The final Mass at St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City. Photography by Fiona Basile.

“The Synod journey is far from over; in some ways an important new phase is only beginning. But we are much better equipped … this doesn’t mean we have a detailed road-map; but Abrahamic journeys never do. They require instead a listening of another and deeper kind.”

27 October 2015, by Archbishop Coleridge.

Into St Peter’s we marched yesterday to close the Synod that had opened three weeks ago. It seemed like three months. When I made it to my place and sat down, I felt a fatigue come over me – probably the let-down after the intensity and sheer hard work of the Synod journey. Then I felt a tap on my shoulder, thinking it was either my guardian angel or an MC telling me I was in the wrong place. But no: it was the Australian Ambassador to the Holy See who’d been sitting in the front row in all his finery and then saw me take my place. He needed to speak with me. Under Pope Francis, it seems, diplomatic formalities aren’t what they used to be. No one stays in their proper place any more. All these surprises can be exhausting. Continue reading →

Synod venue, Paul Vi Hall

By Archbishop Coleridge

We’ve just completed the first morning of the 3-week marathon.  There was lots of milling around before we actually started – greeting those you know, finding your place in the Synod Hall, sorting through the documentation, making sure you know how the technology works (microphone and voting device).

It turns out I’m sitting next to the Georges Pontier, Archbishop of Marseilles (on my right), and on my left Romulo Valles, Archbishop of Davao, Philippines, who’s an old mate of mine.  Just in front of us are what’s called the fraternal delegates, which means the representatives of the other Churches.  I was chatting to the Anglican rep, the Bishop of Truro, who is a rugby fan and was mortified by the Wallabies defeat of England.  I was of course suitably jubilant, and all he could do was remind me of the Ashes, which did tend to slow me down a bit. Continue reading →