A bit of background

 

 

 

“We want to be a synodal Church, a Church that moves forward, a Church that always seeks peace. that always seeks charity , that always seeks to be close above all to those who are suffering.”

Pope Leo XIV First Blessing ‘Urbi et Orbi’ 8 May 2025

 

 

 

OCTOBER 2026

 

DUNKELD – Where to now?

Our Bishop has asked us to “remember, listen and discern together” as we proceed on the path of Synodality. How are we placed? What do we know? How do we move into greater community and unity in our parish and Church?

CLICK below for Bishop Andrew’s letter to the Diocese.

 

Our Lady’s Parish will be hosting a suitable opportunity to gather as many parishioners as possible, to consider the call of Synodaity and our individual and parish responses to a vision for the future of our Church.

 

Watch this space!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KEEP SCROLLING FOR EARLIER ENTRIES ON SYNODALITY IN OUR CHURCH AND PARISH COMMUNITIES!

 

 

You share in this mission!

Whether young or older, in Iraq or here in Scotland, we as followers of Christ are called to become lights of our faith, love and hope,

The synodal church engages us to be better able to bear witness to the joy of the Gospel.

Click here to go to our Raising Hope page for a video message from Pope Leo that encourages our mission to “Go forth and spread the Good News.” And more!

 

 

The Extraordinary Consistory, 26-27 June 2026, Vatican.

 

 

Communion is never a result that is achieved once and for all: it remains a daily conversion, which takes shape

* in prayer, and

* through concrete actions,

* relationships of trust, and a

* willingness to listen to one another.

Pope Leo, opening address to the Consistory, June 2026.

 

 

“We are called to be builders of Christ’s communion, a communion that takes shape in a synodal Church in which everyone cooperates in the same mission, each according to their own charism and ministry.”

 

“We are not guardians of particular interests, but “disciples and witnesses of the Kingdom of God, called in Christ to be leaven of universal fraternity.”

 

“We are invited to contemplate the world in which the Church is called to proclaim the Gospel. Before asking ourselves what to do, we must pause to consider reality, looking at it through the eyes of faith and allowing ourselves to be challenged by listening to our brothers and sisters.”

 

“We live in an age in which the temptation towards fragmentation is growing and particular interests all too easily prevail. The Church’s social teaching reminds us that the common good does not arise spontaneously, but requires shared responsibility.”

 

 

 

“In the face of the wounds of the world, the building up of the common good, and the mission of the Church, synodality points to a way forward: listening, discerning, and taking responsibility together for the choices that the Lord entrusts to us.

Synodality is not, first and foremost, a set of procedures. Synodality is an attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand.

 

At times it has been interpreted as a diminishment of authority. In reality, it helps us to understand more deeply the meaning of authority itself, which exists to safeguard communion, to foster the participation of all, and to guide the Church’s common journey.”

 

 

Click here to read the full address of the Pope to the gathered Extraordinary Consistory attendees during the opening of the meeting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 June 2026

• What synodality means in practical terms for parish communities
• The key priorities likely to shape parish life in 2026 — including participation, discernment, leadership, mission, and Conversations in the Spirit
• How clergy and lay leaders can foster a more collaborative, missionary, and Spirit-led parish culture.

Avril Baigent and Matthew Nunes, Co-Directors of The School for Synodality based in the Diocese of Northampton, will give an engaging and practical webinar exploring the next stage of the synodal journey and what it means for parish life today.

To book this online event of the Tablet, click here.

IMPORTANT:

WE WILL BE HAVING GROUP VIEWING OF THE RECORDED WEBINAR IN OUR PARISH FROM WEEK BEGINNING 15 JUNE.

LET US KNOW DAY OF THE WEEK AND TIME THAT WORKS FOR YOU — we will try to arrange, as possible.

CHECK THE MONDAY PARISH EMAIL CIRCULAR FOR FINAL ARRANGEMENTS.

 

 

 

 

 

March 2026

 

The Bishops’ Conference of Scotland wrote to their flock across Scotland at the end of March. Read the letter here.

 

 

 

 

 

24-26 October 2025

Held in Rome, the Jubilee meeting of Synodal Teams and Participating Bodies is now on the Synod.va website and most of the events can be viewed. Click below.

 

 

Scroll down for selected highlights from the three day event.

 

 

Opening the event was the Undersecretary of the General Secretariat of the Synod, Sr Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ. Click the photo above to hear her or here for the written text.

 

 

Pope Leo’s first response in the Q&A component where the seven global geographical areas (African nations and Madagascar, Oceania, North America, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Asia) reported on their synodal efforts.

The full Q&A can be seen here. Or read on the Synod.va   website.

 

 

 

Fr John Hurley of the Archdiocese of San Diego in his seminar presentation underlined continuity and continuation. He quoted the Archbishop of Pretoria, South Africa:

“Synodality has deep roots in Vatican II — this is the church’s current pastoral direction NOT an optional initiative.”

He noted what Pope Leo said in a September interview, that “Synodality is an antidote for polarisation.”

In prayer, he closed by saying,  “As pilgrims of Hope, may we be open to the Holy Spirit, the protagonist of Synodality and persevere in becoming beacons of hope in our church and  in the challenging times in our world.”

 

 

In the Inaugural Session of the Jubilee event, Cardinal Grzegorz Ryś of Łódź’s presentation in English also defined the nature of tensions in the Church, even back to early times in the Celtic and English traditions. He did not hesitate to ask the hard question of all present: why our perceptions lean us towards uniformity, away from unity. “It is not differences that bring division to the church, but pride.”

Cardinal Ryś ended with strong conviction for “Conversion not just reform; on the way of true passover, not the simple animation or improvement. But by dying of the old and accepting completely new life from the Risen Lord, in the spirit of love, the spirit of synodality.”

 

 

 

FINALLY, Vatican News gives its summary of the key highlights, Click the headlines below.

Jubilee of Synodal Teams: Converting relationships to be ‘One in Christ’