BLACKWOOD – Parish delegates from the Diocese of Camden who will act as “ears of the Church … shepherds … reporters” in these beginning steps of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, gathered as one Sunday afternoon in Saint Agnes Church, Our Lady of Hope Parish.
“Tell the stories of [your parish community’s] faith, where the Holy Spirit is leading them,” implored Father Robert Hughes, diocesan vicar general.
Before the diocesan synodal Mass celebrated Oct. 17 by Bishop Dennis Sullivan, Father Hughes and Donna Ottaviano-Britt, diocesan head of the secretariat for pastoral outreach, facilitated an hourlong presentation for the delegates, assisted by Jose Rodriguez, diocesan director of Family and Youth Ministry; Stacy Napolitano, special events producer for the diocesan Office of Development; and Dina Galeotafiore, director of diocesan Human Resources.
Pope Francis has set the theme for the synod as “For a synodal Church: communion, participation, and mission,” saying that “our ‘journeying together’ is … what most effectively enacts and manifests the nature of the Church.”
Delegates from each parish in the Diocese of Camden were guided in their roles in this process, learning how to conduct meetings on the local level to provide an atmosphere of prayer, dialogue and discernment at home.
“Listen to [faithful’s] joys and difficulties,” Ottaviano-Britt told those gathered, which numbered almost 300 men and women of varied ages and backgrounds.
In listening and recording the voices of the faithful of South Jersey, delegates will facilitate a deepening of communion with the Church, and increased sense of pastoral mission, Sunday’s speakers said.
From now until the end of November, delegates will lead discussions at their respective parishes on topics such as welcome and inclusion, communication, common mission, and ecumenism. By Dec. 8, each parish will complete online responses based on the feedback received. In February, delegates will attend deanery-level meetings, and combining the findings of these meetings with input from diocesan priests and deacons, Bishop Dennis Sullivan will send the Diocese of Camden’s Synod Response by the end of April, followed by a working document from the Vatican and a national discussion on its contents next fall. A revised document will be presented to the General Assembly in Rome in October 2023.
In celebrating a 3 p.m. special liturgy to open the synod, also held in the church, Bishop Dennis Sullivan called the “voices of the people … the voice of God.”
“Everyone has a part to play in this synod,” he said, urging delegates and South Jersey faithful to “listen to the voices … motivated by our love for our Church.”
After Mass, sent forth to their respective communities, the delegates were eager to get to work.
“The meeting was helpful, as facilitators modeled how we should conduct productive discussions,” said Margaret Steadman, from Atlantic City’s Parish of Saint Monica.
Noting that she is “excited to be a part of this [process],” Steadman said she was inspired by the one who called for the synod: Pope Francis. “He is a wonderful shepherd. To help him is an honor.”
Jesse O. Kurtz, delegate from Mater Ecclesiae Church in Berlin, called this time “an opportunity to remind people of the great things about the Catholic Church. Our faith is a beautiful thing.”
“Any time we can band together in fellowship with other Catholics, learning from each other, is a positive,” he added.
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