Bishop Brendan Leahy Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon
A diocesan synod is both a process and an event, writes Fr Éamonn Fitzgibbon
Bishop Brendan Leahy announced in September 2014 his intention to hold a diocesan Synod by means of a pastoral letter entitled Together In Mission: A Time to Begin Again, inviting all of us to go together on a Camino, an appropriate metaphor since the word Synod means ‘journeying together’ or literally ‘with someone on the road’.
Camino
Over the years I have walked many different stages of the Camino to Santiago de Compostela. I have sometimes walked with organised groups and at other times walked for weeks on my own. I have been on the busy Camino Frances and the very quiet Via de la Plata from the South. For this reason, I was very struck by the image of Camino used by Bishop Brendan. Over the last eighteen months I have often thought how fitting the comparison is.
When one walks the Camino, you can plan and study maps and guides but the way is still somewhat unknown and the path is only truly made by walking it. Pilgrims on the Camino quickly learn that one needs to be able to let go of many things and truly travel light. One has to be willing to ask for direction.
While the arrival in Santiago (or wherever one’s destination may be) is always the goal, the journey is in many ways more important than the destination. Companionship along the way (even when walking alone) is extremely important.
Finally, the route can seem long and arduous and, if viewed in its entirety, daunting or even impossible – but day by day one moves forward consoled with the thought that ‘I am where I need to be for now’.
Synod journey
It is said of a diocesan synod that it is both a process and an event – in other words the journey and the destination – and I have learned that the journey is hugely important; patience and persistence is key. Again it is also said of a synod that while the meeting is important the gathering is even more so – in other words the agenda and the task of the three day meeting is of course very significant but of equal (if not greater importance) is the gathering of people who are present at the meeting.
When I was asked by Bishop Brendan to coordinate the synod I found myself daunted by the task ahead – in fact when I think of it all I tend to panic – but day by day we have progressed along the way and I regularly console myself that ‘we are where we need to be for now’. Most importantly, I have learned that one cannot walk this way alone but only with others.
Along the way I have had to let go of many things – my expectations or plans for example – and trust in God’s Spirit and the wisdom of other wayfarers and wise guides.
As I reflect on the journey thus far the most encouraging piece is the presence of so many delegates. Just over twelve months ago this was the biggest task – recruiting delegates from parishes and communities across the diocese who would truly reflect the diversity and richness of our diocesan community.
Happily we have ended up with a tremendous group of delegates – over 400 in all. Together we have learned what it means to be a delegate to a Synod and have walked the way towards April. I have been hugely heartened by the commitment and enthusiasm of our delegates. They freely give up their time to attend various in-service and formation events, they carry out Synod tasks in their own communities and they remain enthusiastic and optimistic.
I have learned to trust the delegates recognising that their wisdom is of the Spirit. This trust has led to an entrusting whereby it is the delegates who chart the course and determine the direction. They carried out the enormous task of listening to their communities – using a variety of methods to discern the hopes and fears, the joys and sorrows of the people with whom they live and work. Subsequently the delegates have discerned and selected the themes which we will bring forward to the synod.
Gatherings
Along the way we have had wonderful gatherings. I am thinking of the initial, introductory gathering in Mary Immaculate College with Dominican theologian Fr Paul Philibert, the orientation day last January in the Radisson Hotel, the review in Thomond Park, and of course the prayerful reflective day of discernment in the Strand Hotel when the six synod themes were selected.
The synod journey thus far has truly been a ‘ground up’ approach whereby the experience of the people in our parishes and communities has been recognised as the place of God’s presence and the Spirit’s voice. It has been a genuine attempt to model theological reflection whereby the experience of people – gleaned from the listening process in the spring – has been put into dialogue with aspects of our tradition.
For me all of this has been very exciting. I have studied the theory and methodology of theological reflection and now have the opportunity to be involved in applying it in a real situation. Thus far my involvement in the synod has been an opportunity to learn and listen, to reflect and wonder.
Highlights
There have been a number of particular highlights. One moment along the way was figuring out how best to sort out or analyse all the data or material that came in from the parishes and communities from the Listening Process.
Approximately 5,000 people expressed their views by means of questionnaires or at meetings or on-line. Indeed other creative methods were used including Facebook, informal listening methods and others. We were faced with a vast amount of material presented in a number of different formats.
An even greater challenge was to be true to a discernment method. To complete this task we assembled fifteen people who would help and they in turn attended a ‘fishbowl’ type training in which they ‘eavesdropped’ on six ‘experts’ from different disciplines. It was truly fascinating to hear how others would undertake the task and we were able to draw on the different expertise to come up with solid guidelines to ensure consistency across all fifteen workers.
I won’t pretend the actual task of going through the material was terribly exciting in itself but it was an honour and humbling to be in a position to read through and listen to the voice of the people. It is also a source of pride that we can honestly say that in spite of the vast amount of material we read through and took account of each and every contribution.
It has also been a unique privilege for me as the one who has responsibility for coordinating the various aspects of the synod that I have had direct and personal contact with some wonderful and truly inspiring people. I had read and studied the theological writings of Fr Paul Philibert and was fortunate to be in a position to invite him to Ireland and during his stay to spend a deal of time in his company.
