On 14 September Bishop Shane led a virtual conversation Synod on Synodality – Room for Everyone in Our Church hosted by Garrett Publishing with the Australian Catholic Coalition for Church Reform and Yarra Theological Union.  Speaking of the upcoming Bishops Synod and referencing the Instrumentum Laboris Bishop Shane said, “The point of this synod is not just what happens at the Assembly, or about particular outcomes which come out of the Assembly … it’s about the synodal conversion of the Church, about modelling (synodality) for us … and in a sense calling us to live synodally, and operate synodally, more and more in all of the structures and processes that we participate in. At the universal level, national, diocesan and parish levels.”

When asked what synodality means for the average Churchgoer, Bishop Shane responded:

“We need to continue to talk about synodality in a way that is accessible to people and helps us makes sense of it – what does it look like when we are acting synodally?”

Bishop Shane said people experience synodality when they recognise that they have been heard. He believes the Church, especially in Australia, is seeing a culture shift. The dialogue and consultation stages of the Australian Plenary Council provided transformative experiences. “We’re seeing a culture shift, not just on the way people experience the Church, but what they expect of the Church," said Bishop Shane.

Bishop Shane noted in dioceses and parishes people are seeing a shift in the way we engage in reflection and decision making; diocesan assemblies, synods and Pastoral Councils are an example of this. Explaining what synodality looks like, Bishop Shane said voting is not the way to go. “If a Parish Council is using voting and getting 51 per cent (of people) across the line, they are missing the point – that’s not operating synodally.”

A recording of the online convocation can be accessed here.