By Archbishop Coleridge

This afternoon we finally moved into the small groups, which was a bit messy but refreshing.  I say messy because the first challenge was to find the room where your group was to meet.  That may sound easy, but (with 4 English groups, 3 French, 3 Italian, 2 Spanish-Portuguese and 1 German) it wasn’t.  

Having found the room, the challenge was then to find enough space in the room to accommodate the 20+ people in the “small” group.  As well as the Synod bishops, there were experts, auditors and ecumenical reps.  It was definitely economy rather than business class.  Keep the elbows down. Continue reading →

By Archbishop Coleridge

The video accompanying this post gives you a sense of the Synod Hall just before we began work this morning.  It’s time to meet and mingle – and you can see Pope Francis up the front shaking a few hands.  I was too busy videoing to head his way: later.  You can hear the PA at the end telling us all to take our seats in the Hall: stop the chatter and start praying before working.

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Pope Francis chats with bishops during day two of Synod on the Family.

By Archbishop Coleridge

The sun rises on Synod Day two.  In the afternoon yesterday we began the long haul of the 3-minute interventions, with Cardinal Vingt-Trois beginning with the very lengthy list of those who’d been called to speak.  The two Kiwis and I were among those called, so we all rushed to our bag to find our text, hoping we hadn’t left it back at the house.

The procession of speeches was rapid-fire compared with earlier Synods where they were longer.  Many of the speakers – including myself remarkably – were under the 3-minute limit.  I must have spoken faster than I planned.  But it’s hard to be substantial in such a short space: you can certainly say something, but it has to be very concise.  Bit like a Tweet. Continue reading →

Bishop Hurley at Paul Vi Hall, the #Synod2015 venue

Australia’s Archbishop Mark Coleridge and Bishop Eugene Hurley are preparing to speak at the Synod on the Family in Rome.

On Sunday 4^th October, the Australian representatives lodged what’s called the petitio loquendi, which means a request to speak for three minutes at the Synod in Paul VI Hall at the Vatican.

The XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops commenced on Sunday 4^th October with an opening Mass in St Peter’s Basilica celebrated by Pope Francis who will lead the Synod over the next three weeks until it concludes on Sunday 25^th October. Continue reading →

Archbishop Coleridge in his vestments for the Pope’s opening Mass of #Synod2015 with clergy from all over the world

By Archbishop Coleridge

Just in from the Opening Mass of the Synod which was a tremendous occasion – not quite the NRL Grand Final (which must have been really something) but up there nonetheless.

Pope Francis gave one of those quietly spoken but powerful homilies of his, drawing upon biblical readings which were uncannily suited to the opening of this Synod. He spoke tellingly about loneliness and the way in which God provides love, especially married love, as the true antidote to this disease of the human heart. That’s what people need to find in a Church whose doors are never closed because, if they were, the Church would betray herself. Continue reading →

A rooftop view of Rome from Maria Bambina over looking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican. Archbishop Coleridge invites everyone to ‘journey with us in prayer’ on the eve of the Synod.

 

Accommodation during #Synod2015

By Archbishop Coleridge

From our different temporary lodgings, Bishop Hurley and I arrived at Maria Bambina this morning at about 9am, and an hour later we set off to the Synod Hall to lodge what’s called the “petitio loquendi”, which means our request to speak (for three minutes!) at the Synod.

We’re only a stone’s throw away from the Synod Hall but it was quite an effort to get there. A huge crowd was waiting to get into the Audience Hall (just beneath the Synod Hall) to meet with Pope Francis at 11.30am. So we had to go via the cape: nothing is simple or straightforward in Rome. Continue reading →

St Peter’s Basilica in Rome

By Archbishop Coleridge

Rome is a city that juggles fixity and flux, changelessness and change, being and becoming.  It’s a place that holds together past and present, with an unusual capacity to adapt while keeping a core intact.

The historic monuments are everywhere, but the city is vibrant and contemporary.  That’s part of what it means to call Rome “eternal”.  What’s true of this city is true of the Church, especially as we look to #Synod2015.

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