'Interesting time' for Catholic church as synod winds down, Sudbury theologian says
CBC
Theologian Christopher Duncanson-Hales said Pope Francis' apology to residential school survivors was the "high point" of a recent visit, but there is still more work to be done in the journey towards reconciliation with Indigenous people.
And part of that work will come in the form of a synod, which could signal a sharp turn in the direction of the church, Duncanson-Hales said. In 2021, the pope called for the synod – a Catholic council or gathering usually to determine an item of doctrine.
The goal is to lay the groundwork for a more grassroots, or ground-up approach to setting church doctrine than was done in the past, Duncanson-Hales said.
"We all have to look deeply and see what it means to be a Catholic in a church, what it means to be Christian in a church, what it means to even be Canadian in how we treat Indigenous people," Duncanson-Hales said.
"We really have to wrestle with that. And that's what it means to be a synodal church."
As part of the synod process, dioceses will be issuing their own reports and thoughts about the church's path, which Duncanson-Hales will compile to get a sense of what direction churches are hoping to take.
As those reports from Catholic dioceses trickle in, Duncanson-Hales said he's been intrigued by what they contain.
"As a lay Catholic, I don't just sit in the pews. I'm always looking and thinking about what it means to be a church within my own area of research, that sort of thing," Duncanson-Hales said. "Any good academic project starts with a curiosity."
"But you can see some patterns that are emerging here, I'm seeing patterns," he said. "But again, I don't want to prejudge it. I want to see what comes in first and I want the whole process."
"With a pilgrimage, the whole process kind of has to unfold before you can see where you're going to put those little pieces."
According to the Vatican's web site, one of the goals if the 2021-23 synod is:
"The ability to imagine a different future for the Church and her institutions, in keeping with the mission she has received, depends largely on the decision to initiate processes of listening, dialogue, and community discernment, in which each and every person can participate and contribute."
Also expected to emerge from these reports is a recognition of the church's role in sexual abuse scandals and the horrors of residential schools, he said.
"You're seeing that, and in large part by the Canadian bishops, because of the discovery of the unmarked graves and the outrage that came from ordinary Catholics."
A patient at Saskatoon’s Royal University Hospital died Friday morning after what the Saskatchewan Health Authority described as a "physical altercation" with hospital security officers.
The B.C. River Forecast Centre is issuing a high streamflow advisory for much of B.C.'s coast, including the south and north coasts, north and west Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii.
Both of P.E.I.’s opposition party leaders used the same word to describe the findings of an audit into misspending at Health P.E.I. — disappointing.
A former Alberta energy minister says a proposed bitumen pipeline to the northwest B.C. coast is unlikely to materialize if Canada relies on the private sector alone to build it.
Members of Toronto's Iranian community rallied on Friday in support of anti-government protests in Iran.
Yukoners who already have a family doctor now have another option to access same-day, non-emergency care — the Whitehorse walk-in clinic.
Conservative Party members are pressing their leader to adopt a number of controversial policy positions including private health care, scrapping Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies and abandoning the party's previous position to stay out of the abortion debate.
A former Alberta energy minister says a proposed bitumen pipeline to the northwest B.C. coast is unlikely to materialize if Canada relies on the private sector alone to build it.
A Mississauga man has won a Superior Court challenge against the city over a weed control bylaw that prevents homeowners from growing some plants and grass over a certain height.
Barriers are in place and light installation is underway along Summerside’s East-West Housing Corridor — but officials say not for much longer.
A judge gave a four year, two-month sentence Friday to a Calgary woman who twice fled to the UK to avoid being sent to prison for stealing nearly $2-million from her employer.
The federal government is sending the military to help Pimicikamak Cree Nation after a days-long power outage led to damage to hundreds of homes and the evacuation of thousands of people.
A 47-year-old Pond Inlet, Nunavut, man faces several charges after allegedly assaulting a woman and ramming a house with an all-terrain vehicle in the Baffin Island hamlet.