{"id":6414,"date":"2026-05-07T04:57:08","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:57:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6414\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T04:57:08","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:57:08","slug":"sydneys-synod-is-complete-but-the-journey-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/6414\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney\u2019s Synod is complete, but the journey continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the\u00a0conclusion of the Sydney Synod<\/a>, there is a real risk that Catholics might see it as just another successful event which was well organised, well attended, and now finished. Others might think of it as a kind of church process, an important round of consultation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But that would be to miss the point. The Synod is not an event but rather part of a much longer journey of faith\u00a0in the Archdiocese of Sydney\u00a0that began years ago in the lead up to\u00a0different\u00a0Synods including\u00a0the\u00a0Fifth\u00a0Plenary\u00a0Council\u00a0of Australia\u00a0and will continue long after\u00a0this week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To understand this, it helps to begin with the Catholic Church itself.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Second Vatican Council gave us\u00a0a number of\u00a0ways of understanding who we are. One is the church as the temple of the Holy Spirit. That is not just a poetic image. It means that the very life of God dwells within us. The same Spirit poured out at Pentecost lives in the hearts of the baptised, guiding the church and uniting us in communion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Another image is the church as the People of God on a journey. Just as Israel journeyed through the desert towards the Promised Land, so too we journey through history towards our true home in God. We are not standing still, and we are not walking alone. We walk together, guided by the Holy Spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bishop Danny Meagher addressing the Synod members. Photo: Alphonsus Fok.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the church is hierarchical. Christ did not leave behind a shapeless community. He entrusted His mission to the apostles and their successors. The church is ordered, and bishops are called to teach, guide, and\u00a0ultimately make\u00a0decisions for the good of the faithful.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When you hold those three together \u2013 Spirit, people, and structure \u2013 synodality begins to make sense.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A synod is not a parliament. It is not a forum for competing agendas, nor is it consultation for its own sake. It is a spiritual process: the church walking together, listening together, discerning together while attentive to the voice of the Holy Spirit. It is, quite simply, \u201cjourneying together\u201d,\u00a0always oriented towards mission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That matters especially in Sydney today. Ours is a changing city. It is more secular in many ways, more diverse, and with younger generations experiencing faith very differently.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In that context, it is essential that the church listens carefully: to families, to clergy, to young people, to those who feel on the margins. Not because every opinion\u00a0determines\u00a0the outcome, but because the Holy Spirit speaks through the whole People of God.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"The Synod was a spiritual process focused on answering the three longings. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n

What has stood out in this process is that certain longings have come up\u00a0again and again.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A longing for liturgies that are truly prayerful encounters with Christ.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A longing for parishes that are genuinely Christ-centred, where people grow in faith rather than simply\u00a0maintain\u00a0routines.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A longing to be more open in welcoming the young, the searching, and those on the margins, and to draw them closer to God.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These are not abstract ideas. They are the repeated desires of faithful people. And I think we can say with some confidence that they are inspired by the Spirit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The work of the Synod has been to listen to those longings, gather practical ideas, and prayerfully discern which should be pursued. But even here, we need to be clear: the Synod itself is only a small part of the process.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Bishop Danny Meagher with Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP. Images by Giovanni Portelli Photography \u00a9 2026<\/p>\n

Its role is to help\u00a0identify\u00a0what seems most fruitful. The responsibility for decision\u00a0ultimately rests\u00a0with Archbishop\u00a0Anthony\u00a0Fisher\u00a0OP, in keeping with the church\u2019s structure. And the most important stage still lies ahead: the implementation of those ideas, over time, so that they bear real fruit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0whole\u00a0goal of\u00a0this\u00a0journey is mission. Everything we have done \u2013 listening, discussing, discerning \u2013 is directed towards one thing: drawing people closer to God.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If we lose sight of that, the Synod risks becoming what some people fear: a lot of talk with little result. But if we\u00a0remain\u00a0attentive to the Spirit, faithful to the church, and committed to action, it can lead to real renewal.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On a personal note, as I prepare to take up my new role\u00a0as\u00a0Bishop of\u00a0the Diocese of\u00a0Rockhampton, I do so with a sense of gratitude. It has been a privilege to be part of this\u00a0Synod journey\u00a0in Sydney. I have learned a great deal, and I leave encouraged.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Be assured of my prayers for the church in Sydney. The Synod is finished, but the journey continues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With the\u00a0conclusion of the Sydney Synod, there is a real risk that Catholics might see it as just…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6415,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[7790,7791,247,7792,7793],"class_list":["post-6414","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sydney","tag-catholic-church","tag-hero","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-synod","tag-synodality"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6414","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6414"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6414\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6415"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6414"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6414"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6414"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}