Synod 2021 - 2023: A Church that Listenscommunion | participation | mission | Diocese of Victoria

Synod results in the Diocese of Victoria,
Region X and in the United States

Most of the parishes in the diocese, as well as several other special groups,
participated in "listening sessions" with their parish priests or with Bishop Brendan Cahill.
Some were given surveys as well. The basic questions provided were designed to
discover how the Church is journeying together and what opportunities are there
to continue this journey towards holiness. The report was combined with other (arch)dioceses in Region X,
which includes Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. Use the buttons below to see the reports.

Message from Bishop Cahill Mensaje del Obispo Cahill

Prayer for the synod

The Church is listening

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Pope Francis is inviting Catholics both in the mainstream of church life and on the margins to voice their dreams, ideas and concerns in preparation for the Synod of Bishops in 2023. The process launched Oct. 17 in parishes and dioceses worldwide.

Bishop Brendan Cahill opened the synod in the Diocese of Victoria at 9 a.m. Mass on Oct. 24.

Under the theme "For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission," the pope is calling the church to practice synodality, that is listening to -- and hearing -- one another in all facets of church life, two of the coordinators of the effort at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told Catholic News Service. The October opening "is just the first step in a larger, longer-term process of really incorporating the fruits of Vatican II and becoming a synodal church," said Julia McStravog, a former USCCB employee who is a consultant to the bishops on the process.

"We're going to have consultation. It's also going to be a learning process about how to actually engage in a synodal way," McStravog explained. The launch begins a two-year process that culminates in the Synod of Bishops in October 2023. The synod is expected to adopt a final document that will guide the continuing development of a synodal church going into the future.