by Will Ross

Saturday, 14 June saw the inaugural conference of the Scottish Catholic Theology Forum. It offered some theological reflections on a synodal church in Scotland and was held in the Eyre Hall, Glasgow, beside the Cathedral of Saint Andrew on Clyde Street.

Entering the hall, with its hi-tech security desk and (very amiable) guard, I felt I could have been entering the portals of the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan – a feeling that was deepened as I cast an eye over the numerous huge oil paintings in their intricate gilt frames, adorning every possible inch of wall space. And there were plenty of walls. My sense of - well, awe - was offset by the very warm welcome extended by the gentlemen at the desk checking names against the list of participants. Upstairs, around fifty people had gathered from several Scottish dioceses, all with an expressed interest in being part of the proceedings.

Fr Tom Magill, a true stalwart of the concept of Synodality, who has written on the subject on many occasions, offered the foundational reflection, on ‘Synodality, Some Theological Perspectives and Imperatives’. He suggested there are four imperative keys we must use to authentically ‘unlock’ Synodality: we must listen, pray, discern and act.

Will Ross is a parishioner of St Athanasius, Carluke.

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash