Austin Ivereigh - First Hand Synodal Reflections
- Written by: Alex Walker
Austin Ivereigh is the author of a number of acclaimed and influential books on Pope Francis, and was invited personally by Pope Francis to attend the recent Rome Synod in October 2023 at the Vatican where he gained invaluable experience from participating in the synodal process.
He will share his insights and expertise with an audience at St Anne’s church, Overbury Street, Liverpool on Sunday evening at 6.00pm on 28th January 2024. This is an un-rivalled opportunity to hear first-hand reflections on what many consider to be the greatest event in the Catholic Church since the 2nd Vatican Council with profound implications for the future.
You can attend in person or follow the event which will be live-streamed on YouTube: St Anne & St Bernard Liverpool, UK
The talk will be recorded and available on 3prophets.co.uk and will be followed-up by a 3-session Lenten on-line series reflecting upon the content of Austen’s talk in relation to the lives of 3 Liverpool priests (Fr. Tom Cullinan, Fr. Austin Smith CP and Fr. Kevin Kelly) in whose ministry was reflected elements of the synodal process.
The proposed dates are Thursdays 22nd February, 7th and 21st March, but will be confirmed on the website.
3prophets.co.uk contains the writings and talks of these three remarkable and influential Liverpool priests – please do visit the site and have a browse.
Gaza this October
- Written by: Chris McDonnell
Hour by hour
countless
munitions fall
in an exchange
of fearsome fire.
Smoke erupts
from shattered
Buildings hanging
through the orange
glow of flame.
A Happy & Peaceful Christmas to you and yours !
- Written by: Alex Walker
Becoming Synodal Video
- Written by: Alex Walker
Becoming Synodal
- Written by: Frank Callus
We have just completed the Synod on Synodality in Rome. The attention of the world has started to focus on the key issues that the Church will grapple with in the years ahead. Some emphasis has been laid on the scale of the event – four hundred bishops; some on the breaks with tradition- the role of women and the fact that some have voting rights. Following years of press coverage on the issue of clerical sexual abuse, this relatively positive interest in the Catholic Church is welcome.
The holding of the Synod marks a key point in the process. It represents the culmination of discussions that led to diocesan syntheses, to a national synthesis and to a Continental Stage held in the Spring. In the months ahead we will learn more of the discussions in Rome and something of the preparations for the follow-up Synod in October 2024. It is certainly becoming easier to think of synodality as a characteristic of the nature of the Universal Church, a process for determining its structures and systemic realities. To be sure, there will be decisions made that are applicable to the whole Church, ways of acting out the Gospel that will be influenced by the global conversations and deliberations. Pope Francis, himself, has defined the Church through this synodal process – the Church is synodal by and in its very nature.
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