The second phase of the global synod is underway and by October 18, 2022 we’ll have guidelines from the Vatican about the next leg of this journey – the continental phase! We can think of no better guide to help us glean learnings from the initial phase and to prepare ourselves for yet another year […]
Ellie and I attended the Leadership Roundtable’s Catholic Leaders Summit last week. This annual gathering brings together diocesan leaders, clergy, university presidents, theologians, Catholic non-profit and business leaders, along with folks that have practical management experience and who want to help the Church be run with more accountability. I was humbled to be part of […]
We gathered last Thursday evening with a dozen marvelous Synod Animators to offer gratitude and celebrate the milestone of turning in our official listening synthesis! With over 350 consultations and nearly 9,000 people engaged – we reflected on what it is to bring forward our loaf, to trust that it is enough, and to believe […]
Catholicism can feel like a locked room. As if there is one way to be a disciple, to practice and live the faith. There was a period in my faith journey where Catholicism felt like a rigid set of prescriptions and judgments. But the grace of salvation, the meaning of Pentecost, is that God breaks […]
Pat Ball, Guest Contributor for Discerning Deacons Last week was such an exciting and enriching week for me. I felt the Holy Spirit hovering and whispering in so many ways, some of which have been mind blowing. I sensed the Spirit in my bones the day I read in the National Catholic Reporter that Loyola […]
A year ago we (Casey Stanton and Ellie Hidalgo) and Luke Hansen were in the midst of shepherding and participating in a virtual retreat/workshop: discern, dream and scheme. In the center of this Advent time of reflecting, praying, journaling – we were invited to dream. How might we grow the conversation and serve the discernment […]
Promoting the active participation of women in Church ministries, governance, discernment and ecclesial decision making emerged as one of 12 key challenges in the first ever Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America and the Caribbean. Taking place near the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City and virtually during the last week in November, […]
In the last two weeks I have attended synodal listening sessions at two local parishes in Miami. It’s been fun to meet new people in my community and delve into deeper conversations about our joys and concerns with the Catholic Church as well as our hopes for what a more synodal, listening, participatory, inclusive Church […]
We have returned from an extraordinary pilgrimage to Rome, eager to share with you the hope of the synodal, listening and discerning process in which the Church is inviting us to walk forward together. Our delegation from Discerning Deacons (Casey Stanton, Ellie Hidalgo, Lisa Amman) and the commission studying the diaconate of Núcleo Mujeres REPAM […]
“A Church that teaches must be firstly a Church that listens.” Pope Francis Discerning Deacons has responded to Pope Francis’ call for a synodal church. During the summer of 2021, more than 1,500 Catholics from Canada, India and the United States gathered via video conference and in-person to actively discern the question of women and […]
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