Six strong themes have emerged from the diocesan and national synod processes undertaken in the Catholic Church of Aotearoa New Zealand — Inclusion, Gathering, Leadership, Education and Formation, Mission, and Synodality and Change.
A media release from the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference stated that the role of women, biculturalism, and abuse in the Church cut across those six themes.
The New Zealand Catholic Bishops Conference has compiled a national synthesis document from the diocesan phase of the Synod 2023 process, and from the national hui held in Wellington in June to synthesise the diocesan documents.
The national document has been sent to Rome as part of the Pope’s synodal path to the Church’s future, which will culminate in the Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in Rome in October next year.
Similar national documents have been compiled by bishops’ conferences around the world. They will be used by the Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops to draft a working document called the Instrumentum Laboris in preparation for the October 2023 synod. Bishops’ conferences will also take part in “continental” gatherings; in New Zealand’s case a gathering of Oceania conferences, which will include Australia and Pacific island states.
In the introduction to the national synthesis just completed, the bishops said that many of the people who took part in the New Zealand synodal process at parish, diocesan and national level, expressed great appreciation of the opportunity to reflect on the journey together.
“They spoke positively and with love about the place the Church has in their lives. They want the Church to be a life-giving and active presence in the world, an outward-looking servant Church; a welcoming, inclusive and transformative presence for individuals and communities. They see the synodal process itself being as important as the outcome, because in listening to one another the Holy Spirit is present,” the introduction stated.
“For some people, especially those participating as individuals rather than in groups, the process provided an opportunity to express anger, cynicism, hurt and rejection of the Church, due to past experiences. The Church was named as a place of alienation, and irrelevant, especially in its teaching on human sexuality. The responses from those who feel ignored, excluded or who have been deeply hurt made painful reading, but their desire to be part of a welcoming Catholic community was clear. Their responses are valued and we are learning from them.”
Pope Francis launched the two-year synod process — the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in the Catholic Church — in 2021, to hear what ordinary Catholics from around the world think should be the future direction of the Church.
Points from the six main Aotearoa
New Zealand themes include:
Inclusion: We want the Church to be a non-judgmental and safe place of welcome and belonging. Church teaching which excludes some people from the Eucharist is causing pain and hurt. Awareness of those who feel marginalised or excluded can lead to new attitudes and action. Action on inclusion must be part of our synodal journey.
Gathering: There is great love for the Mass, but also concerns about inclusion and lay participation. A new English translation of the Roman Missal is needed. Homilies must help people to encounter Jesus in the reality of their lives. If lay people are allowed to give homilies, they must have good formation. Small groups for prayer, formation, Scripture study, and mission build[ing] community are needed.
Leadership: Collaborative ministry should become the norm, with greater sacramental involvement for lay people. Co-responsible leadership with barriers to lay participation in decision-making removed. Women participate equally in decision-making, and have greater participation in liturgical roles.
Mission: Formation is needed for mission, and help with engaging in mission collectively. Ecumenical activity and interfaith dialogue need to be embraced as part of mission. Shame related to abuse in the Church makes evangelisation difficult. Prophetic leadership is needed in the community on social justice, ecological and bicultural issues. The only public voice of the Church for many is on euthanasia and human sexuality.
Education and Formation: Further formation is needed for both lay people and clergy in discernment and synodality. There is a need for catechesis in Church teaching. Education and formation in safeguarding is essential for both lay people and clergy. Seminarians’ formation should involve more community engagement, and include biculturalism and cultural sensitivity. Both clergy and laity need formation in collaborative ministry and co-responsible leadership.
Synodality and Change: The Synod process is exciting and transformative. We want to bring back those who are missing. Synodality and discernment can help us change, while holding on to what is central to our faith. We want to learn to journey together in a synodal way.
In a letter accompanying the national synthesis to Rome, Cardinal John Dew, president of the NZCBC, said: “Many people commented positively on this process and appreciated the opportunity to discern together.
