Participants will ponder on the same questions posed to their clerical colleagues from around the world who attended the Parish Priests for the Synod International Meeting from April 28 to May 2 at the Fraterna Dormus in Rome.
Fr. Pierre Ducharme, O.F.M., of St. Joseph the Worker Parish in Richmond, B.C., Fr. Fabio de Souza of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Calgary, and Fr. Daniel Ouellet, the priest-moderator of 22 parishes in Quebec’s Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière diocese, are helming the proceedings.
Each host priest will provide an overview of the reports they submitted to the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) detailing their observations of the spring summit organized by the General Secretariat of the Synod and the Vatican’s Dicastery of the Clergy. Calgary Bishop William McGrattan will also deliver an opening statement.
Most of the two-hour itinerary is devoted to discussion. Participants will be divided into one of three small groups to dialogue on one of the following three topics:
- Experiences of synodality in the parish;
- Charisms, vocations and ministries in the life of the parish;
- Discernment and participation in the life of the parish.
“Part of the mandate was to use the same questions we used in Rome,” said Ducharme. “My favourite is the second part, which speaks to our job as pastors to bring out the charisms of the laity and support the lay ministries. We sometimes forget about that as ordained. It is not at all about us. It is about how we can build up others, and therefore build up Christian community.”
Ducharme, de Souza and Ouellet were identified by their respective dioceses as optimal candidates to attend the international meeting because they were already implementing synodal practices in their respective parish communities. The dioceses conducted a similar invitation process for the Zoom conference, and pastors regarded as passionate about the cause of synodality were encouraged to register.
“I hope that all of the priests who participate try to take the process forward and experiment with it so they can become true leaders of a synodal Church,” said Ducharme. “The (official) word is ‘facilitator,’ but let’s face it: this is a matter of leadership. Pastors must have to lead, and part of leading is having the courage to say, ‘I believe in this, and we’re going to try it together.’ ”