Similarly in the course of the year I had the privilege of meeting Níall McLaughlin, the renowned architect, and of course, Sir Harry Burns, the former chief medical officer for Scotland. When I say this is a perk of the job I mean so sincerely. Of course there has also been the interaction with many people locally who have acted as wise guides to us on our journey – people like Niamh Hourigan, John Weafer, Fr Gerry O’Hanlon SJ, Jessie Rogers, Rosemary O’Connor and many others.
A great joy for me has been the opportunity to plan and reflect with our local prophet to his own land Martin Kennedy. When I say that one does not travel alone on a Camino I am fortunate that we have had the members of the Preparatory Commission and local facilitators and trainers who have been hugely important on the road.
Resources
In the Diocese of Limerick we are fortunate to have so many wonderful resources available to us, none more so than the resource that is Mary Immaculate College. The Department of Theology and Religious Studies has contributed greatly and of course the synod event itself will take place in the college – as have a number of the events over the last twelve months.
We have been involved in a very interesting project with the Geography Department at Mary Immaculate College. Dr Brendan O’Keeffe and Dr Shane O’Sullivan have mapped the findings of the 2011 census to our parishes. Considering that the CSO and the parishes have two differing boundaries this is no small task but it means that we now have a very good sense of who our parishes are.
We know with strong accuracy how many people live in each parish, and what is their age, education, employment, gender, affluence or poverty levels, religious affiliation, family make-up etc.
Final piece
It is the final piece in the three-way conversation of a genuine theological reflection bringing in context or culture to the dialogue. For me personally it has been a joy to work with and watch these social geographers plying their trade. Indeed, it has been one part of a much wider engagement by the Church in the wider world.
That positive engagement with the wider world is congruent with a position whereby the synod process recognises God’s activity in the world. The synod must not be overly ‘churchy’ in a narrow sense, it must not become inward looking but be truly missionary, reaching out and looking to the community at large. We recognise God’s activity in so many situations and are part of a shift whereby we might be less preoccupied with getting people back in to the Church as becoming preoccupied with going out to where people are living out their lives.
I am greatly encouraged by Bishop Leahy’s optimism and his confidence in the Spirit’s guidance. I also recognise his courageous commitment to change which can only augur well for the legacy of the synod post-April.
Over the last few months I have travelled throughout the diocese and have been meeting groups of delegates. I am struck by the truly transformative effect that being on this journey together has been on us all. It is still true that occasionally I think too far ahead and a little panic creeps in but then I remind myself: ‘We are where we need to be’.
‘I’m glad I was asked’– Delegate
Cormac Behan shares his reflections on his personal synod journey as a delegate
Once upon a time, when I was a young man, I was approached by an envoy in a local night-club on behalf of a friend who had apparently taken a shine to me. She pointed towards three girls standing in the corner and, in my eagerness (though some might say desperation), I hastily made my way towards the group. Upon arriving, I asked the girl who I thought was the prettiest for a dance but she answered no, that it was her friend I should ask. When I asked the second, she told me that it wasn’t her either, but the third.
When I was asked to become a local delegate for what was introduced to me as a synod, I felt that, like the third girl, I must have been at the end of a long line of rejections. I wasn’t involved in the parish life in any meaningful way and I certainly didn’t sing the loudest at mass.
Curious
Our local priest was a good man and I didn’t like to say no. However, there were other reasons. I was worried and I was curious. Worried because of the creeping decline in my local area, a small rural parish in West Limerick, the local church being one of a few pillars that was creaking under the strain. Curious, because I wanted to know what, if anything, could be done to help arrest this decline.
At the first gathering of delegates in Mary Immaculate College, I expected to be engulfed in a flood of complex theological and philosophical arguments. Instead, I had the good fortune of listening to the words of Fr Paul Philibert, a US-based Dominican. He told us that we must no longer think of Mass as something that is done for us yet without us. His message was that we should face the new challenges that lay ahead in a spirit of hope. Bishop Brendan Leahy, who launched the synod, told us that the word means a ‘journey’ and that nobody should be a stranger on this journey.
Spirit
It was in this spirit that we embarked on our own journey. The biggest body of work was the information-gathering process where we were asked to elicit the opinions of people in our parishes. The main aim of our own local group was to give every person in the parish an opportunity to have their say, good or bad. We tried to reach out to as many people as possible.
There have been challenges along the way. We distributed a questionnaire that was well received but my idea to use social media as a way as connecting with those who might not otherwise engage didn’t quite catch fire. That we got over any bumps was thanks to the mutual support of our fellow local parish delegates. I was lucky to be part of such a great team.
Uplifting experiences
There has also been some uplifting experiences. The responses to the questionnaires were well thought out and sincere. As a Primary School teacher, I had a discussion with my fifth and sixth class over a couple of days on what the synod meant, or could mean, to them. I was truly heartened by their frank and honest responses underpinned as they were by positivity and optimism that children have in abundance. Therein, perhaps, lies the hope that everyone speaks so much about.
Now that that the six themes for next April’s Synod have been selected, we have been attending a series of gatherings which have been both interesting and informative. They have helped us broaden and deepen our understanding of many of the complex issues involved.
So now, as we fast approach next April and beyond, I wonder that further twists on my own Camino lie ahead. It has been an informative and interesting journey and one which has been a great privilege in which to be involved. Now, unlike the third girl in my story, I’m glad I was asked.
