Bondings 2.0 Heads to Rome for the Synod!
A week from today, Bondings 2.0 editor Francis DeBernardo and I will begin reporting live from Rome on the Synod on Synodality’ first global assembly. Throughout this multi-year process, LGBTQ+ issues have been a recurring priority for the people of God.
We will provide regular updates on LGBTQ-related developments, as well as commentaries from theologians right here on the blog. If you don’t already subscribe to this blog, you can do so by clicking here and submitting your email address. It’s free, and this way you won’t miss any of our posts.
New Ways Ministry will also be hosting some programs that may help you better understand what many consider the greatest Catholic event since Vatican II in the 1960s. We also have some online resources (see below) that may help you, too.
Upcoming Programs
We will hold two virtual programs—one at the Synod assembly’s midpoint and one a retrospective after the assembly ends.
Live from Rome! A Mid-Synod Conversation
Wednesday, October 18, 2023, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time
At the assembly’s halfway point, join a conversation with New Ways Ministry’s Francis DeBernardo and Robert Shine, who will be in Rome all month covering the Synod assembly and helping ensure LGBTQ+ Catholic concerns are heard. They will share a brief presentation on the latest LGBTQ-related developments, along with their general impressions. True to being a synodal church, this conversation also includes plenty of time for participants’ questions and comments, too. For more information and to register, click here.
The Synod & LGBTQ+ People: What Happened?
Early November 2023
After the Synod on Synodality’s first global assembly concludes, join New Ways Ministry in reflecting on what happened in this latest stage when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues and where we go from here as we continue the “journeying together” to which Pope Francis has invited us. The event will be held in early November over Zoom. Specific details will be released in the coming weeks. If you would like to be updated when more information becomes available, please complete the interest form by clicking here.
Synod on Synodality Resources
New Ways Ministry offers a number of resources to help LGBTQ+ people and allies engage the synodal process through our series, “From the Margins to the Center.” Included in the series are:
- A record of Synod assembly participants’ public statements and actions on LGBTQ+ issues—supportive, negative, and everything in between, available here.
- Past webinars in this series, including an historic address by Sr. Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, undersecretary of the Synod, to LGBTQ+ Catholics and allies, and a panel on global LGBTQ+ Catholic perspectives
- New Ways Ministry’s report for the Synod drawn from listening sessions that involved more than 1,000 participants interested in Catholic LGBTQ+ issues
All of New Ways Ministry’s resources related to the Synod on Synodality can be found by clicking here.
Supporting New Ways Ministry’s Synod Work
The blog is a free resource. Please help support this special project of providing coverage from Rome by making a donation here.
—Robert Shine (he/him), New Ways Ministry, September 26, 2023
Hopefully we will not reduce our reflections to gossip or disrespect Francis’ request for the privacy of the synod conversations.