Since 2018, the Church in Australia has been on a journey of listening, dialogue, and discernment to follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This has led to the creation of ten decrees awaiting final approval from the Pope in Rome. To further explore the practical implementation of these decrees at a local level, the Archdiocese of Brisbane is organising a Synod with two assemblies in September and October this year. This Synod is a culmination of years of progress towards a more synodal and missionary Church, building on past initiatives like the 2003 Hearts on Fire Synod.
As we look towards the future, watch Archbishop Mark’s pastoral message about the upcoming Synod, which aims to seek divine guidance and invites everyone in Brisbane to participate, bringing their unique gifts and insights as we journey together.
Archbishop Mark Coleridge’s SYNOD24 Pastoral Message
Since 2018 the Church in Australia has been walking the journey of the Plenary Council. Through listening, dialogue and discernment, we’ve been seeking to hear what the Holy Spirit is asking of us at this time. Through the two assemblies and under the influence of the Holy Spirit, 10 Plenary Council decrees have been agreed upon. At the moment, they’re in Rome awaiting final approval from the Pope. But in the meantime we here can get on with it.
So I’ve decided to convene a follow-up Synod for the Archdiocese of Brisbane to discern and decide upon practical ways in which the decrees can be implemented locally. The Synod will involve two brief assemblies in September and October of this year. It’s taken us years to get to this point, and that can be frustrating. It can seem that all we do is talk, talk, talk with nothing substantial ever done. But this Synod looks back not just to the Plenary Council, but also to the Hearts on Fire Synod in Brisbane in 2003. Which was about the time the bishops first began to think of what became the Plenary Council. Since then, we in Brisbane have taken many steps along the path of synodality. None of them dramatic, but all of them leading us in the right direction, helping us become a more synodal and missionary Church. We don’t have a road-map or a GPS that shows us every step into the distant future. But we can ask what the next steps may be; and that’s what we’ll be doing at this forthcoming Synod. And we’ll be asking not just each other, but God, who alone knows the path into the future for the Church. Together we’ll decide for actions that will bring to life in our midst the promise of the Holy Spirit: “I am making all things new”.
So I invite every one of you, as the whole Church in Brisbane, to join in the journey of the Synod. Bring to the process the gifts and insights which you alone can bring. Synod means being on the road together, so let’s go together as pilgrims on the Camino into the future of God.