Saturday 18th May 2024
“I hope for a new Church when the Universal Synod
completes its work and guides our faith in the 21st century.”
Total 589
Group responses (Adult) 271
Group responses (C/YP) 59
Individual responses (Adult) 207
Individual responses (C/YP) 43
Organisations. 9
Adults
C/YP
Main Thematic Areas
● We need to recognise the church as a whole body.
“We, the people, are the church.”
● Priests are important and valued.
“Having lovely priests in our parish makes attending church
easier. They make us welcome. Our faith would be harder if
we didn’t have them.”
● The laity are prepared to “step up.”
“Appreciate the giftedness of its laity - engage with them.”
● There needs to be a way forward on the issue of women
and leadership.
“The church is breathing with one lung - the ordination of
women would transform the church”
● Investing in children and young people is essential for
the future of the Church.
“Don’t see the need for religion”
“Fascinated and thirsty”
● Not-addressing contemporary issues creates a barrier to
faith for many.
“Not many churches are connecting with younger people and
don’t seem to do much to connect with them.”
● The majority no longer want to simply be a “beacon” -
they want to reach out.
“For me it’s all about relationship.”
● Building community is a continual and cooperative
process.
“Children unruly or not should always be welcome in the
even if they are noisy”
● Each individual parish is situated within a specific local
community, which has its own context. There might not
be a “one size fits all” solution as to how to do
community outreach.
“Every Church in the Diocese will have different needs and
circumstances.”
● Clear communication is repeatedly raised as essential
for progress and cooperation.
“To be open to listening to what parishioners feel they need.”
● Social media may be a concern in some areas, but it is a
question of how it is used - there will be no Catholic
presence to find, if the space is filled by someone else.
“We need to…break into the media world, and especially to reach
younger generations. There is a strong need for the faith to be
communicated.”
● Church participation, in whatever form, provides hope
and supports developing faith. Restricted access
excludes people from faith.
“God would like to bring children to Mass , encourage young
families and make it a bit easier for them to attend”
● People want the Diocese specifically, and the Church
more generally, to understand the social and economic
barriers they face.
“It's hard to concentrate on God when your starving and
can't pay the rent after working a full week.”
● The need to welcome people is consistently mentioned,
but is not defined. Some people include the need to
accept people as part of welcoming people, others
unconsciously frame their welcome with boundaries.
“To be more understanding and accepting of individuals and
families who don’t appear to conform to all of the Catholic
teachings and to welcome anyone into church as equals.”
● According to priests, the Diocese needs to make
connections with, listen to, include and learn from
different cultures, instead of keeping its distance.
“It is vital that the Churches allow people to gather before
and after Mass for informal chats and exchange of news.”
● The Church needs to carefully consider how it treats
divorced Catholics.
“If I can be in communion with the church after confession
and a murder conviction, why can’t my father take
communion when he has been divorced.”
● The Church needs to carefully consider how it treats
LGBTQ+ Catholics.
“Treat all God’s children with love. Their souls belong to Him,
only He should judge.”
● Practical, physical access to the Church is often not a
priority, causing problems for those affected.
“My disabilities make it hard for me to participate in the
community life of my parish”
● Linguistic access affects both non-English and English
speakers.
“Tolerance within the Church to Catholics who love traditional
liturgies”
● Gaps in education cause people to call out for training in
their faith; they want to engage spiritually and for the
Church to facilitate meeting with God.
“Baptised people don't understand doctrine.”
● Technology should be used positively to enhance the
Church’s position and voice within society.
“To be more prominent in the world and to be open and
transparent. To appeal to young people by being obvious and
public in their good works.”
● Wanting to be Christ-like is a common value, even if
there are different interpretations of what being
Christ-like means.
“Recognising and protecting the dignity of all.”
● Service is seen as a core Catholic value
“God is asking for the Church to shift from religiosity to
practical things”
● Being Christ-like is equated by most responses as
meeting people where they are at.
“The church needs to live through Jesus’ example and meet
people where they are”
● Dealing with historical abuses and trauma is still
something that the Church is not perceived as
having done effectively.
● When contemplating if/how to change, younger Catholics
especially want the Church to think outside the box
rather than resort to what has always been done. They
want the Church to be organised according to how
society functions now, rather than how it functioned
hundreds of years ago.
“A voice for the voiceless”
Thinking Outside the Box
A teenager does not attend Mass because it is early on a
Sunday morning.
A woman complains because she cannot find a
husband.
There are repeated requests to fix the church
boiler.
Remaining Questions
● How is the church going to define its values and
characteristics?
● What does inclusivity and welcome actually look
like on a practical level?
● Quieter voices also need to be heard, as they are
also important.
Transparent
Humble
Honest Empathetic
Listening
Compassionate
Non-judgemental
Kind
Loving Teaching
Servant-hearted
Obedient
Christ-like
Faithful
Community-minded
Safe
Tolerant
Outward-looking?
Accessible
Approachable
Welcoming
Open
Modern?
Remaining Questions
● How is the church going to define its values and
characteristics?
● What does inclusivity and welcome actually look
like on a practical level?
● Quieter voices also need to be heard, as they are
also important.
Listen
“Are we going to make the same mistakes and just talk?”
Talk
Change
