Irish dioceses show little interest in Global Synod

A review of websites of all 26 Irish dioceses to see if Pope Francis’ Global Synod was mentioned showed 10 dioceses (38%) with no information at all.

Most surprising is that not one of the dioceses named their Contact Person. This is the first item on the timeline from the Vatican’s Synod office. And only one diocese (Elphin) named the members of their Synod Committee.

Derry and Dublin were the best with lots of helpful links and short videos.

Raphoe deserve a special mention as the only diocese with an online Response Form! And their Form is in both English and Irish!

Have Covid and Christmas combined with the extension for public consultations to August 2022 to make our bishops decide to do little until next year? Surely after the experience of the past 18 months we have learnt how to engage online with ZOOM and other media? And one of Pope Francis’ stated aims is to hear from all those at the margins and outside the institutional church. That group makes up the large majority of the population of Ireland and they are surely best contacted using social media?

I would like to conclude with a FAQ on the Dublin website:

Will the results of the deliberations be filtered and sanitised?

No. Every effort will be made to convey what happens at meetings accurately, honestly and fairly.

Colm Holmes

24 November 2021