Global Synod Proposals

Pope Francis called for a global Synod in the Spring of 2021, initially calling for every diocese to gather concerns and aspirations from the laity from October 2021 through April 2022. In late 2021, the Vatican extended the time frame for diocesan “listening sessions” to August 15, 2022.

Bishop Burns announced plans for a local Synod on the future of the Diocese of Dallas on Ash Wednesday 2021 in a 14-page pastoral letter. The timeline called for the Dallas Synod to run from late 2021 to 2024, with implementation continuing until 2031. The abuse crisis is not mentioned in Bishop Burns’ pastoral letter.
The Diocese of Dallas launched its Synod with four two-hour, in-person “Catechetical Sessions” (November 30, 2021, January 8, January 20 and February 15, 2022). The Diocese elected to collect from attendees their thoughts on Pope Francis’s synodal questions during a short small-table discussion in each Catechetical Session. It is unclear if the four sessions will allow for meaningful discussion of the abuse crisis and what the Diocese and the greater church are doing to increase transparency, training and accountability.
The Diocese approach is missing an opportunity to listen to the laity and ensure that their concerns regarding the abuse crisis are passed on to the Vatican. The Diocesan Synod should also include active, specific listening and discussion of the ongoing abuse crisis. To this end, TCAT has:
- Delivered a letter to the Bishop on November 3, 2021, noting the apparent lack of an expressed, dedicated effort to collect lay insights for the Global Synod, and offering to assist by, e.g., organizing a specific listening session on the abuse crisis.
- Hearing nothing in response to the letter, TCAT members attended the January 8th Catechetical Session, and afterward appealed to the Dallas Synod Preparatory Committee, which allowed TCAT to submit specific insights in writing directly to the Committee for consideration.
- TCAT continues to urge the Diocese to expressly include the Church’s response to the abuse crisis in at least one of the Dallas Listening Sessions, and has asked that not all Listening Sessions be in Church settings, which may re-traumatize or deter abuse survivors, along with others who feel hurt or alienated by the Church, such as divorced persons, LGBTQ persons, and estranged Catholics. At the February 15 Catechetical Session, Bishop Burns indicated that there would be a few non-Church settings offered, such as “gymnasiums and even hotels.” The Diocese has published a general schedule of 10 listening sessions, and is accepting registrations, but most sessions do not yet have locations assigned.