Synod 2022: Statement from Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh

Archbishop Leo Cushley

Source: Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh

Archbishop Leo Cushley issued the following statement this week.

The Holy Father's desire to embark upon a synodal process was announced at a time when the Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh was involved in a process of renewal and deeper reflection on the sources of our identity as a Church.

The Holy Father's initiative has enriched this already ongoing and necessary process and has given it a decisive focus around the themes of communion, participation, and mission. For this I am immensely grateful, and I am confident that the work done in preparation for the 2023 Synod will, in due course, bear fruit in this Archdiocese.

I take this opportunity to thank the clergy and laity who collaborated in facilitating and implementing the synodal process in our Archdiocese. In particular, I should like to single out Sr Anna Marie McGuan RSM, and Frs John Deighan, Samuel Burke OP, William McQuillan, Andrew Kingham, and Michael John Galbraith.

Moreover, I extend my thanks to Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh all of whom gave generously of their time and talents. Finally, I am indebted to the parishes of St Francis Xavier, Falkirk, St Mary's Catholic Cathedral, Edinburgh, St Mary's, Bathgate, St David's, Dalkeith, and St Margaret's, Dunfermline for hosting synodal deanery meetings. I offer my heartfelt gratitude to the people and the serving priests of those communities.

The Synodal process has brought to the fore many challenges and opportunities for this Archdiocese. Three immediate avenues of response present themselves. First, this Archdiocese has already done much to promote an authentic participation of the laity in the Church. One important way has been in the expansion of the board of trustees, which runs the Archdiocese civilly, and which now enjoys a substantial majority of professional and high qualified lay men and women.

There is however more to be done, and what has been achieved needs to be properly communicated to our people. This, I hope and pray, will foster a greater confidence between the laity and clergy and enable them both to discern how best to offer their gifts and talents in the service of the Lord and His Church.

Secondly, anxieties were expressed by some of those who participated in the synodal process about historical safeguarding issues in the Archdiocese. In recent years the Archdiocese has invested intensively in training personnel to the highest and best standards.

The most stringent and up-to-date protocols and procedures have been adopted and applied. There is much good to communicate in this regard, and our people should be made more aware of this, and of this Archdiocese's commitment to ongoing vigilance in these matters where the highest of standards is a duty, not an option.

Finally, though many issues were raised in the synodal process, I am encouraged by the desire for prayer and a deeper spiritual life among our faithful. Indeed, given the weighty concerns expressed by the people and clergy of the Archdiocese, which do not admit of easy or instant answers, I am convinced that prayer must be the core of our response. Arising from the synodal process in this Archdiocese, there is, I believe, a real need to deepen the prayer life, the spirituality, and discernment of every individual in this Archdiocese. In these days following the feast of Corpus Christi I feel we may have made a start on this process this year by reinvigorating the Forty Hours' devotion in the Archdiocese, but much remains to be done.

To this end, I will institute a monthly Holy Hour at the Gillis Centre to which I invite all the faithful to come and pray with me before Our Lord present in the Blessed Sacrament. As it says in the very motto of the City of Edinburgh, Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain (Ps 127:1). Together let us ask the Lord to bless our endeavours and raise up committed disciples in this Archdiocese.

Let us pray for insight, courage, and joy in our mission as His followers. Let us be confident that He is with us and He will hear us.

LINKS

Archdiocese of St Andrew's and Edinburgh: https://archedinburgh.org/

Scottish Laity Network Response to the Synod:
https://irp.cdn-website.com/b84bc034/files/uploaded/SLN%20Synodal%20Submission_Final.pdf