Synod listening sessions already bearing fruit at some parishes, pastors say

Friday, Apr. 01, 2022

SALT LAKE CITY — As the local listening sessions for the Synod of Bishops 2023 take place in the Diocese of Salt Lake City, results have varied at different parishes.

For the “Synod on Synodality,” Pope Francis has asked each parish to hold listening sessions for people – Catholics and non-Catholics alike – to share their thoughts about the nature and mission of the Church. Results from the local parishes will be sent to the diocese, which will then send a report to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The deadline for diocesan reports is June 30. These reports will then be used for the meeting of bishops in Rome in 2023.

At the listening sessions, participants are asked to discuss selected questions from the handbook prepared by the Vatican’s General Secretariat for the Synod, such as “In our local Church, who are those who ‘walk together?’” and “How are the laity listened to, especially women and young people?’”

At the Cathedral of the Madeleine, the English-speaking parish council organized a listening session that was so successful they scheduled another, said Father Martin Diaz, rector.

“People were engaged; they wouldn’t quit,” said Fr. Diaz of participants’ enthusiasm for the session, which only ended because he had to leave to celebrate Mass. 

The cathedral’s Spanish-speaking parish council also held a listening session, which was very well attended, he said.

By contrast, at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, only three people showed up for a scheduled listening session, said Father Tai Nguyen, pastor, so it was not held. Most parishioners seemed uncomfortable with the unfamiliar format, so he and his team have decided to gather feedback through the parish website.

Unfamiliarity with the listening session process also was a problem for parishioners in Beaver, Fillmore, Milford and Delta, said Father Marco Lopez, who serves as administrator of St. Bridget Parish, St. John Bosco, Holy Family and Our Lady of the Light missions. Initially, parishioners were unsure what was being asked of them, but once they understood the process, response was good, he said. 

“For them it is great to have the opportunity to think, to talk and to listen and be listened to,” he said.

St. Joseph the Worker Parish in West Jordan has taken a different approach, holding weekly listening sessions since March 10. These will continue through April 7. To ensure more people are able to participate, the English sessions are held both in the morning and in the evening; Spanish sessions are held Thursday evenings. 

The sessions have been well-attended, and response has been very positive, said parish office manager Edgar Sosa.

At St. Joseph Parish in Ogden, Father Joshua Santos came up with a number of different ways to involve the communities that he serves. He invited parish council members to discuss one of the topics with their family or community, including people of other faiths and walks of life, and then bring the feedback to the group. 

At Weber State University, Fr. Santos held listening sessions with the college students at the Newman Center. Meanwhile, teachers at St. Joseph Elementary and St. Joseph Catholic High School discussed the synod topics with their classes. 

Due to a snowstorm, attendance was meagre at a March 20 listening session,  but those who participated enjoyed the process, Fr. Santos said.

Father John Evans, pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Cottonwood Heights, is coordinating the synod process for the Diocese of Salt Lake City. His parish has held several listening sessions. For one session, Fr. Evans invited religious leaders from different denominations and public school principals in the area to participate. Although just one of those people, local Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Stake President Kent Thomas attended, the session was successful, Fr. Evans said.

“It’s very encouraging that we’re receiving feedback from various pastors, parishes, institutions that the listening sessions are in process and they’re being held, and where necessary people are adapting to their local specific needs,“ Fr. Evans said. “We have a good method in the diocese but by no means is it mandatory and people will need to adapt, and they are and it’s wonderful.”

In addition to having the results included in the national report to the Synod of Bishops, the sessions will have a long-lasting impact in the diocese, Fr. Evans said. “The work of the synod of walking together in faithfulness to God is something that will continue long after we’re done with the listening sessions, and it might just help us bear fruit in our local parishes and institutions where we discover things that maybe we weren’t aware of.”

At the Cathedral of the Madeleine, participants had a strong desire to break down “categories” that divide the Church community such as the times they go to Mass, the language they speak, their age group and their marital and family status, Fr. Diaz said.

“The challenge is to determine what’s next for not just the Catholic community, but even the cathedral community and beyond,” and whether too much emphasis is placed on an individual being part of a specific parish, he said.

At St. Joseph Parish, Fr. Santos said he has heard from young people in the sessions who feel that the Church does not value them or treat them with respect.

“We call on the youth when we need to clean something,” he said. “There’s not an emphasis on how we could care for them, what’s their role in the Church. It looks like they’re just helpers, janitors, so that really broke my heart.”

Already, Fr. Santos is working on developing a ministry that will reach out to the youth, especially to those who are in crisis.

“The work of the synod can help address such issues,” Fr. Evans said. “It can help shape the way in which we journey together to God and also how we evangelize, how we reach out and invite others into what we’re doing, knowing the hearts and minds, the hopes and aspirations, the dreams of people.”

Fr. Evans invites all of the people of God in Utah to participate in this process. If not affiliated with a parish, individuals may visit the diocesan website, www.dioslc.org, to find out about parishes in their area. The website also includes detailed information about the synod process and the listening sessions. 

Downloading the synod packet and pondering the questions it contains ahead of the listening sessions is a great way to be prepared to contribute to the process, he said.

“If you haven’t received a personal invitation, consider this a personal invitation,” he said. “Seek out your local parish, find out when their listening sessions are so you can show up. We would love to have as many people participate as possible. It’s important; that way we have a better representation of the people of God here in Utah to provide that feedback.”