The CTSA has been asked to send delegates to an upcoming Synodal conversation convened by an ad hoc USCCB sub-committee (Peter Casarella of Duke University, Kristin Colberg of St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN, and Alessandro Rovati of Belmont Abbey University). They have been tasked by the USCCB Synodal Coordinating Committee with producing a brief report that summarizes the reflections of theologians in the United States on the Synod’s Interim Stage. The point of the departure is the Synod’s Synthesis Report, which makes reference to selected theological topics throughout.
Like the listening sessions in which our members participated last May and June at the invitation of Bishop Daniel Flores, the committee has also invited members from other North American theological guilds and will be following the listening session model (no recording of the sessions). They note that "together with the responses of the canonists, these gleanings will be integrated into a final USCCB interim report in preparation for the next session of the Synod in Rome," and that "other larger groups working on more generic questions like Ecumenical Concerns, Participation, Vocations, and Social Justice are also following this model within the same, very limited time frame." The session will be held Monday March 11, 7-9 pm ET, and Bishop Flores, head of the Synodal Team at the USCCB, will join as a participant in the session. With their apologies for the last-minute nature of the invitation (they received the task quite late in the game and then initially recruited smaller numbers but now have space for more) they strongly encourage your participation. To do so, please fill out the registration form by Friday, March 8th: (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScW1ZnJJe2HEuLtC4Wnlqp_nNPHjNSDKMMbxqkLxTeqdSxA9w/viewform).
Thank you for considering bringing your theological expertise to bear in this way at this important juncture in the life of our church.
