Synod

A Diocesan Synod is an important event in the life of a Diocese in which Bishop, priests and lay-people come together in a spirit of prayer to discern together what God is asking of His Church in our Diocese and will help us to live out our calling to be Missionary Disciples.

The Vision of our Diocesan Synod is:

To enable true collaboration between the clergy and laity at diocesan and parish level by truly listening to each other.

To discern what the Holy Spirit is saying to the Church in Salford at this next stage of our journey.

It is important to remember that our Diocesan Synod is entirely distinct from the Universal Synod, called by Pope Francis. For more information on this, please click here.

Continuing our Journey

Our synodal journey reached a pivotal point in spring 2025 as members gathered to vote on its final recommendations. You can read the final recommendations here.

• For two years, thousands of parishioners, clergy, and people across the diocese prayerfully discerned what the Holy Spirit was asking of our diocese in the modern world, exploring everything from engaging young people, and the role of lay people and women, to responding to the practical needs of those in our parish communities, supporting clergy, reaching out to people beyond the pews, and more. Those taking part brought their thoughts to meaningful group discussions that culminated in a list of 40 recommendations across four themes:

• Leadership & Collaboration

• Spirituality & Formation

• Young People & Schools

• Community & Outreach.

All 40 recommendations were presented to members in a final moment of discernment in March, after which members voted to reorder these recommendations to create a list of priorities to form our Pastoral Plan.

These recommendations were presented to Bishop John in a prayerful service of thanksgiving, during which the bishop reminded us that underpinning all of our discernment and decision making must be the mandate to love both God and neighbour. He said:

“That opens up a real sense of freedom. Circumstances change all the time and you have to be open to the possibilities of love. We’ve got to recognise what God is asking us to do each day, as well as the opportunities he’s giving us to love our neighbour. “In our changing world, we’ve got to accommodate the world in which we live so that we may have as many Gospel values in the reality of our lives, and that’s why the Synod is so important.”

Following the presentation of the recommendations, focus groups consisting of lay parishioners, clergy, catechists, teachers, and more, were appointed for each of the themes, to explore and discern all of our prioritised recommendations and to submit proposals before the close of the year. Through these proposals, concrete action can begin to take place throughout this year, realising our vision of a missionary Church, motivated by love and service to all in our diocesan community.