My native diocese, Clonfert, is being joined up with Galway, with one bishop in charge of both. We are told it is not an amalgamation, or that the smaller diocese is not being subsumed into the larger one. Instead, we are assured that both dioceses will retain their diocesan structures. I am not sure what exactly that means. Both cathedrals will retain their status, we are told, with all the structures that surround cathedrals, chapters, councils, etc.
Can the National Synod of the Irish Church be a success?
Synods and synodality are very much in the news in Catholic Church circles at the moment. It seems to me that initiating a Synodal process in the Church is one of, if not the major, reform that Pope Francis is trying to establish during his papacy. In so far as I can understand it, fundamentally what this would mean is a whole new way of exercising authority and making decisions at all levels in the Church.
An extraordinary statement from Francis
VIDEO MESSAGE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
ON THE OCCASION OF THE FOURTH WORLD MEETING OF POPULAR MOVEMENTS
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Brothers, sisters, dear social poets,
1. Dear social poets
This is what I like to call you: social poets. You are social poets, because you have the ability and the courage to create hope where there appears to be only waste and exclusion. Poetry means creativity, and you create hope.
