New document on synod brings great hope

Brian Grogan SJ has been studying Vademecum (Come with me), the latest document from the Vatican just issued as part of the preparation for the synod on Synodality in 2023.  It’s the official handbook for listening and discernment in local churches. The first phase of this process is from October 21- April 22. Click here to read or download a PDF of the document ».

According to Brian, Vademecum is a Vatican document like no other and one of the best he has encountered since Lumen Gentium (The Church in the modern world), a ground-breaking document that emerged from the Second Vatican Council.

In this interview with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications, the Jesuit author outlines the importance of Vademecum and why he is “overwhelmed” by the hope it offers as a pathway to real change in the Church.

This is part one of a two-part interview on the topic of synodality, which Brian says is a complex word for the simple concept of “walking and talking together”, in the presence of the Spirit.

He himself is engaged in such walking and talking – or what he calls “Spirit-led conversations” with people from various dioceses in Ireland and Great Britain. He describes this work in the second part of his interview with Pat Coyle, entitled “Give the Spirit the mike!”