This past Sunday Fr. Paul read a letter from Bishop Jugis at all the Masses announcing how the Diocese of Charlotte will participate in the synod of bishops convened by Pope Francis for October 2023. The theme of this synod is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.” The Church’s initiative calls on all Catholics to prayerfully listen to the Holy Spirit and to one another through a mix of local, national and global conversations.
The official webpage for the diocesan synod can be found online at www.charlottediocese.org/synod2023.
The full text of the letter in English and Spanish can be downloaded at the below links.
Bishop Jugis reflected in his letter on the synod’s theme of “communion, participation, and mission.”
“The Holy Father wants all of us to reflect prayerfully on these three words to discover their importance in our lives and the life of the Church, to testify to each other the way the Lord is calling us to embody them at the present moment, and to consider the challenges and struggles that we face in living out the Gospel missionary mandate – both individually and as a Church,” the bishop wrote. “Accordingly, I ask all the members of our diocese to use the coming months to consider the following questions: What is your experience of ecclesial communion, mission, and participation in your life? How does the Church help you in living them out? What challenges or struggles are you facing as you try to embody them? What steps is the Holy Spirit suggesting to call us to live our vocation as a pilgrim people that journeys together toward salvation more fully?”
Bishop Peter J. Jugis,
Bishop Jugis is inviting all groups in the diocese to hold conversations about the ways they currently experience the Church as a missionary community in which everyone is called to a life of discipleship, and to suggest ways to live such a call more fully. These groups will include parishes, schools and colleges, auxiliary groups, lay movements, third orders, charitable ministries, religious communities, minority communities, immigrant populations, campus and youth ministries, and more.
Representatives from these different groups will share the fruits of their conversations at a common gathering scheduled for June 11, 2022, at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte.
A summary or “synthesis” of the diocesan-level synod will be sent to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops by June 30, 2022. The USCCB will then send a synthesis of all the U.S. dioceses’ work to the Vatican.
Steering the local effort is Dr. Alessandro Rovati, who has been appointed by Bishop Jugis to serve as the official contact person for the diocesan phase of the synod. Rovati is department chair and assistant professor of theology at Belmont Abbey College. He is a graduate of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan and a published author with leadership roles in national theological associations. His areas of expertise include moral theology and Catholic social teaching. In coming months, Rovati will be contacting and responding to diocesan groups and others to help them organize local gatherings. He also will facilitate the diocese’s common gathering next June.
Information for this post was obtained from the Catholic News Herald website.