Professor Myriam Wijlens is a theologian and church lawyer who is playing a pivotal role in advising the global synod process. She understands church reform: how it happens, what is possible, and what isn’t possible and was one of the first women called to be involved in the synod organising committee.

In this episode, she takes me through what has happened in the synod so far, including the groundbreaking reforms Pope Francis made to allow women to vote in the forthcoming October assembly. Myriam, a Dutch theologian who teaches in Germany, explains that this change did not come about in a vacuum but is a natural next step given the involvement of women in the synod so far.

The significant shifts in the synod, she says, are taking place in the way the church is making decisions and in reforms to its internal culture, moving away from a top-down model, to a bottom-up approach. A novelty of the synod, Myriam stressed, is that it started at the grassroots, of “where people live their faith.”

During our discussions, she also addressed the questions of the German synod and the possibility of female deacons but emphasised that reforms had to take place in a gradual, step-by-step manner.

“A change is coming about, and it’s a change in mentality,” she says. “Did anyone expect in October 2021 that 18 months later that women could vote in the next synod? It’s quite something.”

Finally, addressing some of the fears and scepticism about the synod, particularly from those in the hierarchy, Myriam stressed that the “bishops who have stepped into the process, and walked with the people, now feel that this has been an enrichment for the way they exercise their episcopal ministry.” She offers some great insights throughout our discussion.

Producer: Silvia Sacco

Editor: Jamie Weston

In our annual Teilhard seminar, Dr Carmody Grey explores ‘Life’ in the Human and the Nonhuman: Theology and Phenomenology.

Links

Transcript: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ixaskp4ll4oxbvsd8105z/Teilhard-Lecture-Carmody-Grey-26th-May-2023.docx?dl=0&rlkey=cjfpipiiiqhjjgvm90se7uvow

Slides: https://www.dropbox.com/s/tfcgjkqj1l9q8hv/Plessner%20and%20Scheler.pdf?dl=0

Supported by the British Teilhard Network, held in partnership with Durham University's Catholic Chaplaincy

This is Season 2, Episode 3 of The Church's Radical Reform, a podcast on the synodal movement presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and a PhD student at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University. The podcast is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies and The Tablet.

The synod discussions, whether in Asia, Latin America or Europe, have repeatedly called for the greater involvement of women in church decision-making. Across the world, women are the bedrock of parishes and communities, but the message from the synod is that they often feel invisible. As a result, the synod assembly in the Vatican in Rome in October 2023 will include women as voting members for the first time.

But what does synodal, female leadership look like in the Church? In this episode, I talk to Christine Allen the Director of Cafod, the Catholic aid agency for the Church in England and Wales. It was founded by a group of Catholic women in 1960 and has since grown into an organisation which helps some of the most vulnerable communities worldwide. Christine is Cafod’s first female director.

In this discussion, I talk to Christine about the synod process and the need to “trumpet the leadership of women” in the church that is already going on. She suggests the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales pull together a round table of women to discuss female leadership as part of the ongoing synod process.

She talks about breaking down clericalism, women deacons and how Cafod is an example of synodality being put into action.

Producer: Silvia Sacco

Editor: Jamie Weston

Credible leadership is a critical feature of the synodal journey with Catholics across the globe calling for lay women and men to be more involved in decision-making. The synod is pointing to a renewed model, away from the top-down, command and-control style of the past to one which includes diverse voices and charisms in forging the future mission of the Church.

In this episode, I talk to Lord McDonald, who was in charge of the British Diplomatic Service from 2015-2022, about his new book Leadership: Lessons from a Life in Diplomacy. Lord McDonald looks at what makes for a successful leader today and how to navigate the unprecedented scrutiny and pressures experienced by those in senior roles.

Pope Francis has stressed that the synod listening process must “pass beyond the 3 or 4 per cent that are closest to us” and “broaden” its range. The interview with Lord McDonald took place in that spirit, with the former ambassador talking about how he grew up as a Catholic, although he is no longer an active member of the Church.

Nevertheless, he offers some fascinating insights into the reform process that Francis has begun, reflecting on the complexities of reforming a historic institution and his experiences in seeking a fairer representation of women in the Foreign Office. When it comes to leading, however, some things remain the same. Lord McDondald points out that good leaders have the courage to make bold decisions, stay humble, operate with a clear authority structure and have a strong team around them.

This podcast series is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies at the University of Durham.

Executive Producer: Silvia Sacco

Editor: Jamie Weston

Climate, Covid, Conflict: Can Catholic Social Teaching show us the way through the storm?

This is Season 2, Episode 1 of The Church's Radical Reform, a podcast on the synodal movement presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and a PhD student at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University. The podcast is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies and The Tablet.

In this episode, we hear from Timothy Costelloe, Archbishop of Perth, who is President of the Australian Bishops’ Conference and part of the team preparing the global synod summit. As a senior figure in the Australian Catholic Church, he has been deeply involved in synodality, and what it means for the Church. An expert listener, he is an example of a bishop who adopts and lives the synod style of the Church.

Archbishop Tim explains how the synod process can revitalise the Church globally and in Australia, but that it is not something that is going to happen overnight. In the face of a decline in religious practice in the West, Archbishop Tim wants a Church that can re-connect with a younger generation and consider adopting a “preferential option of the young.”

