The School for Synodality hosts 'Pathways for Implementation: next steps on our synod journey'
Saturday, 18th October 2025 11:00am - 1:30pm (Zoom)
The Final Document of the Synod Assembly was wide ranging and inspirational, and now it's time to progress to the next steps at grass-roots level as we seek to embed synodality in our everyday Catholic life and culture. Includes prayer, small group sharing, testimony, and keynote speaker Bishop Brendan Leahy of the Limerick Diocese in Ireland. Come and explore the next steps of the synodal journey together!
— Synod 2021-24 Preparatory Document
Taken from the Instrumentum Laboris, the guiding document for the Synod in Rome
Synodality is grounded in the vocation of all the baptised – we are all sons and daughters of God, brothers and sisters of Christ in the one Spirit and sent for the common mission.
Central to becoming a Synodal Church is the renewal of structures, institutions and procedures to allow for co-responsibility to be exercised and practised.
In becoming a listening Church, we discover the joys of truly listening and being listened to, just as Jesus listened to those he met. Our listening is not just within our communities, but to the world, and especially to the marginalised.
Through this listening, we desire to grow in humility and recognise that as a Church we must ask forgiveness and have much to learn.
A synodal Church is also a Church of discernment. As we listen attentively to each other’s lived experiences, we grow in mutual respect and begin to discern the movements of God’s Spirit in the lives of others and in our own, in the hope of becoming a Church increasingly capable of making prophetic decisions that are the fruit of the Spirit’s guidance.
Carrying the weight of these questions should not be the personal burden of those who occupy certain roles, with the risk of being crushed by them, but a task for the entire community, nurtured by the Eucharist.
The radical call is, therefore, to build together, synodally, an attractive and concrete Church: an outgoing Church, in which all feel welcome, managing tensions without being crushed by them.
Authentic listening and the ability to find ways to continue walking together beyond fragmentation and polarisation are indispensable for the Church to remain alive and vital and to be a powerful sign for the cultures of our time.
This Church is not afraid of variety but values it without forcing it into uniformity.
Trying to walk together also brings us into contact with the healthy restlessness of incompleteness, with the awareness that there are still many things whose weight we are not able to carry or bear (cf. Jn 16:12). This is not a problem to be solved, but rather a gift to be cultivated.
A synodal Church is one of encounter and dialogue, especially with other Churches, recognising our common baptism.
As we move into the implementation stage of the synodal process, here are some key resources from the School for Synodality to help guide our understanding of the Final Synod Document
Final Document Resources — School for Synodality
Recommended Resources — School for Synodality