On Sunday, October 17, 2021, we joined the churches around to world to begin our part in the Synod 2021-2023, For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation, Mission. I appointed Brother Silas Henderson, S.D.S., and Sister Lois Paha, O.P., as the cochairs of this project. They assembled a steering committee and proceeded to conduct the first phase of the Synod process, namely, the diocesan listening sessions that occurred from November 2021 through February 2022. We were able to host more than two thousand people, including youth and young adults, in more than one hundred and thirty listening sessions in both English and Spanish! We have now completed that portion of the task and submitted our synthesis of the listening sessions to Region 13 of the United Stated Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) as required. A copy of the document is included in the link below.
Some themes and topics that emerged include a desire for faith formation, enhanced communication, accountability, attention to youth and young adults, preaching, reverent celebration of the liturgy, attention to those on the margin of society, and seeking a welcoming church community. Our hope is to work together to address these concerns as we embrace the pastoral care of the people of God in our extraordinary Dioceses of Tucson.
Thank you to all who participated in any way through your prayer, your voice, and your continued love for the Church. Together let us pray for the ongoing work that the entire Church will take up for the Synod in Rome in October 2023.
+Bishop Edward J. Weisenburger
Read the Diocese of Tucson's Document Here!