by Megan Trotter | staff writer
March 31, 2022
The Spiritan Campus Ministry Center answers Pope Francis’ call by holding two upcoming Synod Listening Sessions on April 4 and April 7 at 7:30 p.m. for anyone to attend.
In October 2021, Pope Francis opened a synod which called for the world to gather and listen collectively. This year is special because the synod is open to everyone’s input, rather than just to bishops as is typical with important religious councils.
“Synod” means to journey and walk together in Greek. These meetings have been done throughout history as a way for the Catholic Church to ensure that everyone is on their religious journey together.
The theme for this year’s synod is “For a Synodal Church: Communion, Participation and Mission.”
Since such a huge event is open to the public, Spiritan Campus Ministries encourages students to respond to the invitation and to prepare and think about the topics to share their thoughts.
The sessions will be held in the Spiritan Campus Ministry Center on the second floor of Towers.
In the spirit of “walking together,” Campus Ministries has gone out of its way to invite special moderators as well as people who might feel they struggle to have their voice heard in the church.
“All are welcome to attend, no matter what denomination,” the website said.
This particular event is important because it allows people from Catholic universities worldwide to participate.
“Schools are one of the key areas where the Catholic Church is ‘traveling together’ with people of many other faith traditions,” said Fr. Bill Christy, Director of Spiritan Campus Ministry, in an email.
For Duquesne students, this is the chance to be a part of an event where their voices will be heard and reflected upon.
After each listening session, the moderator will make a report using student responses to be submitted to the Diocese of Pittsburgh. The results are then sent from the Diocese to the Vatican for Pope Francis to look over.
Pope Francis’ goal for the synod is to figure out the best way to continue to proclaim the Gospel in today’s day and age.
The Pope proposed these three questions for discussion as part of the synod: “What does it mean for a community to walk together? What does walking together look like today in our community? What steps does the spirit invite us to take to grow in our walking together?”
“Let’s do this together! No one gets excluded or left behind,” the website said.
