Contributors

Br Martin Kenneally looks at the relevance of the vocation of the religious brother in the Church and world today against the backdrop of the Church’s Synod.

“I ponder the person of Mary. I did so as a pupil. I do so as a pensioner. And I pray about her. I say prayers to her. I even love as problematic a petition as the ‘Hail, Holy Queen’, because it tells a huge part of our story, its melodic desolation, so consolingly” – reflections on Mary with poet Aidan Mathews.

Rafael Luciani, a theologian based in America, describes how synodality has become the most effective antidote to clericalism – a practice he feels has consistently arrested collaborative
growth and justice in the Church.

The Francis pontificate is itself the fruit of a synodal process (the Latin American Bishops 2007 assembly at Aparecida, Brazil) and the implementation and reinvigoration of synodality is one of its central aims, writes Dr Austen Ivereigh.

Mary Magdalene, a woman who followed Jesus and ministered with him, was among the first to be commissioned by him to preach the good news, writes Sr Barbara E. Reid.

Professor Renée Köhler-Ryan is on the Board of Directors of Mary Aikenhead Educational Ministries and is a member of the Mission and Identity Committee for Sydney Catholic Schools. She is also a delegate for the Plenary Council of Australia.

“As the term synodal pathway suggests, the imagery of pilgrimage is key to grasping the significance of what the Church is trying to accomplish,” writes Paschal Scallon CM.

“There has been a real quality of quiet consolation for those who have taken part in the Irish experience of synodality to date, which is echoed in global reports,” writes Fr Gerry O’Hanlon, SJ.