Tag: synod

First Synod Listening Session a success

Posted on by Bob Reddy

The first of 11 Diocesan Listening Sessions for the Diocesan Phase of “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” was a very well received.

Some 90 people participated in the Session, which was held Feb. 9, 2022, at St. Thomas More Parish in Sarasota. The format, with an opening prayer and introduction from Bishop Frank J. Dewane, smoothly transitioned into group table discussions on the key questions posed by the Synod.

Bishop Dewane said during his opening remarks that the idea of the Listening Sessions is to provide the opportunity for the faithful to respond to key questions from the Holy Father and to dream about the Church. “By the end of our time together this evening we aim to capture your answers to the basic questions that are posed. What is it the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church today? It’s important for us to listen to one another and as a community discern what it is God is calling us to do.”

The Bishop also encouraged everyone to be honest and open about their real-life experiences of sharing the faith in the Diocese of Venice. “We hope to weave together new and personal relationships; to learn from one another; to build bridges; to enlighten minds; to warm hearts; and to restore strength in the common mission that we all share.”

This first Diocesan Listening Session, as with all of the Sessions, was defined by and limited to 90 minutes. The Session concentrated on five of the 10 total Synod questions. This is being done to allow each table time to compile their thoughts and share their findings in response to the questions. Even with that focus, some tables were hard pressed to answer all five questions in the time allotted. The questions, proposed in the Vatican Synod document, being considered during each Listening Session will be rotated to allow for a balanced reflection by the faithful during the Diocesan Phase in preparation for the Synod.

During the St. Thomas More Listening Session, the feedback was both frank and very informative as each table shared their views of the Catholic Church at their Parish, Diocesan, national and even global level. These views included how the Church is reaching out to people as well as areas where more can be done to reach the marginalized.

The first category which is under consideration is “Companions on the Journey,” which elicited penetrating observations. As God’s children, we are all together on our journey toward Salvation. How, and if, each person’s voice is heard on that journey is what the Synod is trying to address.

Overall, the first Listening Session revealed the good news that the faithful are eager to have a voice in the Church and need an outlet for their voices to be heard.

Bishop Dewane said at the conclusion of the evening that these Listening Sessions are critical to shaping the Church for the next millennium and that what was being said at all Sessions will be heard and taken to heart by him, as the Shepherd of the Diocese. The Bishop also expressed his appreciation to all for their presence and for the comments which they set forth.

Each session is being recorded to allow for a proper documentation. The information gathered at the Diocesan Listening Sessions will be synthesized into a document which will be shared with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and ultimately the Vatican. Similar Listening Sessions are to be held across the globe.

To allow for the most participants, Listening Session locations were selected based on geography and population to cover as much of the Diocese as possible. Please register at https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions. This site also has a complete list of all Listening Sessions. Email synod@dioceseofvenice.org for any questions or comments regarding the Listening Sessions.

Diocese to host 11 Synod Listening Sessions, first one Feb. 9

Posted on by Bob Reddy

The first Listening Session for the Diocesan Phase for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” is Feb. 9, 2022, St. Thomas More Parish, 2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota. An additional 10 more Listening Sessions are scheduled at strategic locations throughout the Diocese through late May with several offering opportunities in Spanish.

“For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” is a worldwide effort for a “deeper communion, fuller participation, and greater openness to fulfilling our mission in the world,” according to Bishop Frank J. Dewane.

“These upcoming Listening Sessions are an important exercise in just that – listening,” Bishop Dewane said. “Pope Francis has asked us for our input. It’s important for us to listen to each other, and to the Holy Spirit as a community and discern what God is calling us to do; to learn how to become the Church that God calls us to be.”

Listening Session locations were selected based of geography and population to cover as much of the Diocese as possible. All are welcome! For those unable to attend a live Session, a virtual Listening Session will be held later in May, with the date to be announced. The Diocese has also set up a dedicated email for those who wish to email their thoughts to  synod@dioceseofvenice.org.

All Listening Sessions will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. (See the box below for the location of each Session.) It is asked that those who wish to participate register in advance for planning purposes. To register, or to see the list of all 11 Listening Sessions, visit https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions.

During each Listening Session there will be an introduction and then a table discussion on the key themes of the “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission.” The broad themes to be explored are: Companions on the Journey; Listening; Speaking Out; Celebration; Sharing Responsibility for our Common Mission; Dialogue in Church and Society; Ecumenism; Authority and Participation; Discerning and Deciding; Forming Ourselves in Synodality. Each table will then share the fruit of their discussion to the larger group.