“As one Whakatauākī (Māori proverb) says: Ka totoro atu tōku ringa ki ngā tōpito e whā o te ao, e kore e taea te whakahoki mai. When my hands stretch out to the four corners of the world they will not return fruitless. — Te Kooti Rikirangi.”
The national synthesis concluded by stating that many actions can be taken at the local level, in Aotearoa New Zealand’s own timeframe. The following points were suggested as actions that can be taken locally, in parishes and dioceses.
Embed synodality and discernment as our tikanga, our way of working together:
- Establish discernment processes, including Spiritual Conversation, as normal processes used in our parishes
- Use a discernment process to help us determine how to act on inclusivity
- Provide further formation about synodality and discernment in parishes
Listen further to those who feel marginalised:
- Seek to understand the real needs of the disabled, including the deaf, in our communities
- Be more sensitive to the LGBTQI+ members of our communities and their experiences of exclusion
- Ensure our liturgical celebrations reflect the cultural diversity within our communities
- Help young people feel that the Church is their tūrangawaewae — their home, where they belong
- Acknowledge the gifts of women and ensure they have an equitable presence in Church structures
Deepen our understanding of the bicultural nature of the Church in Aotearoa New Zealand:
• Expand the confident use of te reo Māori (the Māori language) in the liturgy, including the Mass
- Work together to ensure Māori voices are heard and Māori culture is reflected in our churches
- Provide education for the Catholic community so that together we become a truly bicultural Church
Learn to journey together in a synodal way:
- Share decision-making, with clergy with decision-making power listening carefully to lay people
- Encourage greater use of the Ordinary’s power to mandate lay pastoral ministers to baptise and conduct funerals in parishes
Focus on mission:
- Acknowledge that there is confusion about what mission involves, and find ways to provide clarity
- Use discernment processes in parishes to identify particular forms of mission locally
- Reinvigorate our approach to social justice, focusing on the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor
- Build up our local ecumenical relationships
- Find ways to move forward from the abuse crisis to engage in mission
The national synthesis document also listed matters that emerged during the synodal process in this country that require further discernment by the universal Church. These are:
Remove barriers to journeying together in a synodal way:
- Enable co-responsible leadership, with decision-making shared by priests, bishops and lay people
- Remove barriers to collaborative ministry involving clergy and laity
- Allow the local Ordinary to mandate lay people to anoint the sick as part of collaborative ministry
- Allow the local Ordinary to mandate lay people to routinely give homilies in his diocese
- Ensure active and transparent involvement of the local Church in the selection of their bishops
Promote inclusion:
- Accept intercommunion between Christians of different denominations
- Welcome LGBTQI+ people without restrictions
- Welcome with compassion divorced and remarried Catholics to the eucharistic table
- Change the language of Church teaching and catechesis to be fully inclusive and sensitively worded
- Support and bless committed loving relationships, irrespective of gender or marital status
- Reform liturgical language so that it is welcoming and inclusive of all
Carry out discernment with open minds and involving the whole Church on these issues:
- The possibility of optional celibacy for priests
- The possibility of the ordination of women to the priesthood or at least diaconate, to extend the many ways in which women participate in their local Church
- The Church’s sexual moral teaching, taking into account contemporary scientific understanding and the lived
experience of the People of God (sensus fidelium)
Review the formation of priests:
- Provide more community engagement in the formation of seminarians
- Form seminarians in co-responsibility and synodality
Revitalise our liturgy:
- Entrust liturgical reform (at least to a limited degree) to local bishops’ conferences
- Initiate a new English translation of the Roman Missal
A lazy word search for “Jesus” = 1 as in “encounter Jesus”.
Word search God = 1 as in “People of God”.
Would love to have the figures on participation. I know that in my parish, only one person made a submission.
If there are half-million Catholics in NZ, 10 % participation should be about 40-50k submissions and/or attendance at meetings.
Looking at our synthesis it confirms that we are firmly ‘German’ or ‘Californian’ Catholics rather than Polish or Nigerian type Catholics.