ROOT AND BRANCH SYNOD
Cardinal Vincent Nichols has assured the organisers of the Root & Branch synod of his prayers for the success of their meeting. The pro-reform group Root and Branch is to hold a week-long synod on the role of women and reform in the Catholic Church. The event, which is the first laydirected gathering of its kind, is set to take place in Bristol from 5-12 September.
The synod, for which tickets will be available globally online, will include discussions on topics such as equality, LGBT+ rights in the Church, and lay synodality; all centred around the four main themes of: inclusion, diversity, moral theology and authority. The week-long synod will include keynote speeches from Mary McAleese, former President of Ireland and canon lawyer; writer and journalist James Carroll, who has written in favour of abolishing the priesthood in The Atlantic; and the human rights lawyer Baroness Helena Kennedy QC.
Mary McAleese will base her speech around the quote: “There is no synodality without freedom of speech.”
(The Tablet)