Information gathered at the Diocesan Listening Sessions will be synthesized into a document which will be shared with the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and ultimately the Vatican. Similar Listening Sessions are to be held across the globe. “Synod” is an ancient and venerable word in the tradition of the Catholic Church, and synodality expresses the idea that the entire Church walk forward together, listening to the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Pope Francis has identified that this path of walking together is the most effective way of manifesting and putting into practice the nature of the Church as the pilgrim and missionary people of God.

For questions regarding the listening sessions, please email synod@dioceseofvenice.org. Please visit www.dioceseofvenice.org for more information about the Synod and links to key documents.

Diocese of Venice Listening Sessions

Wednesday, Feb. 9, St. Thomas More Parish, 2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota (Eng.);

Wednesday, Feb. 16, Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. W. Venice (Eng./Sp.);

Tuesday, Feb. 22, Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish, 2850 75th St. W., Bradenton (Eng./Sp.);

Thursday, March 3, St. Andrew Parish, 2628 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral (Eng./Sp.);

Monday, March 14, St. John XXIII Parish, 13060 Palomino Lane, Fort Myers (Eng.);

Wednesday, March 16, Sacred Heart Parish, 211 W. Charlotte Ave., Punta Gorda (Eng.);

Thursday, March 24; St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, 5225, Golden Gate Parkway (Eng./Sp.).

Monday, March 28, St. John the Evangelist Parish, 625 111th Ave. N., Naples (Eng.);

Monday, May 9, St. Catherine Parish, 820 Hickory St., Sebring (Eng./Sp);

Monday, May 16, St. Agnes Parish, 7775 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples (Eng.);

Monday, May 23, Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish, 355 S. Bridge St., LaBelle (Eng./Sp).

To allow for the most participants, please register for only one Listening Session at https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions.

“Synod on Synodality” Listening Sessions Announced

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Listening sessions for the Diocesan Phase for the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” have been scheduled and registration is open.

All are invited for an evening listening session about the Catholic Church and your relationship with it. All sessions will take place from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. To allow the greatest number of people the chance to participate, please select a single most convenient location/date. Register here at https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions.

The Listening Sessions are as follows:

  • Wednesday, February 9, St. Thomas More Parish, 2506 Gulf Gate Drive, Sarasota (Eng.);
  • Wednesday, February 16, Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. W. Venice (Eng..Sp.);
  • Tuesday, February 22, Ss. Peter and Paul the Apostles Parish, 2850 75th St. W., Bradenton (Eng./Sp.);
  • Thursday, March 3, St. Andrew Parish, 2628 Del Prado Blvd., Cape Coral (Eng./Sp.);
  • Monday, March 14, St. John XXIII Parish, 13060 Palomino Lane, Fort Myers (Eng.);
  • Wednesday, March 16, Sacred Heart Parish, 211 W. Charlotte Ave., Punta Gorda (Eng.);
  • Thursday, March 24; St. Elizabeth Seton Parish, 5225 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples (Eng./Sp.);
  • Monday, March 28, St. John the Evangelist Parish, 625 111th Ave. N., Naples (Eng.);
  • Monday, May 9, St. Catherine Parish, 820 Hickory St., Sebring (Eng./Sp);
  • Monday, May 16, St. Agnes Parish, 7775 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Naples (Eng.);
  • Monday, May 23, Our Lady Queen of Heaven Parish, 355 S. Bridge St., LaBelle (Eng./Sp).

The Synod on Synodality, initiated by Pope Francis in October 2021, is a two-year, worldwide undertaking during which Catholics will be encouraged to submit feedback to their local Dioceses, primarily this will be gathered as listening sessions.

A Synod is a meeting of Bishops gathered to discuss a topic of theological or pastoral significance, in order to prepare a document of advice or counsel to the Pope. The Holy Father wants us to join him in praying, listening, discerning, examining ourselves personally, and the Church communally, to see if we’re truly on the path Jesus has set for His beloved bride, His mystical body, the Church.

Synodality, as defined by the International Theological Commission in 2018, is “the action of the Spirit in the communion of the Body of Christ and in the missionary journey of the People of God.” The term is generally understood to represent a process of discernment, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, involving Bishops, priests, religious, and lay Catholics, each according to the gifts and charisms of their vocation.

