SYNOD 2021 - 2023: Listening Sessions

SPRING 2022

Photo: Sharing with a smile at the Orange County listening session at St. Joseph, Middletown.

A TIME FOR LISTENING

IN OCTOBER 2021, Pope Francis opened the door to a new process for the Catholic faithful when he announced the opening of Synod 2021 - 2023. He invited all to engage in synodality – a process of “journeying together” in ongoing dialogue and discernment – to help Church leaders in their planning. As part of the synod plan, there was to be a listening phase (formally called the Diocesan Phase) – now ongoing – during which Catholics and non-Catholics around the world would share their thoughts and ideas about the Church.

Since March 12, more than two thousand lay people from around the Archdiocese of New York – joined by priests, bishops, deacons, and religious sisters and brothers – have gathered at “listening sessions” to let Pope Francis know their ideas and feelings. Regional sessions have taken place in parish halls, gymnasiums, and church basements at 12 locations across 10 counties. For the participants, gathered around tables in small groups, it has been an experience of being listened to by their Church. At each table, a scribe has created a record of the comments made. These records will be compiled and make their way by a series of steps to Rome for the Synod of Bishops in October 2023.

At the North Manhattan session, held at Corpus Christi parish on a rainy, snowy Saturday morning, Sr. Joan Curtin, CND, Vicar for Religious in the Archdiocese of New York, served as a small group facilitator. The listening session began with a Mass followed by a prayer to the Holy Spirit to guide the participants.

At her table, Sr. Curtin led a culturally diverse group whose ages ranged from the 30s to the 80s. “They came to this session because they love the Church and want it to grow and flourish,” she said. “They came despite the inclement weather. They were happy to pray together at Mass, to enjoy a light breakfast, and then to enter into the process. I was truly delighted by the openness of each to listen and share.”

Time for Communion at morning Mass before the listening session at St. Joseph’s.

At St. Joseph Parish in Middletown, there was a similar air of openness and careful attention to one another’s ideas. Facilitators at both venues remarked on what Sr. Immakulata Ndewitso Andrea called participants’ “keenness of listening to one another as they shared.” As a byproduct of a process designed to let the thoughts and experiences of the faithful be heard by the Church, people were paying close attention to their neighbors.

At one table, facilitator Patricia Davies noted, “People were very respectful of the process and one another. We represented three different parishes. Each person shared and no one took over the discussion. . . . I’m still inspired and savoring the graces of sharing with humility and respect. There is cause for hope when we can listen and love one another and not agree.” In a time of cultural polarization, this experience of respectful, loving disagreement is a rare and joyful one.

The discussion themes reported by facilitators were as diverse as the attendees, ranging from a desire for more singing in Mass or more opportunities for Eucharistic adoration to concerns about homelessness and immigration or equal opportunities for all the faithful to play a meaningful role in their parishes.

The themes that emerge from the listening sessions are critically important, as they will be considered by the assembly of bishops in Rome; but in this synod, the process itself is equally meaningful. “What we hope for – what the Holy Father hopes for, is that it improves the process of listening in the church,” says Fr. Brian McWeeney, director of Ecclesial Ministries and Ethnic Apostolates for the archdiocese, who was tasked by synod leaders to help ensure that marginalized groups would be included in New York’s listening phase. As the listening sessions unfolded, he took steps (along with Tom Dobbins and Fr. Eric Cruz of Catholic Charities and Fr. John Anderson of ArchCare) to bring immigrants, homeless people, the elderly, and other “unheard” groups into the conversations.

A March 12 listening session at Corpus Christi Church in northern Manhattan.

“The hope is that people will come out saying, ‘I was listened to,’” Fr. McWeeney says. “And having had that experience, they might become stronger in their faith. They might be more open to listening to the Church and also to its people.”

If the process works, listening sessions might become standard practice in the Church. According to facilitators, many participants of the recent sessions would favor the notion. “Everyone at our table wanted more opportunities to share like this,” Davies says. This would mark a great success for Pope Francis’s idea of a “synodal Church.”

“Once people started participating, they quickly saw the purpose of the process: for our Church to become a better listener to the Holy Spirit and each other,” says Elizabeth Guevara de Gonzalez, Director of Adult Faith Formation, who has coordinated the synod process for the Archdiocese of New York. “It has been a great reminder of the power of the Holy Spirit when we are gathered. He makes a difference by helping us to listen to one another in love.”   

For those unable to attend an in-person listening session, there will be a virtual session on May 4. For more information and to register, go to archny.org/onlinesession (English) or archny.org/sesiondeescuchavirtual (Spanish).