by Mary Cullen

The Open House conference in 2019, which explored new ways of being church, focussed on synodality. Bishop Brendan Leahy, who had convoked a synod in the Diocese of Limerick in 2014, said the process was like walking the camino. The local church – lay people, priests and bishop – walked together, sharing their hopes and insights, stopping every now and then to discuss the way ahead.

The main dynamic of the Limerick diocesan synod, Bishop Leahy said, was one of spiritual discernment, linking scriptural insights with mutual listening and learning. A synod ‘listens to the heartbeat of the church’ and indicates directions that can become church law

The Synod of Bishops was created in 1965 by Pope Paul VI. It is a meeting of bishops who gather on a regular basis to discuss issues of significance.