We have just  had a Synod in our Diocese

Our synod  has been a 2 year process with many thousands of people involved. Now the principle resolutions have been discerned and are being arranged into an order of priority. Throughout, there has been an attempt to follow the Synodal method of Pope Francis - respectful listening, prayerful reflection on what is said, and seeking to discern where the Holy   Spirit is directing us.

These are our reflections which we offer respectfully, knowing others will see things differently.

The Synodal Method

An existential foundation has been laid. The Synodal method is beginning to operate in the diocese as it is in the Church at large. It is still a tender shoot. It is to be hoped that its adoption develops traction. The biggest obstacle to that process will be human pride, also haste to get things done.

Personal development

There seems to be much talk of what the diocese should do, what the parish should do, and what the Church should do, but very little sense of what I should do. This Sunday’s Gospel advises “Take the log out of you own eye first”. That calls us to be more mature Catholics. But how can you be that without the help of Christ and his Church?

The need for personal development is unanimously called for. But it will remain a noble aspiration if this hunger is not met with a vision of how I as an individual can grow according to the plan of God. If that personal growth is not imagined as a community enterprise which can be achieved, everybody is left to their own devices. 

There is plenty of material available on the internet which purports to help me grow in my own journey, but is it in line with mind of the Church? Most of the self-help stuff is far from being centred on Christ and embedded in the Trinity. Nor is it designed to help adult Catholics to mature in their faith, but leads them down futile rabbit-holes. Guidance is needed from well developed Adult Faith Formation Teams to help individuals journey together on the path of holiness. This, in our opinion, is the most urgent priority. We have to be honest and logical about the situation. Maturity comes before ability to be effective.

Young people

This lack of logic seems strongly exemplified in young people’s responses. We suspect that the majority of their responses came not from Church-goers, but youngsters offering their observations in school groups. However, one greatly encouraging factor was that the moderators seemed surprised to discern that, behind the predictable list of aspirations, is a hunger for guidance and answers from the Church.

There was a near unanimous recommendation from synod members for a much more professional presence of the Church in the world of youth social media. That is right, but will it help them to escape from domination by social media into silence, meditation and prayer?

There was a hint that we need to have youth liturgies regularly and in accessible places which are appealing to them. If peer pressure is such a destructive factor, we need to provide peer experiences which are faith-filled. We have to face the fact that they are mostly alien to the normal parish Mass. That will change once they have experienced the presence of the Lord together. Then they will begin to open their hearts and minds to the treasures of the Church.

Why so few volunteers?

Through all the conversations, there seems to be the general feeling that it is hard to get volunteers for ministries and services in the Church. This leads to the next question – why is this the case? Is it because there has been little renewal of parishes as centres in which Christ is known and his life is experienced and shared? Have you noticed that, on meeting fellow Catholics, we are prone to talk about anything but our life in Christ? Why are Catholics so good at avoiding discussions about our faith and how Christ is present in our lives? Is this culture of silence an indication that Christ is only marginally important or to be encountered privately? That indicates a very under-developed Church.

More seriously, is it the case that Church leaders tend to be busily engaged in programmes for providing sacraments - mostly for children? Do they have little time for forming adult disciples of Jesus? Has this led to the anonymous presence of many Catholics in Church? Jesus blessed and loved and, for sure, played with children, but he taught adults. He did this in a Synodal way; that is he walked alongside them and gathered them into a community of seekers. And he prepared some of them to be guides and teachers within their communities. Surely, as a diocese, we should enable priests to help adults take on these roles in their own communities, their parishes.

Mass times

Coming to Mass is paramount, but arranging Mass times in a wide area to accommodate “busy people” encourages supermarket Catholicism, not community. Catholicism has never been a convoy of floating individuals, but a brotherhood in which real people help real people to know, love and worship the Lord.

Our sacramental practice

Why are do we put so much effort into sausage-machining baptisms and first communions for families who have no sense of Church? Is it not more logical to focus on how we grow into a community of the faithful who are better equipped to accompany others until they seek the sacraments for their true value? Again, the need to know our faith in a deeper life-changing way would be the first step in increasing our motivation and ability to help others to embed their lives in Christ

When in doubt, get active.

Through Isaiah God tells the Israelites that he finds no pleasure in ceremonials and sacrifice if there is no attempt to feed the hungry, care for the widow and the orphan, and act justly. Would he reproach us today with the reverse?

Today there is a marked tendency to bury ourselves in doing all these charitable activities, but we neglect the renewal of our hearts and minds. So while our aspirations are vast, our sense of achieving them is small. In fact every person on the planet is bound to act justly. In that we are no different from any other. What energises Christians is that we seek first the Kingdom of God and know that the rest will follow. We do not follow the world’s approach of seeking first the earthly kingdom of justice and peace, and then seeking God.

The history of our diocese (see Mgr. John Allen’s book - note below)[is full of individuals of great missionary zeal who worked wonders setting up schools, founding orphanages and encouraging the search for justice. But they did so from an intense life of prayer and grasp of the faith. The diocese did not mastermind these things, it encouraged and coordinated them painstakingly. We will get the new great initiators if we concentrate on our primary work of seeking the Kingdom of God.

Practical outcomes.

There is a lot of talk of the need to show some practical outcomes soon in order to avoid disillusioning people who have so generously engaged with the process. The purpose of the Synod was not to quickly provide outcomes, but to discern directions. New initiatives on a practical level will be shallow without a spiritual renewal, and a renewal of our hearts and minds.

Note: our diocese is Salford, in the north of England. It covers Manchester and much of Lancashire.

The picture above shows the synod moderators presenting Bishop John Arnold with the  final 40 recommendations which were voted on  at our Synod day on 1st March  2025. If you wish to see the  40 recommendation in order of priority after the voting took place by the Synod delegates  please click on this button.