But he also addresses the claim from the late Australian Cardinal George Pell that the synod is a “nightmare” and reflects on ten years of the Francis papacy. Archbishop Tim says that this Pope is reminding the Church that Jesus wasn’t someone who just taught the truth; he also showed the way in his interactions with the people. He pointed out that the only people Jesus strongly criticised were the religious authorities of the day — and it's the same group of people trying to undermine Francis.

Executive Producer: Silvia Saccco

Producer: Jamie Weston

Polarisation presents one of the biggest challenges to the unity of the Church, which is far from immune to the political divisions that have become writ large across our political culture. Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa, the preacher to the papal household, has pointed out that fraternity among Catholics has been “wounded” by “political options that grow into ideologies.”

In this episode, Christopher Lamb explores whether the synod process can become a counterweight to polarisation. Proponents argue that synods offer a safe space for disagreements to be aired and a way for believers to deepen the faith that binds them together. David McCallum, a Jesuit working in Rome and who runs a leadership programme in the Church, says the synod offers a model for exercising authority in an entirely different way from what we see among some populist political leaders. Synodality, he says, can ensure that harmony emerges from a radical diversity of opinions expressed within a set of parameters that maintain the Church’s unity.

Not everyone agrees. Dr Gavin Ashenden, a former Church of England priest and Catholic commentator, is worried that the synod is being used to pursue a progressive agenda. He believes the cultural crisis the world is living in demands the Church interrogate the zeitgeist; otherwise, it risks following the “spirit of the age” and diluting its prophetic voice. Dr Ashenden stresses he’s not opposed to synodality as a concept. However, he relates his experience from his ministry in the Church of England as a warning to the Catholic Church, which he joined because it offers a “profound, worked out wisdom” in responding to the challenges of the age. The Church, he adds, must offer stability.

Finally, Gerry O’Hanlon, an ecclesiologist, synod expert and former superior of the Jesuits in Ireland, argues that the synod process has been a hopeful experience for the Church in Ireland. Despite the disagreements that it has unleashed, O’Hanlon says that this period of history demands that institutions engage in “open speech” and not hide away from contested areas of disagreement. He also offers a powerful example of how the synod model can be utilised to heal the wounds caused by the scourge of the clerical sexual abuse crisis.

This is the eighth episode of The Church's Radical Reform, a podcast on the synodal movement presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and a PhD student at the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University. The podcast is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies and The Tablet.

Producers:

Silvia Sacco

Jamie Weston

Dr Suzanna Ivanič speaks on the topic of "Iconoclasm at Christmas: Catholic Visual Culture in the Heart of Europe, c. 1600" for the Ushaw Lecture Series.

A commonly held fear about the synod process is that it will allow division and disagreement to veer out of control. Several bishops and priests don’t wish to engage with synodality as they worry it will disrupt the peace.

Is this fear justified? In this episode, I go inside a synod gathering in Sydney, Australia, where an explosive moment of disagreement almost derailed the whole process. Halfway through the Catholic Church in Australia’s plenary council assembly, a vote on the equal dignity of men and women in the Church failed to pass. There was a protest among some of the members and the threat of a walkout.

But then something remarkable took place. The gathering re-grouped, and a new motion on the role of women was formulated and later agreed upon. The moment of crisis became the turning point for renewal, and the plenary council ended up passing a series of motions that opens a new chapter for the Church in Australia.

This episode features interviews with several of those involved in the synod, including women leaders and Archbishop Mark Coleridge, who helped spearhead the process. The experience in Australia offers a valuable lesson for the rest of the Church: don’t be afraid.

This is Episode 7 of The Church's Radical Reform, the first podcast series on "synodality", which is telling the story of the reform process. The series is presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is the Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and is a doctoral researcher in synodality at the Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University. The series is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University in partnership with The Tablet.

Producers: Silvia Sacco and Jamie Weston

If you read some of the commentaries about the German synodal pathway, you might be forgiven for believing that the Church in Germany is planning a second Reformation.

Der Synodale Weg, “the synodal path”, has faced heavy criticism for the way it is approaching the question of reform. The Germans have decided to focus on the use of power, women in ministry, priestly existence and Catholic sexual teaching. A majority of the assembly has indicated they are in favour of changes such as female ordination, married priests, same-sex partnerships and giving the laity more of a say in choosing bishops. All of this has led to charges that the Germans are causing a schism in the Church.

But is this true? In this episode, I spoke to two people involved in the process. One of them Lukas Nusser is aged 21 and a student, who is one of the youngest members of the synodal path. The other Bishop Franz-Josef Overbeck leads the Diocese of Essen, a community of around 1 million Catholics in the Ruhr region of Germany.

Both of them talked about how the German synodal path sought to tackle a crisis in the Church caused by sex abuse and rapid secularisation. Der Synodale Weg, they argued, is an attempt to help the Church become a more credible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And they both insisted it’s not about causing a schism.

This is Episode 6 of The Church's Radical Reform, the first podcast series on "synodality", which is telling the story of the reform process. The series is presented by Christopher Lamb. Christopher is the Vatican Correspondent for The Tablet and is a doctoral researcher in synodality at the Centre for Catholic Studies, Durham University. The series is sponsored by the Centre for Catholic Studies at Durham University in partnership with The Tablet.

Producers: Silvia Sacco and Jamie Weston