The Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference has published its submission to this Autumn’s meeting of the Synod of Bishops in Rome. Details of the submission and how it was drafted can be read here.
In response to the invitation from the Secretariat of the Synod in Rome to deepen our reflections on the Report from its first synodal assembly in October 2023 (called A Synodal Church in Mission and published in November) the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference received contributions from all the dioceses of Ireland along with a further ten contributions from associations of lay faithful, ecclesial movements, and Church agencies. These contributions were read and reflected upon in a spirit of prayer and discernment by a writing group of the Irish Synodal Pathway’s National Team during Holy Week and early Easter. In keeping with the request from the Synod Office in Rome (see Towards October 2024), a draft eight-page summary of the contributions was then prepared. In the spirit of circularity, checking in and feeding back to those who made a contribution, regional meetings were then held across the country and online in late April. Following these meetings, and a further meeting of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the writing group prepared Towards October 2024 – Summary of Contributions from Dioceses and Groups of the Catholic Church in Ireland.
The final document can be read here.