Synodality ‘well underway’ in Ireland
A richer theology of baptism is essential for the renewal of the Church in Ireland, according to Bishop of Ossory Niall Coll.
Speaking to 230 delegates who attended the pre synodal assembly of the Irish Synodal Pathway in Kilkenny, he said the synodality process was “well underway” in Ireland and that the Irish bishops wanted it to “take root, blossom and thrive”. For this to happen there had to be a “retrieval of our baptismal identity”.
The delegates, representing the members of parishes and religious groups, members of the laity, priests and most of the Irish bishops, discussed the seven priority themes for renewal identified in discussions around the country between February and May this year, and set out in a document titled, ‘Baptised and Sent’.
These include healing from abuse, the family, youth, the role of women, empowering all the baptised, formation, as well as belonging, which covers the LGBTQI issue.
The Irish Church will hold its National Synodal Assembly in October 2026 which will shape concrete pathways for renewal.
Fr Declan Hurley, chair of the National Synodal Team, explained to The Tablet that a synodal style assembly rather than a national synod was favoured because “a national synod is quite a juridical about who has a right to be a delegate and who can vote. It requires the involvement of the Vatican.”
He said the synodal pathway allowed “all aspects of the church to come together to listen to one another through conversations in the spirit and arrive at a consensus that we can all buy into”.
“We have discerned a huge yearning for a Church that is alive in its baptismal call, in its baptismal identity, and in its baptismal dignity.”
Archbishop of Armagh Eamon Martin encouraged delegates to go back to their groups at diocesan or parish or movement level and ask: “What did we hear and what can we do next? Who is not here and how can we involve others. There is no lack of mission and there is no lack of work to be done.”
Commenting on the low-key interest among delegates in Kilkenny to the issue of women in the Church, theologian Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ challenged them, “Have we learned how to disagree as well as agree?”
He suggested that the bishops or the National Synodal Team set up a group of theologians to consider what is permanent in Church teaching and what can change.
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