Catholic Union hosts discussion on Church's Synod + video

The Catholic Union hosted an online discussion on the Church's Synod on Synodality last week, with an expert panel of speakers.

Well over 100 people attended the event on Thursday 9 February, which was the Catholic Union's first webinar of 2023. The discussion was hosted on Zoom, giving Catholic Union members and supporters across the country the opportunity to take part.

The speakers for the event were Gavin Ashenden; Columnist at The Catholic Herald, Christopher Lamb; Rome Correspondent at The Tablet, Anna Rowlands; Professor of Catholic Social Thought and Practice at Durham University, and Sr Gemma Simmonds, Senior Lecturer in Pastoral Theology at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology, Cambridge.

Catholic Union Deputy Director, James Somerville-Meikle, who chaired the discussion said that "Synods were nothing new in the life of the Church" but added that when Pope Francis launched the Synod on Synodality in October 2021 it "had the feel of something bigger, broader, and different" to recent Synods.

The event took place at the same time as Bishops gathered in Prague as part of the Continental Stage of the Synod, making the discussion particularly timely.

James Somerville-Meikle, Deputy Director of the Catholic Union, commented: "This was a really interesting discussion. Given the number of people who attended, it's clear that there is a lot of interest in the Synod - both in terms of what it means for the life of the Church and our daily lives as Catholics. All speakers reflected that we are still at an early stage of the Synod, with much to be worked out between now and the meeting of Bishops in Rome in October 2024. Thank you to all our speakers and everyone who took part in the discussion."

See a recording and transcript of the Synod webinar here. www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH3sasoMRaI

The Catholic Union will be hosting more online and in-person events throughout the year, including webinars and Pub Talks. More information can be found on their events page. See: https://catholicunion.org.uk/events/