on Facebook. Look for news and observations as well as (we hope!) some lighthearted stuff too. So please follow us…
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And above all, please keep us in your prayers in a special way in the coming week.
