Lessons to be learnt

Irish Jesuit theologian Gerry O’Hanlon SJ was one of the participants at the National Pre-Synodal meeting of the Catholic Church in Ireland on October 18, 2025, at the Kilkenny Convention Centre. Over two hundred lay people, priests and bishops from across Ireland attended. They took part in discussions and spiritual conversations based on the preparatory document Baptised and Sent with the goal of furthering the agenda of communion, participation, and mission within the Church.

The meeting, it was hoped, would be a further step in the Irish synodal process and an important precursor to the full National Synodal Assembly in Ireland scheduled for autumn 2026. But Gerry O’Hanlon SJ, among others, felt a ‘sense of deflation’ at the end of the day, that was in marked contrast to the conclusion of a previous synodal meeting in Athlone in 2022. (Click here to listen to Gerry O’Hanlon’s assessment of that day ».)

So what happened at the Kilkenny meeting, and what lessons can be learned from it that might enhance the National Assembly next year, ensuring the ongoing momentum for change that has been the hallmark of the Synodal Pathway? Gerry O’Hanlon shares his views on these questions in this podcast interview with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications. Click above to listen.