Bishop Donal McKeown Bishop Dónal McKeown said that the Irish Synod must be focused on “re-energising the mercy mission” of the Church or risk becoming a “curious talking shop”.
The bishop of Derry’s comments come as the initial submission phase for the National Synodal Assembly begins.
Writing in The Net, Bishop McKeown said that synodality does not mean a “parliamentary approach where power blocks square up to each other to win votes and promote their human agenda or the popular ideas in secular society”.
“The Synod of Bishops on young people promoted the concept of ‘missionary synodality’,” Bishop McKeown continued. “Unless synodality is focused on re-energising the mercy mission of Jesus through the Church, it risks becoming a curious talking shop that is going nowhere.”
Dr McKeown also wrote that the purpose of the synod is to ensure the Church is “fit for purpose in our modern technological world”.