Category: Synodality

Jacinda Ardern announced Thursday that she was resigning as New Zealand’s prime minister. Admired worldwide for courageous moral stands as well as frank speaking, she admitted, “You cannot and should not do it unless you have a full tank plus a bit in reserve for those unexpected challenges.” Personally popular but politically losing ground, she…
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We are so grateful to those of you who replied to the survey about The Table, and especially those of you who might think about writing for it. You are absolutely welcome to share your insights. We look forward to hearing from you all. I am listening to Fresh Air on Tuesday as I write…
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Were you expecting me to write about anything else? Two weeks ago, I picked Seattle Archbishop Paul Etienne as the most progressive of the ten nominees for President of the USCCB. He got 30 votes on the first ballot and 37 on the second. My second choice was Daniel Flores, Bishop of Brownsville, because he…
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They surprise me, these Bishops. A measure of transparency surrounds the USCCB meeting next Tuesday and Wednesday. A news release lists items on the agenda for the plenary sessions with links to relevant documents. There’s a live stream and social media coverage. WOW! But before I knew all this, I made a list of some…
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As we prepare to get an extra hour’s sleep, let’s rest easy and think about what might happen because of the amazing summary reports of the national and universal synod process. We the laity suddenly have our concerns revealed to all the world. We can whip out these documents as things come up – and…
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Maybe you’ve seen this already, but read it again: There was a desire for stronger leadership, discernment, and decision-making roles for women – both lay and religious – in their parishes and communities: “people mentioned a variety of ways in which women could exercise leadership, including preaching and ordination as deacon or priest. Ordination for…
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Do you say this to yourself when you see another blog from me about the Synod? I have to confess I think that myself. What you need to know is that Southeastern Pennsylvania Women’s Ordination Conference, myself included, has demonstrated for forty years outside the Cathedral. While we know that we have caused some people…
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OK. You’ve been waiting for it. What have the US Bishops done with the Synod reports from 95% of the dioceses in our country? We need a text! According to Brian Fraga in NCR, in early August the “synod team” held a “writing retreat” after “regional reports” had been prepared. I suppose some rubric is…
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Last week no new article appealed to me. This week, the results of the Irish Synod came out, and WOW. Literally, Women’s Ordination Worldwide! After Australia and Germany, here we go again. In contrast to the Australian kerfuffle over the role of women, the Irish are not afraid to say what they really want. Mary…
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Last week, I was going to write about two ongoing Synod processes but I got captured by the Australians. This week I will write about the German Synodal Way. I have celebrated the decisions made there and the people leading the effort before, but, as you may have heard, not everybody is celebrating. An “unsigned…
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