What is “synodality”?

As the global Catholic community sets on along the path to building a more “synodal” church, we explore the origin and meaning of this term, drawn from the pattern of discernment and decision-making from the earliest Christian tradition. Pope Francis is inviting Catholics everywhere to re-learn the ways of being church together, to create spaces of encounter and mutual listening that incorporate the gifts of all the baptized as we face the many challenges of renewing the life of the church for our time.

This webinar is part of the series For a Synodal Church: Reflections on Communion, Participation, Mission.

Wednesday, November 3, 2021, 7:00-8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)
(Presentation in English; discussion in English and French)

This webinar is free and open to the public.

About the speaker

Catherine E. Clifford is Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, Saint Paul University. Her work is focussed in the areas of ecclesiology, ecumenism, and the history of the Second Vatican Council. She is co-editor, with Massimo Faggioli of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook on Vatican II.

About For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission — Reflections

Pope Francis has launched a three year process of dialogue and discernment that will culminate in a synodal gathering in Rome in October 2023. Consultations are taking place at the diocesan and continental levels in preparation for the international synod. This series of reflections explores the meaning of synodality as an expression of the nature of the church, its practice in Christian tradition, and the importance of recovering a culture of encounter and communal discernment in our day.