The Church’s ordinary way
Synodality: possibilities and tensions
Tuesday 2nd December
12:00-8:00pm GMT
You can download this programme as a pdf document, containing the abstracts, here.
Session 1: Welcome and Opening Keynote
12-1.30pm
Keynote: Synodality and Sea-Routes: The Philippine Church Sailing On! Exploring the tensions and pastoral possibilities of a synodal Church
Speaker: Estela Padilla, theologian and community organiser,
Synod Implementation Commission, Philippines and Asia
Chair: Avril Baigent, University of Durham
Break 1.30-2pm Early Career Cafe
Session 2: Parallel Papers Session 1
2-3.15pm
Exploring sites of synodality
Participants are invited to select a stream to join on the day.
| Stream 1 Realities of Synodality | Stream 2 The Complexities of Co-Responsibility | Stream 3 Synodality and Spirituality |
| Jens Van Rompaey and Jade Willaert KULeuven Simultaneity of LGBTQ and Synodality: Parallel Paths or Intersecting Journeys | María José Bravo Vargas Durham University The Theological Basis for and Factors Relating to Lay Involvement in Decision Making – On Balancing Unity and Catholicity in a Synodal Church | Anton ten Klooster Tilburg University The sensus fidei and discontinuity in ethics: a building block for synodal discernment. |
| Harold Mozley Marriage Care What marriage can teach us about synodality | Anna Wera Wilms University of Oxford, Sciences Po, Holy See Mission to the United Nations Living Community: What Synodality and Democracy Can Learn from Each Other | Monica McArdle Diocese of Salford Listening with the Whole Body: Embodied Awareness for Synodal Communion, Participation, and Mission |
| Dr Megan Lowes-Bolin John Carroll University, Cleveland, OH Young Adults and Synodality: Re-Engaging a Disconnected Generation | Wojciech Sadlon Formation Center for Discernment at Institute for Catholic Church Statistics “Discernment in Relationship” as the Application of Synodality in Catholic Formation | Amanda Rachel Bolanos Duke Divinity School Lo Cotidiano and the Little Way: A Synodal Lens of the Virtue of Solidarity in Ada María Isasi-Díaz, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, and Dorothy Day |
Break 3.15-3.30pm
Session 3: Parallel Papers 2
3.30-4.45pm
Break 4.45-5.15pm
Session 4: 17.15-18.45pm
Keynote: Synodality and Its Discontents: Why I Am Excited About the Synodal Process
Speaker: Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator, S.J., Dean and Professor, Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University
Chair: Clemens Sednak,
Break 6.45-7pm
Session 5: Pop up Podium Papers
7-7.30pm
| Kathryn Lamontagne and Sofia Pannozzo Boston University: Fostering Undergraduate Research on Lived Catholicism Christopher N. West University of Aberdeen: Faith Seeking Wisdom: The Sapiential Orientation of Practical Theology and Qualitative Research Katalin Füzér University of Pécs: Unexpected resonance: a trust reading of lay participation in local innovation ecosystems, community-led local development and synodality Marcin Jewdokimow UKSW Poland: Individualization within a cloistered community. Towards lived aspects of religious life in a cloistered, female monastery Theresa Alessandro All Kinds of Catholic podcast: Everyday Conversations Nurture Our Faith |
Session 6: 7.30-8pm
Plenary Conversation: Reflecting on the Breadth and Messiness
Virtual Bar: 8pm – 8.30pm
Wednesday 3rd December
Session 7: Early Session 7.30-9am
Another opportunity to watch Agbonkhianmeghe E. Orobator’s keynote with live conversation afterwards
Day 2 12:45-7:00pm GMT
12.45-1pm Welcome and Recap
Session 8: 1-2.15pm
Archbishops’ Panel: The Joys and Challenges of Synodal Leadership
Archbishops Frank Lackner (Salzburg), Jason Gordon (Port of Spain), Dabula Mpako (Pretoria) and John Sherrington (Liverpool) in conversation with Professors Anna Rowlands and Karen Kilby
Break 2.15-2.30pm
Session 9: 2.30-3.45pm
| Stream 7 Synodality and Theological Horizons | Stream 8 Becoming Synodal Dioceses | Stream 9 Voices from a Migrant Church |
| Michele Dillon University of New Hampshire Synodality, Lived Catholicism and Contextual Theology | Alessandro Rovati Belmont Abbey College Love One Another: Synodality and Diocesan Life | Tiffany Hunsinger University of Dayton Voices from the Margin: Laywomen, Diaspora, and Synodality in the Catholic Church |
| Sr Anne Béatrice Faye Ecole de synodalité de Dakar Quand La Synodalite Interroge Le Lieu Du Discours Theologique: Une Reponse Venue D’ailleurs (with translation) | Julian Paparella Venerable English College, Pontifical John Paul II Institute, & KU Leuven From clericalism to charisms: Situating synodality between clergy burnout, diversifying leadership, and revitalising communities | Eline Huygens KU Leuven Relational Lives: Catholic Women’s Intimacy and Belonging in Contemporary Belgium |
| Lisa Lickona St Bernards School of Theology A Spirituality of Synodality: A Key Move in “Dilexit Nos” | Jos Moons Boston College Synodality Needs Strategy: Learning from the Diocese of Parramatta | Ward Biemans Tilburg School of Catholic Theology Towards intercultural pastoral care for Catholic migrant couples and intercultural couples in the Netherlands |
Break 3.45-4.15pm Practitioner Cafe
Session 10: 4.15-5.30pm
Keynote: Alive Catholicism: Ordinary Catholics Amid an Extraordinary Synod
Speaker: Professor Tricia Bruce, Institute for Advanced Catholic Studies, University of Southern California
Chair: Professor Mathew Guest, University of Durham
Lived Catholicism 