Now that the local phase of the Synod of Bishops is complete, the Diocese has submitted its report to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The report summarizes the feedback Catholics provided on such topics as the Mission of the Church; Catholic Faith and Parish Communities; Education, Formation, and Evangelization; Youth and Young Adults; Vocations and the Priesthood; Laity and the Church; and Culture and Communications.
The report can be viewed on the diocese’s Synod website.
The Synod website also includes other information on the Synod, including a sampling of comments received on a wide variety of topics.
The Bishops Conference will use the reports submitted by dioceses around the country to write a national summary, which will be forwarded to Rome for use at Pope Francis’s Synod of Bishops meeting in October 2023.
Meanwhile, the Diocese of Allentown will use the responses it received to help meet the spiritual and sacramental needs of the faithful.
Responding to the Pope’s call for each bishop around the world to listen to members of his flock, Bishop Alfred Schlert called for a robust Synod process to gather input from people across the five counties of the Diocese. The local Synod began in October 2021.
With the help of 174 Synod Ambassadors representing parishes, schools, and other ministries throughout the five-county Diocese, there were 65 listening sessions, in which about 3,800 people shared their observations. In addition, 2,425 others opted to fill out written surveys.
The Synod gathered a broad range of comments on issues important to Catholics today, including from those who are marginalized or have fallen away from the Church.
