Towards Synod 2024 Opening: October and beyond!

The Instrumentum Laboris (Working Document) for the second Assembly of the Synod, October 2024, published on 9 July, sets the tone and expectations for the Assembly.

A key question for Catholics is: Will it be enough to restore credibility and confidence in an ailing church and reverse the rapidly declining engagement with Mass and the sacraments?

Catholics across the globe have expressed their concerns and desires in copious submissions over the past six years. Will those heart-felt expressions be heard and acted on.

Continuing the pattern of moderated conversations in table groups, the outcomes of this gathering will, in effect, be a test of the synodal process and the quality of Catholic leadership.

Massimo Faggioli, PhD, Professor of Theology and Religious Studies, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, is a leading authority on the history and administrative inner workings of the Catholic Church with specific expertise in the papacy, Vatican II, the Roman Curia, liturgical reform, new

Catholic movements and on Catholicism and global politics. Frequently featured in the national and international media, Professor Faggioli is a respected commentator on theological, religious and Church-related issues ranging from the historical to the contemporary.

Facilitator John Warhurst AO is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at ANU, Canberra. He was the founding Chair of Concerned Catholics Canberra Goulburn and a member of the Plenary Council (2021-22).