The Diocesan Phase of the Synod has the goal of ensuring the participation of the greatest number possible, in order to listen to the living voice of the entire People of God. It is intended that the Diocesan Phase collect the fruits and honest feedback of participants from the local synodal experience, rather than transmitting generic summaries. For this reason, each listening session will be recorded.

This Synod poses the following fundamental question: A synodal Church, in announcing the Gospel, “journeys together.” How is this “journeying together” happening today in your local Church? What steps does the Spirit invite us to take in order to grow in our “journeying together” (Preparatory Document, 26)?

To help the faithful explore this fundamental question more fully, the following themes highlight significant aspects of “lived synodality” (Preparatory Document, 30). In responding to these questions, it is helpful to remember that “journeying together” occurs in two deeply interconnected ways. First, we journey together with one another as the People of God. Next, we journey together as the People of God with the entire human family. These two perspectives enrich one another and are helpful for our common discernment towards deeper communion and more fruitful mission.

There are 10 themes that are to be explored by the Synodal process:

  1. Companions on the Journey – In the Church and in society, we are side by side on the same road.
  2. Listening – Listening is the first step, but it requires having an open mind and heart, without prejudice.
  3. Speaking Out – All are invited to speak with courage and parrhesia (openness), that is, integrating freedom, truth, and charity.
  4. Celebration – “Journeying together” is only possible if it is based on communal listening to the Word and the celebration of the Eucharist.
  5. Sharing Responsibility for our Common Mission – Synodality is at the service of the mission of the Church, in which all members are called to participate.
  6. Dialogue in Church and Society – Dialogue is a path of perseverance that also includes silences and sufferings, but which is capable of gathering the experience of persons and peoples.
  7. Ecumenism – The dialogue between Christians of different confessions, united by one baptism, has a special place in the synodal journey.
  8. Authority and Participation – A synodal Church is a participatory and co-responsible Church.
  9. Discerning and Deciding – In a synodal style, decisions are made through discernment, based on a consensus that flows from the common obedience to the Spirit.
  10. Forming Ourselves in Synodality – The spirituality of journeying together is called to become an educational principle for the formation of the human person and of the Christian, of the families, and of the communities.

To assist with planning of the listening session, kindly confirm your attendance by registering at https://dioceseofvenice.regfox.com/2022-synod-listening-sessions.

For questions regarding the listening sessions, please email synod@dioceseofvenice.org. Please visit www.dioceseofvenice.org for more information about the Synod and links to key documents.

Diocesan Phase of Synod inaugurated with Mass

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Bishop Frank J. Dewane inaugurated the beginning of the Diocesan Phase of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” with a Mass Oct. 17, 2021 at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice.

Participating in the Mass were more than a dozen priests, as well as some 300 people from across the Diocese, representing many Parishes, various movements, Third Orders and many more.

In his opening remarks, Bishop Dewane said: “We ask the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts, our minds, and our souls, as we begin this journey.” Later, the Bishop said, “In this whole process, we have to make hopes flourish… to stimulate trust, one with the other.”

The Bishop explained that during the Diocesan Phase there will be a series of listening sessions which will take place in each part of the Diocese in the coming months. The goal of these sessions is to discern the Word of God in Scripture, what those Words are saying to us while remembering the living Mission of the Church. Bishop Dewane said this process must be based on co-responsibility in the Church, or an accurate synthesis with what was said in a process that is transparent and fair.

The sessions are being planned to allow for the maximum opportunity for as many of the faithful to participate as possible. A complete schedule of the listening sessions will be announced soon.

A reception in the Cathedral Parish Hall was full of anticipation as those present expressed their excitement for the opportunity for the faithful to provide input in planning for the future of the Universal Catholic Church.

Bishop Dewane stressed that the entire process will last more than two years, with the local listening session focused on transparency as the Diocese will record each session to ensure all that is said is heard.

“We want people to speak out, and as the Holy Father likes to say, ‘the Catholic Church is a field hospital;’ we are meeting to start binding up wounds,” Bishop Dewane said. “We will be there to listen, and to do it with a warm heart. We will search for healing and will increase the regard for one another. It is the common mission that we share what is most important.”

The entire effort to gather input from Dioceses around the world is viewed by many Church observers as the most deliberate, long-term and long-range process of seeking input for any Synod up to this point.

