‘Conversation in the Spirit’

A book regarded as an invaluable resource for those involved in decision-making and the synodal process at any level of the Church, has been recently published in English by Messenger Publications » Conversation in the Spirit: A Guide to the Synodal Method » is authored by Juan A. Guerrero Alves SJ & Óscar Martín López SJ. The book was translated from the original Spanish by Dr. Austen Ivereigh, with a prologue by Pope Francis.

Conversation in the Spirit: A Guide to the Synodal Method has already been published in several languages and has emerged as a classic guide to synodality and discernment. Journalist and biographer of Pope Francis, Austen Ivereigh, worked closely with the authors to provide this revised English-language edition.

The authors explain how ‘conversation in the spirit’ is not really dialogical or argumentative in nature, nor is it democratic or authoritarian. Rather it is a method of communication that involves prayer, listening and reflection. It can be used by Christians to help find what God wants for them as a community of believers, and members of the universal Church. It can inform decision-making at every level, from parish through to the local, regional and global.

About the authors
Juan Antonio Guerrero Alves SJ is director of the St Ignatius Spirituality Centre in Salamanca, Spain. He was prefect of the Secretariat for the Economy of the Holy See from 2019-2022.

Óscar Martín López, SJ is currently vice-rector of the Jesuit University of Paraguay, director of the reflection and dialogue journal Acción, and a member of the national Paraguayan synodal team.

Austen Ivereigh is a UK-based writer, journalist and commentator best known for his participation in the Synodal processes instituted by Pope Francis, and his books on and with the recently deceased pontiff. He is a fellow in Contemporary Church History at Campion Hall, Oxford.