Next Steps – Synodal Pathway in Ireland

Research is underway to determine the training, skills, and other needs of local leaders (priests, religious and laity) to move forward and go deeper into the Synodal Pathway of the Catholic Church in Ireland. Diocesan Delegates and Representatives from the Organisations, Movements, and Associations that held listening sessions during the Diocesan Stage of the Synod, and submitted a synthesis, are being invited to complete an online questionnaire to carry out this needs analysis. A smaller number of delegates and representatives are also being invited to participate in regional focus groups (based on the ecclesiastical provinces) to draw greater insights.

The National Steering Committee will present a report to the Bishops' Conference in the coming months on how the Irish Synodal Pathway might be shaped in the coming years. There is a growing realisation that the Synodal Pathway will be a long-term process, and that there is certain urgency to the time-frame to pursue this way of being Church in Ireland. Therefore, more attention needs to be given to local engagement (particularly with Diocesan and Parish Pastoral Councils as instruments of synodality) and to adult faith formation.