“While what comes from our Diocese will go to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), we are not tasked with putting together a document. We are tasked to listen, to get input, put it together and ensure the points that are made at the Diocesan level.

For more details on the Synodal Process, please visit the Diocese of Venice website at a www.dioceseofevenice.org.

Mass to open Diocesan Phase of Synod

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Bishop Frank J. Dewane will inaugurate the beginning of the Diocesan Phase of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” with a Mass at 2:30 p.m., Sunday, October 17, at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave. in Venice.

“Approaching the beginning of the Synod, it is my prayer that the Synodal Process both in the Diocese and throughout the Universal Church may be guided by the Holy Spirit and bear abundant fruit,” Bishop Dewane said.

While Parishes throughout the Diocese were asked to send delegations to the Mass, all are welcome and encouraged to attend.

This Mass follows the direction of Pope Francis who called upon every Diocese in the world to hold such a Mass as the introduction to the Diocesan Phase of the Synod. By convening this Synod, Pope Francis invites the entire Church to reflect on a theme that is decisive for its life and mission: “It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium.”

During an opening Mass from the Vatican on Oct. 10, 2021, Pope Francis said that Catholics taking part in the synodal path should strive to “become experts in the art of encounter… as in taking time to encounter the Lord and one another… time to devote to prayer and … time to look others in the eye and listen to what they have to say, to build rapport, to be sensitive to the questions of our sisters and brothers, to let ourselves be enriched by the variety of charisms, vocations, and ministries.”

As part of the Diocesan Phase there will be a series of listening sessions which will take place in each part of the Diocese in the coming months. The sessions are being planned to allow for the maximum opportunity for the faithful to participate. A complete schedule of the listening sessions will be announced soon.

For more information, please visit www.dioceseofvenice.org.

 

 

News Briefs for the Week of Oct. 8, 2021

Posted on by Bob Reddy

Mass to Open Diocesan Phase of Synod

As a part of the XVI Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, and Mission,” Pope Francis has invited every Diocese in the world to inaugurate the beginning of the Synod with an opening Mass. In the Diocese of Venice, this opening Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Frank J. Dewane at 2:30 p.m., Oct. 17, 2021, at Epiphany Cathedral, 350 Tampa Ave., Venice. All are welcome and encouraged to attend this Mass. In this Diocesan Phase of the Synod, Catholics in the Diocese of Venice are encouraged to participate in listening sessions, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

Bishop meets Pope Francis

Bishop Frank J. Dewane had the opportunity to greet and meet with Pope Francis following the General Audience in the Vatican’s Pope Paul VI Hall on Sept. 29, 2021. Bishop Dewane spoke briefly with the Holy Father who in return asked about what is taking place in the Diocese of Venice. The Bishop was in Rome to witness the Ordination to the Transitional Diaconate of Diocesan Seminarian Christian Chami on Sept. 30, 2021.

Ministry of Acolyte conferred on Seminarian

Diocese of Venice Seminarian Jacob Gwynn was conferred to the Ministry of Acolyte on Sept. 26, 2021 at St. Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary in Boynton Beach. The principal celebrant for the Mass was Bishop Luis R. Zarama of the Diocese of Raleigh. As an Acolyte, Gwynn is now charged with assisting at the celebration of the Eucharist, purifying the sacred vessels and, when needed, to assist with the distribution of Holy Communion. As part of the Rite, the Bishop placed the paten, which contains the hosts for the celebration of Mass, in the hands of the candidate. He then said, “…take this vessel with bread for the celebration of the Eucharist. Make your life worthy of your service at the table of the Lord and of his Church.”

Blessing of the Animals

Many Diocesan Parishes and Schools hosted a Blessing of the Animals to celebrate the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi on Oct. 4, 2021. While many Parishes hosted the blessings during the preceding weekend, schools opted to either have the blessing before school or prior to the end of the day. The variety of animals was immense, from horses to hamsters, parrots to rabbits as well as nearly every assortment of dog and cat imaginable. It was evident that these creatures were well loved and an important part of each family.

Rosary making educates children

Kindergarten and first graders at St. Mary Catholic Academy in Sarasota used part of religion class on Sept. 29, 2021 to make rosaries. It was at that time the students learned how October is the month of the Holy Rosary and both October and May are months in which we give special honor to Mary, the mother of Jesus.

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