CATHOLIC BISHOPS’ CONFERENCE OF ENGLAND AND WALES
Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church
Secretary General of the Synod of Bishops Via della Conciliazione 34, Vatican City
Dear Secretary General,
Mindful that, “much of the richness of this listening phase will come from discussions among parishes, lay movements, schools and universities, religious congregations, neighbourhood Christian communities, social action, ecumenical and inter-religious movements, and other groups,1” we are one of those other groups named Synodality in Central Illinois who met for four listening and sharing sessions through March and April of this year. It is with great hope and joy, faith and devotion to our beloved church that we share this report.
Nick Smith This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 319-648-5336
Riverside, Iowa United States of America
Cover Letter:
I attended the synod held in my local parish last week. It was disappointing. The synod listening and discussion session was held right after the parish council meeting. Eighteen people participated—sixteen members of the council and two non-members. After a fifteen-minute introduction, the people broke into three groups of six with a two-part questionnaire: “Based on your personal experience, what fills your heart and what breaks your heart about the Catholic Church.” Each group made a list for each part of the question—no "mutual listening and communal discernment," was allowed. The entire synod lasted for thirty-five minutes; thus, the consultation of the people of God was reduced to a mere question.
The Vatican instructions that “special care should be taken to involve those persons who may risk being excluded: women, the handicapped, refugees, migrants, the elderly, people who live in poverty, Catholics who rarely or never practice their faith, etc., were certainly not followed. The goal of the synod was to foster real communion and community through lived experience of discernment, participation, and co-responsibility. This synod session fostered none of this. I should have known better than to believe the Church actually wanted us to gather as equals, allowing the Holy Spirit to move among us as the director of our discernment.
I believe that the Holy Spirit directs me to submit an independent synod report [attached] which has been guided by the Spirit for more than sixty years. My hope is that it will be read and considered. My hope and prayer are that some of its seeds will fall on good ground, and bring forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. What you do with this report is, of course, up to you, but the Holy Spirit and I have done our part by letting our discernments be known.
Nick Smith
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