Dr. Catherine Clifford, Professor in Faculty of Theology, Appointed to Vatican “Synod on Synodality”

I am deeply honoured by the invitation to participate in the General Assembly this fall and I am grateful for the expression of prayerful support from many colleagues and students,” said Dr. Clifford. “I have spent much of my career teaching on the dignity and equality of all the baptized, on their co-responsibility for the life and mission of the Church, and on the importance of taking more seriously the contributions of competent lay persons in the discernment of the pastoral and missional priorities of the Church. In a real sense, the opportunity to take part as a full participant in the Synodal Assembly, with a voice and a vote, is a concrete fruit of the teaching of Vatican II and of the efforts of many to receive it more fully.

The work of the General Assembly will be to listen attentively to what has emerged from the past two years of consulting the people of God in every continent and to consider the many needs and significant priorities that have emerged from the wisdom and living faith of the Church. It is also an opportunity to offer advice to the pope and the bishops on the best ways forward. The path forward must be a synodal one – with bishops, pastors, and lay persons seeking the will of God together. This a moment of grace for the whole church.