Priests prepare to bring synodality from the Vatican to parishes around the world

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnVATICAN CITY (RNS) — After five days of meetings and an audience with Pope Francis in the past week (April 28-May 2), more than 200 parish priests from around the world are preparing to return home and bring the pope’s mission of synodality to their local communities.The Rev. Clinton Ressler, a parish priest in Texas City, Texas, one of seven U.S. pastors at the International Meeting of Parish Priests this week, said the media often portray the synod not as an open dialogue the pope intended, but as an effort to change church doctrine.
“When it’s presented that way, I think it’s often disturbing, scary, unsettling,” Ressler said during a meeting with Vatican journalists Thursday (May 2). “I think that’s an unfair representation of what the synod actually is. It’s a much more practical, I’d say grassroots level, way to teach people how to do communitarian discernment and take responsibility for their parish and community.”
Ressler’s parish near Galveston has a tactical discernment team that works with the pastoral council to determine the goals of the community and how to implement them. “It’s been two years of struggle, but also deepening trust, deepening relationships and deepening vulnerability and learning how to be honest with your pastor, …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]