More than 3,000 attend listening sessions

“People knew and understood that their voices were welcomed, appreciated and heard,” Bishop Burbidge said in an interview with the Herald. “That fostered people sharing their insights, their stories, their recommendations and their hurts.”

Listening sessions seek Catholics’ candid views about the church

Bishop Burbidge last year asked every pastor to hold listening sessions between February and April and to send him notes on what they hear. The sessions pose questions such as, “What experiences of ‘journeying together’ in your diocese and parish bring you joy and hope?” and “What difficulties and obstacles to ‘journeying together’ have you encountered?”

Mass kicks off the Diocesan Opening of the Synod of Bishops

Dioceses around the world have begun the first phase of the Synod of Bishops — a period of listening and reflecting on the local level in preparation for the gathering in Rome in two years. In Arlington, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge was joined by members of the diocesan synodal team at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More for the Oct. 17 Mass for the Opening of the 2023 Synod of Bishops.

Diocese preps for synod

The Arlington diocese has begun prepping for the synod on synodality, a two-year church-wide effort culminating in an Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops in October 2023 at the Vatican. The upcoming synod is meant to examine the way the church views synodality, and will focus on the keywords communion, participation and mission.

Vatican releases guidance for dioceses to begin synodal path

The Vatican has issued the preparatory document and a "handbook" for dioceses as part of the global church's preparation for the 2023 assembly of the Synod of Bishops, discussing the theme, "For a synodal church: communion, participation and mission."