Participation: A call for the involvement of all who belong to the People of God – laity, consecrated and ordained – to engage in the exercise of deep and respectful listening to one another.
This listening creates space for us to hear the Holy Spirit together, and guides our aspirations for the Church of the Third Millennium.
Participation is based on the fact that all the faithful are qualified and are called to serve one another through the gifts they have each received from the Holy Spirit.
In a synodal Church the whole community, in the free and rich diversity of its members, is called together to pray, listen, analyse, dialogue, discern and offer advice on making pastoral decisions which correspond as closely as possible to God’s will (ICT, Syn., 67-68).
Genuine efforts must be made to ensure the inclusion of those at the margins or who feel excluded.
Our Journey Together Podcast
How do we achieve participation when everyone is so different? Michelle Moran and Fr Paschal Uche bring their insights to the huge potential for the Church when she lives her identity as the active body of Christ.